i took my 91 buick wagon over to a shop to have the a/c looked at. the guy calls me and tells me the intake mainfold, serpitine belt and the valve cover gaskets need replacing, and ask for what i thought was a lot of $. i'm not against paying for good service, but i checked,and all the parts he says need replacing isn't even $80 total.

i guess my question is, is there something crazy involved? i have plenty of tools. is there something special i need to know before i start this project? do i need to know any tricks? i've never wrenched on a 305.....

TBI engine Bill? By the way, he's fishing, must be slow at the shop.

TBI engine Bill? By the way, he's fishing, must be slow at the shop.

the injectors sit where the carb. would go. is that a tbi?

buy a service manual for your car and do it to it. saves money and makes you smarter in one aspect of life.

I don't care what engine it is, valve cover gaskets and a serpentine belt can't be that hard. The hardest part would be getting past all the equipment in the way of getting the valve covers off.

What price did he quote you?

TBI engine Bill? By the way, he's fishing, must be slow at the shop.

Or, maybe he is doing a proper inspection and letting his customer know what is needed.

it's just like any other small block, except there are a few more wires.
expect to spend an afternoon doing the job if you take your time.
and have fun getting that distributor out of there- it's fun with that cowl in the way like that, but not too bad if you get the throttle body out of the way first..

Or, maybe he is doing a proper inspection and letting his customer know what is needed.

i worked a parts counter for years, and i know shops get a discount, and back then, they quoted retail, then labor. the shops around here double parts costs then add labor. he wanted 168.00 to install the belt, i called napa, and the belt was $27.39, he wanted 348.00 to install the intake, the gasket is 18.39.....i don't know if this is out of line, i just know i can do it myself.

recently a shop wanted 38.00 a piece for brake lines i bought myself for 17.00 FOR THE PAIR......

like i say, i'm not against paying for good service, i have a shop i use, where he lets me buy parts, and he charges me a set hour rate to install. he just doesn't do a/c, which is what i took the car in for.

i think this shop was honest in what my car needs, i just won't pay his mark up. he did a lot of stuttering when i told him i could do the work myself, and have done so in the past.

i think part of it might have been fishing......can't blame a guy for trying, just trying to drum up some business......

it's just like any other small block, except there are a few more wires.
expect to spend an afternoon doing the job if you take your time.
and have fun getting that distributor out of there- it's fun with that cowl in the way like that, but not too bad if you get the throttle body out of the way first..

throttle body? last time i was in there, there was a plate over where the carb. would normaly go, with two injectors in it, the rest was just rubber hosing going to the a/f box....

i worked a parts counter for years, and i know shops get a discount, and back then, they quoted retail, then labor. the shops around here double parts costs then add labor. he wanted 168.00 to install the belt, i called napa, and the belt was $27.39, he wanted 348.00 to install the intake, the gasket is 18.39.....i don't know if this is out of line, i just know i can do it myself.

recently a shop wanted 38.00 a piece for brake lines i bought myself for 17.00 FOR THE PAIR......

like i say, i'm not against paying for good service, i have a shop i use, where he lets me buy parts, and he charges me a set hour rate to install. he just doesn't do a/c, which is what i took the car in for.

i think this shop was honest in what my car needs, i just won't pay his mark up. he did a lot of stuttering when i told him i could do the work myself, and have done so in the past.

i think part of it might have been fishing......can't blame a guy for trying, just trying to drum up some business......

$168 to install a belt is too high. $350 for the intake isn't too bad.
I vote for doing it yourself!! :D

Yes, it's TBI, a lot less hoses that a carbed vehicle, give it a go yourself. An all day job if you do it yourself including thet v/c gaskets.

I still say he's fishing, he didn't ask for an inspection. JMHO.

Yes, it's TBI, a lot less hoses that a carbed vehicle, give it a go yourself. An all day job if you do it yourself including thet v/c gaskets.

I still say he's fishing, he didn't ask for an inspection. JMHO.

So you would rather bring your car into a repair shop and have them turn a blind eye to everything else that they see wrong just because you brought it in for a different problem?

I agree that the prices were high but, did the guy lie about what is wrong with the car? If he lied then that is a different story.

I have been in the service industry for 29 yrs and the guy did exactly what he should do, inform the customer of what is needed. It's then the customers decision of what to do.

