3800 Update on my car

[syP]

I talked to the shop today.. and my wallet is going to hurt after this one..

They saw 3 scoared pushords (which means damaged). So they decided to replace all of them. They believe I have a collapsed lifter, so they want to replace all of them since they cannt determine which one is bad without hte engine running.

They found a faulty temperature sensor thingy, so they replaced that. THey said that it is most likely NOT a chipped piston, because that would have my car making compression problems, and it would drive much worse than it did.

(dont shoot the messenger, im just repeating what the guy said)

As of now. im paying AT LEAST $1175

Replacing all lifters and pushrods = $2100
Just putting the engine back togehter with all the "broken" parts = $1175

Those include labor.

My question is, Who out of this club would be ever so grateful to help me tear down the engine on our own to find the problem and repair it and help me save $1,000?

I know a lot of you volunteerd to help me over my christmas break... but since they took a whilemy break is now over. However, i am free mostly every night and every weekend. I know Zack would be up for helpin, as well as my brother. Will anyone else be up for the challenge? I greatly would need it.

Or should i just pay the $2100 for the parts that they are not even sure that the car will run the same? Realistically, i do not even need my Grand Prix, since i got my camry... and i will be going to college in the fall so i do not even need it... But what is the point of paying high insurance on it when it doesnt even run. I need the car fixed and i need help.

thank you
ryan

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[J.E.T.]

$1,000 more to replace push rods and lifters?!?! Can you please clarify - you said they already replaced the pushrods.

So, it's all torn down now. And if they put in back together - it will cost $1,175. How much will they charge for you to haul it out of there as-is - without reassembly?

Doesn't seem that you are in a rush to get the car back in order. There are certainly plently of people here that can help - and if everyone helped just a little bit, we can put it back together. Heck, it can be put back together in a weekend if all the parts were at hand.

I'm sure you can get stock pushrods and lifters from Ed Morad.

The engine is already apart as far as the pushrods. Might as well take the heads off and inspect it all in full. Might as well put better heads in if you want to keep modding.

Here's another angle. Start making a list of all the parts you need. Don't forget the gaskets. Add it up and compare it to the $2,100 they want to charge.

Hey, I'll give you a hand if you decide to tackle it yourself. You better have a nice warm garage though . And good lighting. Got tools?

J.E.T.

 

[superchargedgp]

just buy a low millage shortblock from ed morad ans put that in there

much cheaper

 

[syP]

labor is the BIG thing... $70 an hour.. and they took their sweet time.. lemme tell you.

 

[dole21]

yeah...tell them you're gonna pick it up unassembled and see what hey say...thats highway robberey what they're doing there.

 

[syP]

i talked it over with alex and my brother.. and i think i am gonna tow it home without them touching it again.

 

[syP]

anyone still up for helping? So far AlexGTP is in for sure... im sure Zack would love to help also...

 

[gtphale]

I would help also. I have a motor with 14,000 miles on it and a Stage 2 cam that I would be willing to part with. Needs to have two pistons replaced and the cylinders honed but other then that its in great shape. I would be looking to get about 400 for it. It is just a short block but you have all the other things you need for it. Also if you have heat i'm willing to give you a hand. I also have a motor hoist that you can use.

 

[Mike K]

Originally posted by syP@Jan 3 2005, 03:43 PM
anyone still up for helping?  So far AlexGTP is in for sure... im sure Zack would love to help also...

[snapback]66173[/snapback]​

I'll toss in a hand.

 

[GTPPWR]

Originally posted by syP@Jan 3 2005, 03:43 PM
anyone still up for helping?  So far AlexGTP is in for sure... im sure Zack would love to help also...

[snapback]66173[/snapback]​

You know I will always lend a hand. Do you still have my number? I am off the nextcouple days. Let me know when ya need me. I have perfectly good pushrods from my other motor I can bring down/ other stuff as well.

 

[plmrass]

I dont know shit about doin this shit but ill help LOL Learning experiance

 

[NetChemica]

I don't know why it took so long for you, my apologies. Whenever I brought my car to them, it was read within 2 days, and they did a LOT to it so far. The only time it took two weeks is when they had to find my rear left axle, and that's because I have a really rare BMW. Ask them why it took so long and have them show you a list of the parts and how much they cost. Act pissed and I'm sure they would drop the price a little, especially if you have them do the whole thing. They work on some really nice cars (seen dozens of Ferraris and Porsches there), so I'm sure they would do good work on the 3800 considering how widely used it is. That's just my input, it's the difference between spending a considerable amount of money and getting professional installation, or doing it yourself and saving a few $100's.

