Too funny

pasvorto1 · 06-14-05, 07:58 AM

I called around town trying to find someone who would replace the rear wheel bearings in my 78. The local dealer quoted $800. I called another shop, they would wouldn't touch a Vette. A 3rd shop never returned my call. The 4th shop shop said, "Sure. $250 a wheel." I dropped the car off yesterday morning. The mechanic said, "See you this afternoon". I called at 3:30. He told me that he finally got the left rear apart. "You need a lot of special tools to do this...". Fortunately, one of the guys who hangs around there has a C5 and helped him figure it all out. He wound up sending the unit to the local Chevy dealer (who has the tools). He vowed to hunt down both the engineer that designed it and the guy who decided how long it was supposed to take. It will be interesting to see how close he comes to his quote when I go to pick it up. I guess that will be another local mechanic who won't touch a Vette again.

lucky76 · 06-14-05, 05:47 PM

Sometimes it's better to work a little overtime and make some extra $$$ and PAY someone else to work on your car. I learned this a long time ago. Special tools cost and will never get used again. Besides, if your work doesn't fix the problem, who are you going to complain to?

craig32 · 06-14-05, 08:57 PM

I'm a little puzzled, lucky. First off, who wants to work OT if you have a Corvette! Little story from a couple weeks ago - I take the Vette to the new place in town to get it aligned. They tell me it needs ball joints on one side, should have both sides - and they can have it done by the end of the day. I ask about prices, he says the one is $52 and the other is $90 - both sides $285 and labor is $220. $505 before they do the alignment for $58. First thing that pops into my mind is 'I'm not paying you $500+ today' I figure for $220 in labor I can do a lot of learning. I go to the auto parts store and get all 4 ball joints for $123. Having never done them before in my life, I complete the task in 6 hours, instead of the 4 they were figuring. I went to my first choice of alignment shops and they did it for $42. SO, I did it myself for $165, instead of getting Vaselined for $563, and now I'm the 'go-to' guy who can do it for the other guys who need it. You have to at least look at it before you pass it off. Bottom line, $398 saved can buy a lot of beer and Band-aids. The beer will be free when someone else needs help. I hate to pay someone a FORTUNE to do something I could've done myself. Oh, and I hate to work OT.

Craig

wishuwerehere82 · 06-14-05, 10:39 PM

I have done a complete Engine rebuild myself, pulled the Transmission myself, Springs, Front wheel bearings, Shocks, Exhaust, U-joints, Rear end seals, Steering valve and cylinder, Fuel pump, interior, seat covers. And I mean all by myself.
And the one thing that was worth paying someone else to do was rear wheel bearings. They are a bear to get apart without $300.00 worth of tools. Even then they don't always cooperate.

pasvorto1 · 06-15-05, 08:29 AM

Well, they got the bearings changed. When they got it out, it turned out the u-joints needed replacing also. They had to send the 'shaft' out for some milling. Anyway, the $250 quote turned out to be $550 by the time the dust settled. I could have sent it to the dealer (who has all the tools) for that. They haven't completely sworn off Vettes, but he wants to shoot the guy who wrote the book that says it is a 3 hour job. On the 'up' side, after I changed the distribytor cap, rotor, plugs, and plug wires, it runs like a scalded dog. y-i-i-p-p-p-e-e-e-e

I try to do what I can. But my tools, time, and space are pretty limited. I have to use it as my daily driver (bummer) for a couple days while I put a new power steering pump in my truck. I can do stuff like that.

glen242 · 06-18-05, 10:18 PM

Craig:

What is the name and where is the alignment shop that did the alignment for $42?? This was a 4 wheel alignment, right?

craig32 · 06-18-05, 11:58 PM

Glen,

Lyons Auto Body in Muncy Pennsylvania (Lycoming county - near Williamsport, home of little league baseball) Yes, it was a four wheel alignment, the back was ok so it only cost $40 plus tax. Randy is a good guy, been doing it like forever. He said someone changed all the stuff in the back of my car, even if it was out it would be easy to adjust. Could have been as high as $75 if he spent a lot of time on it, he said. . . If you want to go there, I'll get you the number to make an appointment, show you around, etc.

