Fair Prices

[bigskypc50]

Got my bus into a shop for the first time in three years, for some work I did not want to do. Had the water pump fan clutch belt and tensioner replaced. Toke them all day 9-4 to do the work. Billed me for 5.5 hours. It’s a flat noise front engine.

Think the price was pretty fair, how does it compare to what you all have seen herd

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by bigskypc50

Got my bus into a shop for the first time in three years, for some work I did not want to do. Had the water pump fan clutch belt and tensioner replaced. Toke them all day 9-4 to do the work. Billed me for 5.5 hours. It’s a flat noise front engine.

Think the price was pretty fair, how does it compare to what you all have seen herd

Considering an oil change on a Class 8 truck runs $300 in a lot of places, I'd say you made out like a bandit.

[Sehnsucht]

That was just the labor? Did you supply the parts or what kind of markup do you think they added to those? Overall not highway robbery but going forward if you shop around you can probably do better than $99/hr labor rate. The important thing is that you have confidence in the mechanic and things get done right the first time otherwise you'll be spending too much time and money on repeat business.

[musigenesis]

If this is a general "fair prices" thread, my last shop visit was getting my starter replaced, $475 for the new starter and 4 hours @ $110 per. The tow there (about 5 miles) was $225. $1140 out the door. The consensus last time I mentioned this seemed to be it was a lot of money for the part and a lot of hours, but the rate was OK.

Cheese, do you think you could guide someone of my skill level (which is Level 0 when it comes to engines and such) through the process of replacing my starter over a video conferencing call? I obviously don't need a new starter now, but I'm wondering if something like that could work generally.

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

If this is a general "fair prices" thread, my last shop visit was getting my starter replaced, $475 for the new starter and 4 hours @ $110 per. The tow there (about 5 miles) was $225. $1140 out the door. The consensus last time I mentioned this seemed to be it was a lot of money for the part and a lot of hours, but the rate was OK.

Cheese, do you think you could guide someone of my skill level (which is Level 0 when it comes to engines and such) through the process of replacing my starter over a video conferencing call? I obviously don't need a new starter now, but I'm wondering if something like that could work generally.

I'd give it a shot. I can think of a few members like EastCoastCB, CK and Booyah that might be more familiar with your DT466, however.

Starters are pretty simple though. Disconnect your batteries, swap wires one at a time (room permitting), check to make sure nothing is shorting out, then most are 2-3 bolts to remove from the block. Some may require the use of shims to ensure proper pinion / ring gear mesh.

Some configurations may not allow that easy of a swap though. Always a good idea to label each wire / cable as to its assignment (solenoid lead, etc.) before disconnecting.

[bigskypc50]

Sehnsucht Yes that was just the labor, been buying parts as I could afford them over the winter nearly everything was OEM fleet right stuff.

musigensis, I tend to agree that seems like a lot labor for just a starter, considering they pretty much ripped off and replaced everything on the front of my engine on a flat nose front engine for 5.5 hours. Don't know about your bus but if my starter went, is has really good access left side of block ahead of front axle. I could see a newbie DIY guy doing the job in an hour and half tops. Shade tree guy should have it done in 45mins or less.

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by bigskypc50

Sehnsucht Yes that was just the labor, been buying parts as I could afford them over the winter nearly everything was OEM fleet right stuff.

musigensis, I tend to agree that seems like a lot labor for just a starter, considering they pretty much ripped off and replaced everything on the front of my engine on a flat nose front engine for 5.5 hours. Don't know about your bus but if my starter went, is has really good access left side of block ahead of front axle. I could see a newbie DIY guy doing the job in an hour and half tops. Shade tree guy should have it done in 45mins or less.

You said the magic word -- access. While I agree that there are some unscrupulous shops out there that will pad the bill -- Not everything is as easy as it looks.

For instance, years ago, a former associate was pulling his hair out trying to remove an alternator from a Honda Accord. He'd been fighting with it for several hours trying to remove the part from above. I took a look at it, and noticed there was all the room in the world to drop it out the bottom.

Apparently it was designed to be done that way. GM 3800 power steering pumps are designed to be done that way, too. But I digress. Point is, what seems obvious to us, may or may not be the way it has to be done. With the hare-brained designs and engineering I've seen in recent years, I take nothing for granted anymore. Just my $0.02 -- Not everything works the way it appears to.

[Sehnsucht]

Good point cheese wagon and this is precisely why FE flat nose is at the bottom of my list of preferred bus configurations. Engine manufacturers will design an engine knowing that 90% will end up in a conventional style truck anyways. This means that a conventional bus does not hose any additional problems for self maintenance. Rear engine buses I do have quite a bit of space to work so there is very little that may be inhibited by the unconventional body style. But a flat nose front engine presents a number of potential obstacles because of the body and the steering axle and so forth all crammed into one tiny space surrounding the engine.