 

[xttc2000]

if theyve had it this long just "tearing it down to the cam" they dont know what the hell they're doing. why would they tear it down to the cam when they could have pulled the heads off in a couple hours and called it a day?
id hardly call that a professional installation.

he'll get much better results doing it with help from this board.

 

[NetChemica]

thing is though, you're only getting one side of the story, he could have forgot some facts or they didn't go into detail when they described the problem, don't forget, 90% of the people they deal with are rich as fuck guys and spoiled soccer moms, either of which don't know shit about engines

 

[EmersonHart13]

But you cannot treat every customer the same, especially an enthusiast, that is bad customer service and bad business.

John

P.S. This is a little more than what I know about but I am willing to stop by and do some grunt work.

 

[NetChemica]

That's true, but they don't know his level of knowledge. If you talk to someone who doesn't know anything about cars in a way that (s)he won't understand anything, the customer will feel embarassed. If they talk in simple terms where the customer has a general idea of what the mechanic is talking about they will not feel insulted. It is up to the customer to get all the details, the mechanic is just fixing the car, not teaching the customer how it works.

 

[rob]

Sorry to hear. Seems a little costly though. I did my SB for under a grand in parts w/pistons. No labor. But you should be able to do it cheaper. L32 rods are about $40 a peice. Turn the crank and get some .010" bearings?

I got to get my M90 back on and MP and IC out for service...I have to finish my adapter plate and some S1 SCer porting.

When is this going down?

 

[syP]

most likley this weekend.... but there is somewhat of a problem.. I donnw what to order (what is needed). Since we dont know what is causing the mishaps, I dont know how it is going to go down.

I dont want to make people come out two seperate times, one for inspection and what is wrong, and one for actually fixing the problem. anyone have any good ideas?

 

[syP]

ttt

 

[xttc2000]

take the car home, get it in your garage and pull the heads off.

take pictures and report on here what you find. then order parts and people can come out and help.

 

[syP]

umm im sorry.. i cannot do that shit on my own. ya ya ya. i know.. LEARN right?? i need help with that shit. Even my brother doesnt know that.

 

[GTPPWR]

Originally posted by syP@Jan 3 2005, 10:30 PM
umm im sorry.. i cannot do that shit on my own.  ya ya ya. i know.. LEARN right??  i need help with that shit.  Even my brother doesnt know that.

[snapback]66234[/snapback]​

I'm just a call away syp. I can come down today if you want, or tomarrow. I have my car now...so I cna be there lickidy split.

 

[GTPPWR]

Originally posted by GTPPWR+Jan 4 2005, 03:24 AM-->

<!--QuoteBegin-syP

@Jan 3 2005, 10:30 PM
umm im sorry.. i cannot do that shit on my own.  ya ya ya. i know.. LEARN right??  i need help with that shit.  Even my brother doesnt know that.

[snapback]66234[/snapback]​

I'm just a call away syp. I can come down today if you want, or tomarrow. I have my car now...so I cna be there lickidy split.

[snapback]66256[/snapback]​

[/b]

IF they have had the car alll this time...and still havent said a word about it....then they havent even started the tear down. They work on Ferrari's and porsches.....and yet they cant dig into a GM?????? come on. I had my heads off in less than an hour. Syp, if you can get the car back..I will bring all of my tools and we can bang it out. I'll also bring spare parts. let me know what you want to do and I will be there.

 

[syP]

im gettin the car back today in pieces.... Can i get your number again GTPPWR? I will let you know, most likley tomorrow we can look at it.

 

[rjaz gtp]

Ryan-

You need to get someone with good experience with this. Alex, Hale, Miller, etc. they need to come check out the motor and help you finish tearing it down. One it is inspected and the problem is identified then they can suggest what parts to order and you can go from there. Once all of the parts arrive then you can setup a weekend where a few people can come on out and help. There is no way you can just start ordering items without knowing what the problem is, and I would definitely want someone there that has had previous experience with this. This is already costing you a lot money and you dont want to keep costing you more.

-Rich