knice

I plan on doing all 5 of the engine/tranny mounts with oem replacements. Is it worth saving the $200 or should I just pay a local mechanic?

I've read comments in diy forums such as, "I'll set fire to this car before replacing mounts again" thus the question.

thoiboi

Let's rephrase it then...


"
I'd prefer to have roofing nails hammered into my scrotum rather than have to do the motor mounts myself"



Does that clarify things?

DJMikeT

That's not a bad price considering you don't have to do anything.


The only one that's a PITA is the rear one, all the others are a cake walk really.


But seriously if that's for just the labor, it's not a bad deal.


Personally I'd do mine myself but I have a lift and a lot of tools so it's not hard for me.


If you don't feel like effing with it then a $200 setback is an easy pill to swallow in my opinion!

TacoBello

There are some car jobs that I can definitely do, like a timing belt replacement or valve adjustment, but have no desire to do. In the past I had a buddy do it for me, as he was a certified Honda tech and he was super fast and always noticed other stuff that I would have maybe missed. Being a friend, he'd always cut me a good deal, so it was worth spending the few hundred bucks and not have to worry about anything. Can I do it? Yes. Have I done it? Yes. Do I want to do it again? Not particularly, especially if I have other means.

To me, this sounds the same. I mean, you can do it. It will likely be a challenge. And it will likely take you a long time. Or you can pay 200 bucks and never have to think twice about it (assuming the shop is reputable and you can trust them).

MarcDavidoff

I'd pretty much agree. The front and side mounts are pretty easy. The trans mounts are as well. It's just the rear that is a PIA due to its location. The $200 labor just to have them take care of them all would be worth it. Last I had asked a place it was more $$ just to do the rear by itself.

MBP 03

That's almost too good to be true. Does the mechanic know what car he's going to be changing all the mounts on?

thelastaspec

I like doing my own work, so I replaced all of mine on my own. Comes down to how much you value your time.

musiclevelz5

I too work on all my own cars and have many customers and would not do this job for $200. That a technician would do all the mounts for $200 shows he is pretty hurt for work imo.

B.TL

Maybe the tech is gonna pay a guy in beer to do it for him?

DJMikeT

Agree with you 100%

TLer trash

I don't think the $200 is indicative of the mechanic being desperate. My labor guide shows about 5 hours to replace all the mounts and a lot of mechanics are in the $25/hour range, before taxes are taken out.

SuperGreg

I did all five myself, but not at one time. I did the front one day, when I was doing my timing belt I did the side (because it's already disconnected) and the rear because I took the strut tower brace off to make getting to the spark plugs easier, and that freed up room to do the rear mount while I was at it.

The rear is a real PITA... But I would do it myself again. $200 doesn't sound too bad, the problem is when you keep paying someone else to do the work, it starts to add up. And I hate paying someone to do something I can do myself.

If you haven't done a whole lot of auto work before, you will want to buy a ticket to Japan with the money you saved doing the mount yourself and visit Honda and kick some asses.

ScoobyTL

$25 per hour? I always thought local mechanics were $60 to $80 an hour and dealer mechanics were $120 to $160 an hour?

TLer trash

What the shop charges is typically vastly different than what the mechanic gets paid. The standard used to be that mechanics got 50% of the labor, but that was decades ago. I based my $25/hour on nationwide averages as well as the mechanics I know and employ.

ventureon

the logistics of replacing a motor mount is very straight forward....but the act of performing it...requires A LOT of experience and mechanical skills.

i'd recommend taking it to a shop unless you have the tools and knowledge.

I did everything on my TL including electronic air suspension install, but did not touch the mounts....

and for $200...thats a steal. It's 800 for my lexus

murky

$200 is a great deal.

I've done all of mine except the transmission mounts, which I have replacements for, but my impact socket wouldn't fit through the access hole at the time.

Doing it myself was very gratifying, and I compare my cost to what the Honda dealer would charge to make me feel better.

I did mine all one at a time, which was dumb. Do them all at once. In order to do the rear, I had the side and front detached anyway.

I also had to pull the side when I went to replace my serpentine belts.

Skirmich

LOL Say yes before your mechanic realizes the big mistake he committed with that hilarious quote for the rear mount.

musiclevelz5

No shop regardless if its an independant or dealer is going to charge $25 an hour. They will go out of business in less than a year.

$25 an hour will get you a shade tree backyard job who has no overhead and no insurance.

Skirmich

25 an Hour Labor? Jeez does those dudes even finished high school?

Yikes

The front and side motor mounts aren't too hard to tackle provided you have patience and the right tools.

The rear motor mount is a spawn from satan and you'll sleep at night knowing you've paid someone else to deal with that nightmare of a job.

$25/hour labor sounds suspiciously low for that shop to be a reputable place. Most decent mechanics will charge near $75-$80 an hour. Some more, some less. But that's a good ballpark figure.