MamaBear2015

We're in the Denver area. Is an oil pan gasket THAT hard to replace, that it would cost this much?

ezone

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Clean battery terminals, FREE DIY if you have a wire brush (you can buy a battery terminal brush for like $2-5).
Google it, and I'm sure everyone has some baking soda laying around the kitchen. Even I have a box somewhere around here LOL
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Ball joint boot can be replaced by itself IF the joint is still good. HOWEVER, there are caveats that would cause one to instead replace the ball joint:
If there is any play in the joint, it needs the whole joint.
If the tech even suspects the joint may go bad soon due to dirt and water entry and loss of grease, he had better cover his *** and recommend replacing the ball joint.
IF the car has high mileage, it's gonna get a ball joint just because of age and mileage.

On top of that, it may end up needing knuckle(s) if a new joint does not fit tight enough. Honda released a service bulletin addressing this issue.

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Oil pan reseal, price might be reasonable. IMO

BUT just how bad is the leak?
Does it leak faster than you can pour oil into it? $220.45 can buy a lot of oil.

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Cam plug, price is not reasonable unless the engine is equipped with an EGR valve.
If there is no EGR valve in the way, it's a $10 and 10 minute replacement DIY.
If there's an EGR valve, it becomes a huge PITA.

bsmiley

Great point! Is leaking enough to be replaced?

My oil pan gasket seeps. Between oil changes (i do my own) it leaves a nice protective sheen of liquid gold on the pan. The nuts and bolts are tight and I just wipe it off with a rag.

My engine doesn't burn oil and no drips in my driveway. The dipstick still shows full after 6 months/5k miles.

So if the time comes when I am doing something major & need to drop the pan, it will get the gasket replaced. Until then, I'm leaving it alone.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

dx/lx oil pan is a physical gasket. Jack up the car, drain oil, remove bolts on oil pan, drop oil pan, clean surfaces, replace gasket, reinstall stuff, torque to spec. I'm a stickler for proper torque.

ex oil pan is an RTV gasket. Same process, just "draw" the gasket on with the tube of RTV, reinstall pan, torque to spec.

$221 for an oil pan gasket? It's a few steps past an oil change, with an extra part (or materials) involved.

ezone

Labor rate multiplier is almost 2, plus the exhaust is in the way, plus materials and an oil change for good measure. I can see the price as reasonable, and in my dealers shop it would be higher than her estimate.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

I can see your point. Can't you technically squeeze it out of the way and keep the exhaust system in tact?

ezone

No, the pan has to more or less come straight down further than the exhaust will allow.

The pan and pipe can't be bent or folded very easily LOL

MamaBear2015

Interesting, thanks guys. I guess that I forgot to mention that this is a Vtec engine and the EX model, but don't know if it makes any difference.

ezone

EX would have an EGR valve which would make replacing the cam plug a PITA, but IMO that doesn't make it worth $200+ by any means.

The rest of the work would be about the same.

MamaBear2015

Thanks Ezone. Well I'll happily do the battery terminal myself now, and save a few bucks. Understand the baking soda thing - had high school chemistry in 1966. ;-)


Will check the oil level. We've had the car for about 700 miles now. They try to panic us sometimes, especially with us women, so "if it works, don't fix it".

I'm also wondering about that "loose tie rod". Cant it just be tightened? They didn't say "bent".

ezone

No, it can't be 'tightened' if the problem is wear.
You'd need to jack up the front end and give it a shakedown to see where the looseness is, and more inspection to see which exact part has the excessive free play.

The normal failure is wear (and thus free play or looseness) of the ball-and-socket in the joint, in the steering system on that car I'd expect it would usually be the outer tie rod end, although any of the parts can develop wear issues.

ball-and-socket applies to tie rod ends and ball joints, and on these cars the swaybar links use the same type of joints. They have to be able to move in all directions to accommodate suspension and steering movements.
So do hips and shoulders LOL

Similar:

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Lol, I knew that much. I just forgot how long the 4 studs that hold the pan down are

mac25

You could do the oil pan your self pretty easy, especially so if you already have the tools for an oil change.

basically

jack up car
drain oil
disconnect exhaust
unbolt pan
replace gasket
re-install pan
re-install exhaust
remove oil filter
replace oil filter
add oil
drop car
test filter

there's also some stuff not listed above like removing the skid plates and some mounts that attach to the oil pan, which are pretty easy.

MamaBear2015

I'm 66 and haven't done more than just simple top stuff, like change the plugs, air filter...

OptimisticWay

After reading the battery terminals and then this, yeah they are charging you way too much. If you don't have any mechanical ability, now is the time to pick up some or buy another car.

OptimisticWay

Make sure you have a crush washer on your oil pan drain plug. My 2005 EX SE did not and it was dropping fluid all over town. 40 cents for a crush washer.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

Oh, boy, makes me remember the other famous one - two oil filter seals...

OptimisticWay

Just for clarification, I bought it that way. It was one of many things that needed attention on the vehicle.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

Hahaha, yes, we got that from the first one, your post just reminded me of the common greenhorn mistakes

MamaBear2015

There must be a happy medium here. Like find a good mechanic that won't charge double?

OptimisticWay

Good luck with that. Best case scenario, 25% Off Stealership prices with no tax for a good home mechanic.

MamaBear2015

Well what are the choices? I don't have a rack here, just a driveway. I'm not a mechanic - have no training and few tools. And I'm female, so not super strong or anything.

Jeez, if I wasn't 66 and had it to do over, I'd love to learn the mechanic's trade. And it would come in as a handy skill if the global economy hits the fan, the money is no good and all we have is trade.

ezone

Quit using that as a handicap.

/peeve


Plenty of men can't either.

MamaBear2015

You're right, thank you!

AND I'm a former Electronics Research & Development Technician with an ASEET ( Associate in Science in Electronics Engineering Technology ), so I have natural technical skills.

And I don't like to use age as an excuse either. I'm 66 and am still doing martial arts, in fact I beat 5 other women ( over 40 division - green through brown belts ) in the spring tournament, in sparring.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Sounds like you gotta get up in there and perform DIY repairs. lol

bsmiley

Everyone has to start somewhere. First you just have to believe that you can do it. If you know you can't, you won't.
Nobody is super strong, and if they are, they don't fit in the tight places the engineers created. You just need the right tools and some creative thought.

Let me know when that happens. The economy is great, isn't it?

ezone

God invented the lever and decided a man could move the Earth with it.
Later on, Archimedes stole the idea.

mac25

imo, and I know it's a dick move to say but

If you are not willing to take the hours and hours of time to study how to fix your own vehicle, or invest in the right tools, or bust up your hands working in tight spaces, or take the time out of your day to actually complete the task...

then you have no right to think the price of an automotive service is too high because you have no idea what is involved.

cars are a fuc-in bitch to work on, if it was easy and didn't take multiple years of studying then everyone would work on their own car; and if it's not your baby then hell ya a mechanic should charge high.


just remember if you do find cheap service it is cheap for a reason.