Whats is wrong with a business owner drumming up work for himself? So long as it is done without lying. Obviously since Bill is going to do the work himself the guy was correct about the leaks and the belt.

Would you be upset if the guy fixed the A/C and on the way home from the repair shop the belt broke? I know I would!

I guess it's a damned if you do / damned if you don't world. :sad:

So you would rather bring your car into a repair shop and have them turn a blind eye to everything else that they see wrong just because you brought it in for a different problem?

I agree that the prices were high but, did the guy lie about what is wrong with the car? If he lied then that is a different story.

I have been in the service industry for 29 yrs and the guy did exactly what he should do, inform the customer of what is needed. It's then the customers decision of what to do.

Whats is wrong with a business owner drumming up work for himself? So long as it is done without lying. Obviously since Bill is going to do the work himself the guy was correct about the leaks and the belt.

Would you be upset if the guy fixed the A/C and on the way home from the repair shop the belt broke? I know I would!

I guess it's a damned if you do / damned if you don't world. :sad:
:yes: :yes: :yes:
Same as it is in the home service repair business.
Except maybe we "experts" in our field get sued IF we don't report what we find.

I have a 91 tbi motor and have replace all of the stuff your are taking about. 100 bucks labor would be plenty high all of that stuff easy fix.

:yes: :yes: :yes:
Same as it is in the home service repair business.
Except maybe we "experts" in our field get sued IF we don't report what we find.

guys, i don't want anybody to think people don't deserve to make a living. i do as much of my own home and auto repairs as possable, but i also know when i'm short on budget or talent to do a job. in this case, i can't find the "cracks" in the serpitine belt, and i can't find any evidence that the v/c were leaking....i do think the intake gasket is shot. the v/c and serpitine are cheap enough that i'm replacing them anyway, plus this guy may have seen something i might not have seen, just as a safety precaution.

i recently paid a plumber and a mechanic to do work i hadn't the talent for. but from time to time, i run up against budget, and that's when i have to dig in and hope for the best, and hope that i don't screw something up worse that already is....

So you would rather bring your car into a repair shop and have them turn a blind eye to everything else that they see wrong just because you brought it in for a different problem?

I agree that the prices were high but, did the guy lie about what is wrong with the car? If he lied then that is a different story.

I have been in the service industry for 29 yrs and the guy did exactly what he should do, inform the customer of what is needed. It's then the customers decision of what to do.

Whats is wrong with a business owner drumming up work for himself? So long as it is done without lying. Obviously since Bill is going to do the work himself the guy was correct about the leaks and the belt.

Would you be upset if the guy fixed the A/C and on the way home from the repair shop the belt broke? I know I would!

I guess it's a damned if you do / damned if you don't world. :sad:

Well Bill, I do all my own work except auto trans and If the shop had mentioned to me that they offer an inspection, I probably would have said, go ahead. I have 43 years experience in the automotive repair field and work at a fleet, we notice everything and get to fix it without asking the customer.

Personally, I believe the belt is part of the A/C repair, I could be wrong. still JMHO.

Don't get me started!

pdq67

I have a 92 Camaro Lo3 as in 305 TBI. The valve covers might be leaking, but before you start ripping the car apart,the belt is the easiest thing to change,should change out in all of 5 minutes plus what ever it costs.The Valve covers are factory installed with RTV.Unless they are very loose and oil is running out on the ground,check and see if you cannot just tighten them down a little bit.Trust me when I say they are put on with RTV and unless someone has changed them and used actual gaskets you will just love scraping that crap off whatever its decided to stay stuck to.As for the intake,I have seen them corroded and leaking antifreeze, but unless you know for a fact that the intake is leaking somewhere else,I would check all this out very carefully. A simple retorque my be all you need. Just my .02

throttle body? last time i was in there, there was a plate over where the carb. would normaly go, with two injectors in it, the rest was just rubber hosing going to the a/f box....
that "plate" with the two injectors in it is called a "throttle body"...

Geez Derrick...

pdq67

Geez Derrick...

pdq67
well, he sais there ws no throttle body- just a plate with two injectors above it where the carb would be..
i was merely stating that the "plate" in question was the "throttle body" i mentioned in my first post.