Hi guys...a labor cost question: My mechanic initially estimated 15-16 hundred to change out my 1999 XJR motor and install a different motor I got from salvage yard ...and probably $500.00 in parts...thats about $2,100.00

new mech..so bit untrusting..now the shop tells me thsy broke hoses taking the motor out cause the car had not been touched since new..and breaking hoses was frustrating and normal? ...about 9 year old jag but it sure looked good to me..all parts look great from above anyways....could the hoses breqaking be their fault for not being careful or knowing how?

now the bill is up to 30 hours of labor instead of 20 and $1000.00 worth of parts....

total bill $3,700.00 $4,000.00 includes tranny oil flushed and replaced...and lower larger pulley installation.....

this sounds normal...hourly rate is $80.00 per hour...mech has done jags before..this is work in a "Classic Import" shop...that supposedly has the experience..they talk like they do...but with the new costs...I wonder...

 

I don't follow how they "broke" hoses. If they were the plastic heater hoses, ok. They are less than $20 each. No big deal and, yes, I could see those breaking due to age. The labor should not have changed since they were already remove the hoses and replacing them.

 

I could see quite a few of the original hoses being cooked and brittle and may need replacing. And for sure, the locks might have broken off while they were trying to disconnect them.I wouldn't say they are neccesarily trying to rip you off but don't want to put questionable or damaged hoses on an engine which if it would happen to overheat then they would be responsible. There are quite a few hard plastic hoses on my XJR that I am sure would be pricey to replace if theyever needed it.

 

the bill sounds about right to me. I just replaced my 98 xjr engine $2K for engine, 3K labor - not too many parts were needed other than the engine.

 

sounds a bit misleading on their end i would say. One way to verify their troubles, i would ask for all the broken hoses and ask where they were originally located. The main one that brakes is the front plastic hose that runs from the coolant tank to the front port of the radiator, i can easily see that braking.

 

The engine overheated a lot as per mech..so a number of hoses were damaged...Glad it is over ..will pick up car tommorow...radiator hose alone was 4108.00 and cooling hoses were $150.00 for two of them...a part load hose and a number of other parts that became damaged...

heat is not good on these motors..the water pump was locked as found.... he Installed a new generation water pump...lots of other little hoses and gaskets..made for $500.00 more than expected in parts alone...guy said he would never do a supercherged model again..too many hoses around supercharger..took him as he says about 45 hours...not 20 as I expected..they are charging me for 30..but at $80.00 per hour comes up to a lot..

but I hope I can make this last now...engine supposedly has only 24,000 miles...I had supercharger rebuilt and ported...new larger bottom pulley..tranny fully flushed...total cost ran about $10,000..anything but cheap...would have bought a newer model..but had no idea this one was about to go via a bad water pump...

will drive and enjoy God willing...but well....lost more in my 401 k than this..$$

life goes on....all is still good...could be worse... car looks great inside..paint is good....a 9 year old car I know...

thanks!!

Have fun...

 

correction radiator hose was $108.00 ..not 4108.00

later

 

on jobs like yours I recommend all hoses are replaced, especially under intake, super charger, heater hose matrix behind engine etc...dont charge extra since i have to swap most of those anyway on an engine swap, and yes plastic piping breaks if you look at it too hard. he was pretty slow for an engine swap like that, I thought I was slow on those, i hate heavy line, it ties me up for days for basically straight time money. I would rather diag other peoples jobs they cant handle than do an engine...