Rep Power: 0

I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but I didn't have time to do the 110k service on my 05 Civic DX myself. The local dealership offers free loaners, so I talked to them and agreed to have them do the timing belt job for $1085 (steep on labor, but it's a dealership).

The $1085 just covers timing belt and water pump.. I was wanting them to go ahead and replace the tensioner while they were at it, but then they wanted $170 for the part. I know I should get it done, but that's over three times what it should cost, so I'm stuck on whether or not I should go ahead and have them do it.

The real kicker is that they said there's a leak at the oil pump gasket, and normally that's over $1000 labor to replace, but since the timing belt and everything is already off it will only be $660. Now is it just me, or is that wayyy more labor than it should really cost. I don't know what their rates are, and I know if it's the rear o-ring it's a little more involved (they didn't say which one), but I had no oil pressure issues or anything to indicate the rear seal was leaking. Even so, over $600 to pull the pump, oil pan, and pickup off when the timing assembly is already removed just doesn't seem right. Does anyone know what the book time would be on either of those seals with the timing assembly already removed. They've really got me in a spot here since obviously it should be done while everything is already apart.

 
Rep Power: 118

 
Rep Power: 221

find a different shop that will do it for cheaper using honda parts?
take a weekend to do it yourself?
accept it?

 
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So just tell them to do the timing belt and water pump only, put it back together, and worry about the oil pump (and tensoner) later? The only reason I didn't take it elsewhere in the first place is so I wouldn't have to pay for a rental until I got it back.

I really should have just done it myself and saved a grand (and did it right in the first place). Problem is I only have a few hours every other weekend to work on something like that, my garage is piled up with crap, and one rainy weekend with it in the driveway would push it back another two weeks.. I've had enough experiences working on older cars where a three hour job turned into a two to three day job with a couple trips to the auto parts store, or god forbid, a three week job while waiting on parts that had to be ordered. My wife wasn't too keen on the unknown amount of time and potential need for a rental car so I could get to work till I was able to finish working on it. :/

 
Rep Power: 0

Heh.. well I guess it's moot. They just texted me saying it's done. They just did the belt and water pump... wonder how long I'm going to be able to hold off on the oil pump..

 
Rep Power: 118

 
Rep Power: 517

No, it's not triple. It's a pretty typical markup, but not triple.


As far as your other prices, it all depends on labor rates in your area. Major metro areas typically get much higher rates than small po-dunk town dealers.
At 110k I bet the oil pump leak is just a minor seep or even a moist stain that's collected dirt.....
Surely you would have been seeing puddles on the ground of it were as bad as they make it sound.

I want to say maybe by 180k (150-200k) it could be bad enough to drip to the ground enough to cause worry, but the life of the O ring generally depends on thermal cycling and max heating to wear out the rubber..

Clean it off and see how long it takes to make another mess

 
Rep Power: 118

 
Rep Power: 517

No challenge
No fight
No strategy
No creativity
No character building.......I feel sorry for you

 
Rep Power: 221

quit your bragging

 
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Ahh.. I see I wasn't looking at the price of the entire assembly. That's closer to $110, so the dealer mark up doesn't seem as bad now.

Good to know the oil leak there is probably minor. I also had a leak from the plug at the rear cam seal.. so there has been an oil spot in my driveway for a year now. Although combined both leaks weren't enough to notice any loss of oil on the dip stick. When I change the oil I'll measure how much comes out to see how much it really is.. and I'll clean everything up and try to see what I'm dealing with now that the cam plug has been replaced.


I'm probably going to be doing the timing belt service again myself around 180-190k miles and I'll make sure to do EVERYTHING then.. including valve adjustment, spark plug seals, and anything else I find on the forum that's recommended and/or common to fail at high mileage (within reason). The whole reason I'm hanging on to this car is its low cost of ownership. I'm just kicking myself for letting my wife talk me into having the dealer do the timing belt. The only reason I really agreed to that was because a couple years ago I was putting off replacing the timing belt on our Subaru Forester, till one day it snapped. I knew I NEEDED to do it, but again, I had no spare time, and it hadn't quite reached the service interval (I had done it at 118k, and it broke four years later at 219k ).



A little off topic, and I should probably just search.. but is it possible my choice of oil has anything to do with all the leaks? The Forester started leaking from the oil cooler gasket and valve cover seals, and I've been using Castrol Edge 5w-30 in both of them. IIRC that's a little heavier than the factory recommends in the Civic, but it gets "heavy duty" use here in central Texas with Summer temperatures well over 100°F. At one point a mechanic had told me that particular oil is "too slick" for these engines, so it starts to seep everywhere. I just blew him off at the time.. but so many leaks.. and oil pressure is probably a little higher than normal with the heavier weight.

 
Rep Power: 221

I run 0w20 in mine, Honda back spec'd it all the way to 2001 for civics

 
Rep Power: 118

 
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Yeah.. the idea of a "high mileage" oil never appealed to me in the first place. It's not like it's that hard to change. I've never even looked into it.. more detergents or what?

I know my wife only took the car to quick lube places for oil changes until I met her. Who knows what junk they used (if they even put new oil in it at all). The inside of the engine is all stained from the oil that was used before I got my hands on it.

 
Rep Power: 517

Probably seal swelling agents