Nissan Repair: 1996 Nissan Maxima Water pump,et al, radiator tank, nissan maxima

Question
While having the water pump repaired, I was informed that the hydraulic timing chain tensioner wuuld "not pump up", that it had to be replaced and the replacement part had been "redesigned" thus more time and a greater billing amount.Furthermore, that the inflow or outfloe pipe on the radiator was "old and plastic"; it cracked when the hoses were reconnected thus necessitating replacement of the radiator.
Does this sound reasonable? How much should it cost? My bill is approaching $2,000.  

Answer
Bill,

Yes, the tensioner does screw up when they are this old.  You really need that replaced since if it does not stay pumped up the chain could jump timing and then the valves would bend.  Also, the radiator has plastic tanks and they really do crack and fall off.  I know it seems bad but it is within reason.  Both items are common replacements when you do engine work as they do seem to fail when just looking at them.  The radiator tank neck gets brittle and fail.  The nice part here is that they failed while you had it in the shop and not on the road.  If the neck failed you could have cooked the engine and if the timing jumped it could have taken out valves and pistons.  So, you are really money ahead on this one...