2.7 TDV6, a wee bit of a problem, possibly......

Need some help here - I have just been quoted over $500 by a specialist mechanic to replace what sounds a lot like the water outlet part no 1357091 that you guys have been talking about. They said its a plastic part that can fail and lead to drastic coolant loss, that its a cheap part but needs 'about 4 hours' labour. Is this realistic?
Reading elsewhere a mechanic suggests doing it when you are doing the timing belt to save the labour cost of going in for the coolant part... a better idea?
What does a timing belt normally cost?
:confused:

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Originally Posted by bpk

Need some help here - I have just been quoted over $500 by a specialist mechanic to replace what sounds a lot like the water outlet part no 1357091 that you guys have been talking about. They said its a plastic part that can fail and lead to drastic coolant loss, that its a cheap part but needs 'about 4 hours' labour. Is this realistic?
Reading elsewhere a mechanic suggests doing it when you are doing the timing belt to save the labour cost of going in for the coolant part... a better idea?
What does a timing belt normally cost?
:confused:

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4 hrs labour sounds excessive , the part is about $40/50 bucks . I carry a spare in my back up box .

I dunno how this all is on the diesel, but I changed the thermo housing and multiple hoses and bleeder (including removal of the intake manifold to get hoses to the back of the motor) and refilled coolant in about 2.5-3 hours. I did a lot more than just change the thermo housing .... So 4 hours from a pro sounds like a lot to me but not sure how hard this is on a diesel.

Thanks, I will ask them again about all of this - has anyone had a pro do just this part?
My service has turned into a $3000 plus bill including being over $1100 for lower bushes and ball joints, reading through this forum has been a great help and I will ask about doing full arms instead. Love the D3 and happy to give her what she needs but don't want to waste money of course.

2005 D3 TDV6 S.