opinions: YACT - garage trying to rip me off?

[DrPizza]

Car got towed... asked for an estimate on the repairs

What they knew: car died, smoke from back (at night, so couldn't tell for sure what color the smoke was)
Car died suddenly though. Radiator fluid visible in engine compartment on side of engine. I, not being a mechanic, was 90% sure that it was a blown head gasket after seeing the radiator fluid.

Now, the garage is claiming that they had their mechanic spend 2 hours diagnosing the problem, he allegedly pulled off the valve cover to take a look. But, to be nice, the garage was only going to charge me for 1 hour of labor for diagnosing the problem.

1. Shouldn't they have been able to take a quick look at it without taking anything apart to see that it was a blown head gasket?

2. The place is shady (in my opinion) and more knowledgeable people know they like to overcharge... is there any way I would be able to tell if they actually removed the valve cover? (even if I had to remove it myself - would it be obvious if it had just been removed?)

Had they not pissed me off, I'd have let it go. But, I may have no reason to be pissed about it.

Does it take 4 hours to replace a head gasket? Followed by 3 hours to replace the timing chain [because the have to remove the timing chain to get to the head gasket??] Followed by 2 hours to install a new thermostat while they're there?!

Also, the head needs to be sent out to be stress tested for cracks since it's an aluminum head on a steel block???

Opinions please


egads! I kept saying to myself: "don't forget to say 93 ford escort... don't forget 93 ford escort..." And I forgot to put it at the end of the thread. 4 cylinder.

 

[amdskip]

It does sound shady to me. Forgot to list what kind of car it was

Usually if its a cracked head, the oil will have water/anti-freeze in it thus the smoke. Gaskets are cheap but the labor is not easy for a head gasket. It depends on what kind of vehicle it is and how many things need to be unhooked to remove the head.

Edit: My dad did one on an 86 Ford Escort and it was the suck. Wiring was horrible and unbelieveable on that car. I'm not sure what the 93 is like.

 

[Compton]

First of all, what is the car, and what size engine.

I've never heard of anyone pulling a valve cover to check for a blown head gasket. I would do a compression test first. And that sure as hell doesnt take 2 hours.

 

[arcenite]

if it's a early 90s ford with a 3.8L you're screwed

 

[Zenmervolt]

Yeah, you'd be singing a very different tune had they replaced the head gasket and found out that it was something else that was wrong.

The shop did the right thing by checking.

I'm not sure about the rest of the work. Replacing the head gasket can definitely be a 4 hour job, but that depends on the car. Replacing a timing chain is a pain, harder than changing a timing belt. Two hours for the thremostat sounds about right depending on the car. The thing is, those hour quotes are for the jobs done independantly. Having the front of the engine already apart to pull the timing chain will make changing the thermostat easier (assuming it's an "in the block" type of thermostat).

Very hard to say without model information.

ZV

 

[freakflag]

Replacing a head gasket is a big job. Those times really don't seem that far out of line, depending on what engine it has. It probably has an overhead cam if they need to remove the timing chain. What is their hourly rate?

 

[DrPizza]

That's what I was thinking... the hour estimates all sounded reasonable - if only those jobs were done. But, if everything's apart, then of course, replace the (timing chain/belt - I don't know which is which or what I have - I'm an idiot under the hood) and thermostat. But, if you're nowhere near those parts, then why would you bother. (and if you are near those parts, then it shouldn't take that long, should it?)

 

[Quixfire]

They are defiantly overcharging you. Here is my breakdown of the labor for this type of repair.

Crank No-Start Diagnosis - 1.0 hr
R&R Cylinder HeadGasket - 3.2 Hrs
R&R Thermostat w/ HeadGasket - .5 hr
R&R Timing Belt w/ Headgasket - .6 hr

For a Total of 5.3 hours labor.

I wouldn't have a coolant flush either since your getting all the coolant changed due to the headgasket replacement.