Hello All,

Just a quick question...

I have a friend whose 91 Laser was a broken balance shaft victim. He had the car towed over to a local performance shop...and now, almost 3 months later....the car is only nearly complete.

Just out of curiosity, what do you think the cost would be for this? This is what has been done:

New Head
Machine shop labour (setting up all the internals)
Taking the old head out, putting the new one in
Balance shaft removal
Install new clutch (while the engine was out)

I don't want to post what this shop is trying to charge him for this until I get some feedback from you guys....nor will I post the name of the shop before making sure that this is not a total rip off.....but it sure seems like that to me.

Thanks in advance,

Steve

NEW head? As in brand new, purchased from a dealer?

To transfer all the valvetrain parts from the old head into the new it should only take a shop like 3 hours tops... machining is another 30 minutes to an hour.

Now you said they installed the clutch while the engine was out. Who removed the engine? You gotta be more detailed here.

If the engine was in the car, and they removed it, they'd probably charge 3 or 4 hours for that job. If they removed the head while the engine was still in the car, then again its probably a 3 hour charge. If you brough the engine in, that brings the head removal/installation charge probably down to like 1 hour. Installing a new clutch with the engine out shouldnt be more than 30 minutes charge, but then again the flywheel may have (hopefully) been machined, so thats more money.

We need more details if you want an accurate estimate.

Thanks....I'm going on details provided to me by my friend...and I'm no expert when it comes to engines, so please be understanding of that...

I guess what I'm asking, is what would a reasonable price be for rebuilding the engine with a new head, and having a balance shaft removal done....let's just leave the clutch out of it.

So, if the timing belt went on your car, and you had to have a complete rebuild done....what would you expect to pay?

Thanks!

I have been researching this a little in the past month. Metalex Motorworks (sp?) will charge about $2300 for an engine rebuild.

~Collin

Thanks Collin!

FULL engine rebuild, or just a HEAD rebuild and reassembly? This is the clincher.

When your timing belt goes, you dont HAVE to rebuild the whole engine... unless it was severe and happened at like 8000rpm, in which case it probably damaged the pistons, you just need to take care of the head.

We really need to know what exactly the shop did and what parts they purchased. Obviously if they bought new pistons, a brand new head, and new valves, its gonna be more expensive than if they left the bottom end alone and got a used head.

I'd say if they rebuilt everything with new parts, the cost could easily be 2500-3000, which is just extreme for a stock rebuild... but its justifiable. Hopefully your friend knew a thing or two about these cars and didnt just let the shop do whatever they wanted. Thats an easy way to blow a few grand and get a stock car back in your hands.

Thanks Darko,

I'm not sure of the exact details....but I know the shop told him that this was the worst damage they have seen from a timing belt failure.

Anyway, it seems like it got out of hand, as you have stated.....They originally quoted him between $3300-$3500 for the rebuild.....That price has now jumped to just under $6000.

The only extra things added on to the original quote should be a clutch (they quoted him around $400 for a Stage 2 Bully) and for the balance shaft removal.

I guess what I'm hearing is that this is a total ripoff....

That's extreme. For 6k he could BUY a 1g turbo dsm.

Exactly!

6000? Wow. How many hours of labour and what's the shop rate like?

Hi Waldo,

I'm not sure what their hourly rate is, or how many hours they are charging him for....

They have had his vehicle for almost 3 months now, and they have been giving him excuses about having to wait on the machine shop to get finished...blah blah blah

I understand that these things take time, but I would think that unless it was discussed previously (which it was not) that 3 months is a REALLY long time to get this work done.

He is supposed to get some more details today....I will post them when I talk to him.

Thanks again for your input guys!

There screwing him around unless there's something your friend is forgetting to mention.

He could have had a remanned engine installed for probly just over 3000 bucks..Call adam clay to verify this.

or

The shop could have installed a jdm engine for around $1800 bucks....

This is all assuming the bottom end was toast (broken pistons). If it was just the head that was bad, I'd call my lawyer and sue the shop.

6g's is way too much for that, even if they did completly rebuild the eitire engine. For 6g's you could get magnus to build you a 4g64, or a stage block.

When the balance shaft belt goes it sometimes take s the timing belt with it. When this happens you usually bend a few valves. The max I would pay for a shop to repair this is $1500 (and i really wouldn't even pay that).

There is no way this should cost you anywhere neat $6000.