carmis

Hello dear fellow TL people! Long time no see! Haven't been here since May. I know, I know, I only show up when there's trouble. Well, my 02 with 110, 000 is due for a motor mount replacement. My mechanic told me when I bought it with 104,000 that even the thieves at the Goodyear store told me I needed them (alo ng with 300 other things) when I took it there for a quickie oil change when I first bought her.yeah, I know, but I was in a rush and even my own mechanic was busy, so we all know why they have cheap oil changes, just to get under your car to tell you what's wrong with it. Anyway, my mechanic assured me that they were still good, with just some minor stress wear and small fracturing. Now a year later he says they are bad. I think they got worse from a suspension that could also use some work. None the less, I'm not mechanically inclined, and what little work I've done to her myself was only because you helpful people have me the confidence and reassurance through your vast knowledge and expertise. No, in not going to change them myself. That's way above my pay grade, but I may wanted to hear your ideas of estimates on what this will run me. I've seen kits online that range from $100 and up. I Know it's mostly about labor, but any advice you can give in grateful. Even part recommendations will help as my mechanic knows money is tight and may not be offended when I offer to use my own parts. Any info is much appreciated! !!

3.2TLc

Welcome back Carmis !!!
It would be good to know the other 299 things which the "Goodyear" shop told ya was in need of repairing, but anyways......it's comforting to know that ya have a local honest and understanding mechanic to assist ya. Well, an '02 @ 110k is undoubtebly up for some work considering that the car's over 10 years old. Has the T-belt servicing been done yet ? Just something to think about if ya wanna hang on to the car for awhile.

But, getting back to your original concern about the mounts.....the front and passenger side top mounts commonly go bad, so you're ready for them. Maybe have the mechanic check the rear mount along with the tranny mounts while doing this repair job. The front and side mounts should'nt cost much more than $100 for aftermarket parts. Labor should be about 2-4 hours at the mechanics rate, maybe less than $200, IDK. Ask him what he advises to do while the car is in the shop, he's the guy that's going to bill ya at the end of the day.

01tl4tl

3.2 where are you finding a front mount that cheap? I havnt looked aftermarket $$, but the stock mount is fluid filled and vac boosted~! $150+

is the aftermarket solid rubber? I have no issue with that- just wondering.
the side mount used to be $50 and went up in the years for the oe part

note for OP= if the timing belt- water pump were not done, and its looking that way based on lack of other repairs, either make friends with a ziner or 3 to help diy, or expect repair bills of 1000$ just for the tbelt wp! throw in a valve adjustment yikes

whats the big things on the list of needs?

Does this car have a valid good title- not salvage or rebuilt? or transferred from state with bad title thru a washing process and to another state where it gets a clean title again!

ErickUa5

Auto Zone sells the front engine mount for $73.99
I installed one on my brothers CL and so far good. Also has the vacuum connection.

carmis

Wow parts! Thank you guys. I know the car was do for the timing belt at 104k. That's a capital project, that I was planning on, however with the mounts, now that's got to be postponed a bit. Most of the other 299 things are minor.As I mentioned, these cheapo oil changes are offered so the garage/store can generate more business by scaring you into thinking that you need more work to be done. I trust my mechanic. I have not asked him yet about supplying my own parts. I read somewhere years ago that a garage ' s standard mark-up on parts is 50%. I'll have to feel him out about supplying my own parts. He may give me the old " well, I can't be responsible for work done with parts in didn't order myself" but at least he will know that if he plans on quoting me a price on parts that if I hear his cost twice as much as mine, I may not have him do it, but I'll ask. Oh, I believe there are 4 mounts, shouldn't I have all four replaced at once? The bulk of this job is labor, so I figure while he's hoisted the engine, wouldn't it make sense to replace all four? Again, your advice is a greatly appreciated and comforting! PS should mounts be all rubber? I just assumed something holding the engine in place would be steel! Bless you all for your help here!!!

3.2TLc

The bolt in mounts are actually formed from steel..... with internal rubber, along with vacuum assisted hydraulic fluid to help absorb and cushion the motor movement to the car's frame.

01tl4tl

gen2 front and rear mounts stiffen on acceleration to reduce engine movement

gen3 went opposite and mount softens at idle~

its not a major lifting of engine to replace front and side mounts, tell your guy about our diy section- free to all to use!
Replace the obvious broken ones and inspect the others

talk to tech and say- I found the mounts at blahblagh for xyc$ How do you feel about using their parts? I understand you cant guarantee the part if I provide it
(standard auto biz practice= after you take all my profit away with the parts!)

Note tech can buy from same place at better price than you can- and may stay with the price quoted to you, make it up with extra labor~~

TLer trash

^^^Thanks for mentioning that profit on parts is part of a repair shop's business model. The typical invoice is about 50% parts, 50% labor. It is standard for a shop to get parts at a 20%-25% discount from dealers, and around 50% off from places like carquest and napa.
This means that on average, installing owner's parts is like giving them a 25% discount. Add to that the fact that some state laws make the installer ultimately responsible for any warranty problems, and you can see why many shops (including mine) are reluctant to do it. Even when the customer assumes responsibility, paying labor twice when their junkyard transmission actually is junk almost never makes for a happy customer. I got no enjoyment out of it either.
Despite being advised against this at various shop management seminars, we still do it occasionally. Attitude and intent make all the difference. I'd be more inclined to install aftermarket performance parts a on special interest car, than say a kid with no money, and a re-man water pump from the zone. The rules can also be bent, say, in february, if everyone is sitting around playing chess with socket sets.
Lastly, the price difference a shop pays versus a consumer is vastly different than the good old days when you had to be in the business or know somebody to get 10-20% off at an auto supply. (which wasn't part of a chain, and had that distinct odor of a hot tank, go-jo, and carb cleaner).
Nowadays, car-quest, napa, and the others offer "walk-in" pricing to anyone who can, well, walk in. This is usually within 10-15% of what I pay. Rock auto's prices are consistently less than any professional discount I can get, and are available to everyone. The same is true of e-bay.
Sorry for the long winded post, but I thought this was info that could benefit some people, yourself excluded for the most part, aside from changes in price structures since you left the trade.

3.2TLc

^^^ Very well stated, especially when coming from a professional perspective.
Ya gotta cover all the bases and allow some room for possible issues should they occur afterwards.

carmis

Thanks to all of you who responded. Tyler trash, you make some good points. I think I'll just mention that I can probably get parts cheaper myself, but that if his parts aren't much more, I trust him and I'd rather have him by them as I trust him. I mean if he gets offended by me supplying my own parts, all he has to do is talk on another 1/2 hour in labor here and there and he can make up what he would have made on parts. Better to keep it straight with him. As I said, he's honest, so why jeopardize my relationship with him over $50 here or there.

3.2TLc

There ya go, an honest mechanic is really hard to come by. They are truly an exception !