[JFP in PA]

This is a bit of a hard call, but a couple of observations:

1. They charged him an hour and a half to check the cam deviations; it takes about 10 min. if you are really slow.
2. I do not see any evidence (data files, etc.) showing that the cam deviation was off by that much. In fact, if it actually was that far off, the car should be running like crap and throwing codes, which are also not demonstrated. They simply state it is off by that amount.
3. By the time an IMS bearing goes bad enough to knock the cam deviations off by that amount, the engine would be full of metal and not recoverable. The IMS did not cause the issue, but the cam wear pads could have. But again, you have no data to demonstrate that.
4. There are some very questionable time charges in that bill. . They charged 1.2 hours to replace each sway bar drop link; on a lift, you should be able to do both sides in about 15 min. if you take your time or they are severely rusted.
5. They charged him for 10 quarts of oil; the engine is incapable of holding that much oil, it would be severely overfilled.

The bill is questionable, as is the premise that he needed an IMS bearing.