Berdy

Civic 2004 Sedan (102 000 km)


I took it for maintenance check and was told I should do the following repair:

- change Timing belt/water pump: 500 $
- Change transmission bearing & broken support: 1100 $ (there is a little noise
when I accelerate, but other than that, I didnt really see anything unusual)
- Change oil pan (leaking apparently, though I've never seen any sign of it): 950 $


Questions:
- Seems to me like the oil pan replacement cost is excessive, no ?
- What could be causing the wear out of transmission bearing ?

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

1. changing JUST the timing belt and water pump for $500 is straight up robbery. that should cost no more than 200.

2.do you have an auto or manual? 1100 is a little high.

3. you can buy an new oil pan+gasket and do it yourself for about 100-200. they shouldnt charge any where near that price they are asking.


so yes, everything above is overpriced...unless you are paying in yen or pesos

lazlong

Model(EX, DX, or GX) and tranny?

I'm betting it's a manual with the bearing noise. All these manuals end up making that noise, I've driven on mine like that for going on 4 years now. I've just lived with it and turned up the radio(crosses fingers). lol

What do you mean by support? Transmission mount? A mount combined with a bearing change would be about $1000 (bearing-$800ish, mount-$200ish). The R&R guy gets $150, the rebuilder gets $500, and the shop gets the rest- after overhead. It costs so much 'cause they basically have to take the whole tranny apart to change the bearing(s).

Timing belt/waterpump is about right too. It's pretty much the going rate around here. 4-5 flag hours labor plus parts.

Now, about the oilpan- HOLY SH*T, WTF?!?! It's either the DX steel pan at $50 or the EX, GX aluminum pan at $200. And there's like 3 flag hours labor- tops.

You need a second opinion. Finding the independent Honda mechanic in your area would be your best bet. You can always have them do the tranny and timing belt/waterpump. Then have the pan done somewhere else or you can do it your self- usually only hand tools are needed.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

if they replace the timing belt, power steering belt, AC compressor bent, water pump, water pump seals, tensioner, tensioner spring, and a few other seals, then the $500 tag isnt too bad.

i got all that replaced on my civic for $400 out the door.



hence, when i said if they are just replacing two items (timing belt + water pump) then its a rip off for $500.

MindBomber

Keep in mind this is a Canadian car, if the owner is in Canada we pay more money for parts than Americans.

$300-350 - for just the timing belt and water pump would be fair.
$500-550 - using oem parts is average for changing the alternator, ps, and timing belts, tensioner, water pump and related seals.

$1100 - that's a fair price for an input shaft bearing, but at 104km you'd need to beat HARD on the car for it to have gone bad already. Tough to advice you on this, my best suggestion is getting a few different opinions.

$950 - Wooooowwwwww!!! You could literally have an entire new engine swapped in for around that price, including a different oil pan. I would be asking the shop to show you exactly where it's leaking from, because if you track your oil consumption you and park on a hard surface you likely would have noticed a leak severe enough to warrant a new oil pan. I'd be willing to bet it's just oil spilled on the side of the pan from when oil changes have been done (always happens on these cars), and because of this quote alone I wouldn't return to this shop.

Berdy

here's the breakdown on the bill for the second item:

-Replacement of overhaul bearing of transmission and clutch (main bearing, secondary shaft and clutch bearing): 859 $
- Transmission support (front motor): 259 $

I asked the mechanic if this was considered a normal service at just 100 000Km.
He said not really although it may happen if the transmission oil has not been changed frequently enough (should be done every 3 years according to him) or if people press on the clutch too much (dont think this is my case) or downshift to 1st gear

I didnt pay for the oil pan replacement. They advised me to take care of it rapidly but I will get a second opinion from my local garage.

lazlong

That's about the right mileage for OEM mounts, especially the front one. I've had this Civic about 120,000 miles now and need to replace all of them for the second time.