Craig

red70vette · 06-19-05, 08:33 PM

I am a firm believer in the old adage that you get what you pay for. The cheapest quote or job is not always the one to take. You end up paying for the mechanic to learn how to do the job. After that you can only hope that he has done the whole job and not left out something, or forgot to tighten it properly.

Many of the jobs can be done yourself and that is the best way to get it done. If you don't have the time, space, tools, skills, or mindset to get it done then you need to find a mechanic who knows his way around Corvettes and let him do the work and try to learn from him. If you go to the cheapest guy you usually get the lowest quality job or you end up paying for his mistakes. He tries to solve a problem by the process of elimination. Got vibration- replace the wheel bearings. Still got it- replace the u joints. Still a problem- balance the drive shaft, and so on and so forth I have seen it a thousand times.

Check out the guy who did your alignment -knows what he is doing - simple job $40 bucks. I know people who have paid $150-$250 for a four wheel alignment and still need an alignment when they were done. They paid for someone to learn and in the end they had to have someone who knows what they are doing complete the job correctly. Wasted time and money and put yourself at risk.

These cars are not cheap nor are they simple so you can't always go to the guy who gives you the cheapest price because in the long run it may cost you more. Remember you get what you pay for.

goingballistic · 06-22-05, 10:08 PM

Until you've changed the heater core on an '81.....AND changed the window lift spring.......you ain't never worked on a vette.............the rest is easy

Eden72Vet · 06-23-05, 11:07 AM

I completely support tearing them down and working on them yourself anytime you have the opportunity to do something yourself. This is one of the best resources for figuring out what is need and how to complete the work. Everytime I get stuck, I just post a question, and I usually get some really good advice and insight from the CAC. It is just a sense of accomplishment after I complete a job.

goertz · 06-23-05, 01:22 PM

you did the right thing Craig. you will NEVER learn how to fix this crap if you don't get in there and do it yourself. now you know something you didn't last weekend, and learned a lot about your car in the process. in my opinion, that's the only way to do it. buy the special tools if you need them, and get in there and figure it out. I've worked on cars since I could walk. Last year, I bought a project truck with a 8.2L Detroit Diesel engine. not running. it would crank, but not start. engine seemed fine, had to be something not major. I HAD NO FREAKING IDEA OF HOW A DIESEL EVEN WORKS. I bought a manual, and dug in! found all the injectors to be stuck. These are not normal injectors, they are mechanical injectors, pushrod driven off the cam. when you pull the valve cover, it looks like there are 3 valves per cyl, but one is the injector. So i pulled them all apart, cleaned the million little tiny pieces that make up the injector, put them all back in, and a few days later, she fired right up. I went from knowing nothing about diesel engines, to doing a repair that when I called around, would have cost me well over $3000.00. Yup, 3 grand, diesels are very expensive to have worked on. Interesting Diesel facts:

diesel engines run on air, not fuel. the fuel acts like a spark plug to ignite the compressed air

because there are no throttle plates, diesels do not produce any vaccuum

many diesels do not need an intake manifold to run. you can take the intake manifold off, and it will run just fine, it just won't have filtered air

because they run off air, not fuel, you must be very careful around a diesel so make sure it doesn't get a "wiff" of something flammable. a propane leak next to your BBQ will caust a diesel to "run away" as it will rev until it explodes. Turning the key off will have no effect. same with WD-40, don't spray it around a diesel while it's running.

the only electical component a typical diesel needs to run is a starter. if you could crank the engine with no starter, the engine wouldn't require an electrical system.

you can dump cooking oil, motor oil, vegetable oil, right into the tank of any diesel, and with no modifications, it will run just as well as it would with pump diesel fuel.