Just bought the wife a new car. Dealer mentioned their "customer pay" labor rate in the shop is $210/hr! I asked if I could work a couple hours a week for some spending cash. Wow!!
My neighbour had some work done on his truck.........Suspicious?
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Icetech
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I dont' find it that suspicious... i do repair/service work and a lot of the time you do a job once you start digging in you find other issues you didn't see beforehand. if it's a place he trusts i wouldn't be too worried bout it.
And the tech's are lucky to make $30/hr.
They charge $200/hr and often do the job in half the time and some wonder why there is a shortage of techs
matthon
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I get what you're saying, and I definitely enjoy it for what it is.
I took a 500 mile trip, halfway the battery was overcharging.
Pulled over, ordered a regulator/new battery (battery just to be sure it wasn't cooked), got a ride there and back, fixed within an hour and iirc $120 all in.
Silverado would've been $225 for diagnostic, who knows for repairs.
Maybe a free tow/rental, but that costs $ over time.
Plus time spent was minimal with the 1984 Dodge.
Silverado was comfy, quiet, sunroof, but not enduring or sustainable, if that's the correct wording.
See this on Ford's all the time. 04-08 f150s absolutely the worst as the control module is aluminum and on the spare tire cross member (which is obviously steel) road splash, mud, sali eats the modules to where all that is left is the circuit board. Later ones went to plastic case.
I see this where we have to replace both on the Econoline vans.
I agree about the best workaround or prevention is a carbureted vehicle with a mechanical fuel pump
I see this where we have to replace both on the Econoline vans.
I agree about the best workaround or prevention is a carbureted vehicle with a mechanical fuel pump
Easier to deal with, more manageable and also cheaper problems good better best in one shot.
Exactly why I'm restoring an 83 D-250 from the bare frame up. I'm building my own new truck.
Along with some options that can't be had on a new truck at any cost
Dimmer switch on the floor
Wing windows
3 pedals (ok 4 if counting the E brake)
The options to shift my own gears
A CARBURETOR
NO STINKING COMPUTER/CONTROL MODULES
whatever floats your goat amigo.
i hear ya clucking big chicken.
had an alternator decide to quit manufacturing the pixies about 100mi from base in Dr. The Mrs. corolla. while not the end of the world, what would've been a quick 20mi departure on one of my old heaps, became 2+ hrs and near $400 while i wove a rich tapestry of foul language in the parking lot of a carwash as i swapped it out under the sodium lights across the street from a vato zone in the bad part of town.
Hey I know you have some older ones too...
You are like me and we are showing our age!!!!!
Modern vehicles are fine as long as they need nothing! and are paid for!!!
i do, i do. a whole fleet of 'um!
i think there's a sweet spot for modern injected stuff and it's like late 90's thru early/mid 2000's where the computer controls weren't that sophisticated and the scanners were and are reasonably priced you could still service them fairly easy.
or at least that's what i tell myself...
being broke down at the side of the road is always a kick in the sack, but there is some validity to being able to diagnose it and fix it quickly on the fly.
matthon
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I could diagnose my 89 TTA with a paperclip by turning the key on and counting the # of times the check engine light blinked.
Bodyperson
Well-Known Member
I would not call that a diagnose but put you in the right direction.
And yet that's who all the customers get mat at for the high prices. Also, the tech's labor is always the first to be cut when trying to give a customer a better price. That's why I got fed up with dealerships.
I agree, but OBD2 is even worse. It was supposed to be standardized across the board with all makes, but it ended up being bastardized. I'd take OBD1 any day.
melcardona
Well-Known Member
oh my its not difacult to test for bad pump......i agree with those who said...they did not test the system properly..the crank senser /cam senser..even mass airflow senser can and will turn off the pump...
I owned a BMW. Once.
That's what I am getting at. Replace the pump add the labour, then diagnose a faulty module??
To boot, I picked up my friends truck for him and asked how much the FPCM was and he said that they "refurbished and cleaned" the old one. Sounds like it was a bad connection to me.
Wouldn't a simple jumper test at the FPCM harness rule out "things that could shut the pump off"?
matthon
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I could diagnose.
It would provide the code(s) and the SM had each listed with a step diagram.
Most if not all were one pagers.
I could and did diagnose anything and everything with that paperclip, and the SM.
It was very basic and intuitive and cost me nothing.
My guess is that they plug the code reader in and troubleshooting after that is poor. Perhaps some of the better independents fair better. The dealers are strange as they seem to act like they have never seen the issue before even when the forums say that it is a common issue. I had a dealer tell me I needed a new transmission when another 1/2 litre of oil solved the problem.
matthon
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This guy has a ton of videos on rusted out chebby and gm garbage, and he's great at what he does.
South Main Auto LLC
South Main Auto LLC
LOL......Apparently, when they installed the new pump, it didn't work either so they sent it back as a defective unit and installed another (which also didn't solve the problem). Then.....the FPCM.
This is not a dealer. Just a small independent.
You know, with the labour rates and huge repair invoices, I expect more. Maybe I am wrong?? But when you hang a shingle and charge $125/hour plus, I expect you to know what you are doing.
I get it, **** happens and unforeseen stuff happens (broken bolts, rusted lines etc etc etc) and I have no problem with that effect on estimates......This problem just seemed straight forward. I guess a $1000 repair bill is the norm these days.
I thank my dad every day for the skills he taught me to look after myself.
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