As it has been relayed to me: replacement of timing cover seal/gasket, replacement of alternator, replacement of battery, diagnostic fees. 1200 seemed kind of high to me as well.
I called my mechanic who works on my car to get his opinion, and he looked up in whatever book they use to see what is involved in the alt. and seal replacement. He read aloud that it apparently involves removing a whole list of things including the oil pan and intake manifold. I'm not sure how those relate, but thats what the book he had said needed to come out. If the dealer is using the same/comparable shop book, then the long list of things that need to come out can conceivably take quite a while.
$1200 does still seem high, but if it was off target, at this point there's not much I could do other than tow the car back here (100+ miles) and possibly find out that they were right anyway. It is a Ford dealer, so if they end up not fixing it, at least they'll have to warranty and justify the work.
