[Accord_2003_ EX]

I guess DIY has kept me from paying the ridiculous labor rates quoted by All data. As I'd rather not have to deal with installing the engine mounts myself I thought I'd get a few estimates. Now don't get me wrong. I realize shops are in business to make money, but come on. .6 hours to remove the passenger side mount? Please. So it looks like I am going to have to get dirty again.

Any advice for a middle aged guy with a bad back? Thanks for reading.

 

[salcuta]

There are tons of shops out there. Call all of them for estimates. Don't limit yourself to just one or two.

 

[t-rd]

Doing just the passenger side or the front and rear also?

The passenger side mount takes a whole 15 minutes to do it yourself with basic tools and a jack + piece of wood

 

[qman]

how does .6 hours cost $500?

 

[Accord_2003_ EX]

T-rd thanks for replying. I read your thread on replacing the mounts and I'm using it to do mine. so thank you I appreciate it. no sense in doing just one or two while I'm at it might as well bang out all three. the thing is I am using hand tools and don't have access to an impact wrench so bolts are that much harder to remove and the hands don't grasp the ratchet as easily as they did.

 

[t-rd]

I don't have an impact gun either. Everything I have are hand tools. I've replaced, front, side, and all 3 transmission mounts using just hand tools. The passenger side takes 15 minutes. The front engine mount takes 1 hour tops. The rear one I have not replaced and this is the most painful one, time unknown. The transmission mounts take about 1.5 hours, I spent most of the time really taking the intake, battery, and battery tray out then putting them back in after I was done.

 

[bobbo]

T-rd thanks for replying. I read your thread on replacing the mounts and I'm using it to do mine. so thank you I appreciate it. no sense in doing just one or two while I'm at it might as well bang out all three. the thing is I am using hand tools and don't have access to an impact wrench so bolts are that much harder to remove and the hands don't grasp the ratchet as easily as they did.

A little shot of PB Blaster or WD40 will go a long way toward helping you loosen said stubborn bolts ...

*Bloody knuckle car parts, from using hand tools, should be a right of passage for any gear head.

 

[t-rd]

20" long breaker bar

 

[bobbo]

20" long breaker bar

Another situation in life where bigger is usually better ... :wink


OP - you mentioned having a bad back ? Do you have a back brace ? Wear it, and also keep in mind to bend more at your knees when you can, and sit down every so often to take the pressure off your joints ... huddling over an engine bay for an hour or two feels like an Iron Man competition at times.

 

[BLCKFLSH]

Considering the rear mount is the most difficult, I wouldn't replace it, if it isn't broken. It could last the life of your ownership. You are going to need a lot of extensions to reach the front mount bolts without banging the ratchet around between stuff down there. If the rest of the mounts are good, it can be tough to get the front mount in because while trying to jack up the engine, the car goes up with it. What I did was use some wire wrapped around the engine bracket, then positioned it so I could pull up on the engine, while at the same time pushing down on the car (near the radiator). You might want to jack the entire car up a bit, just so you don't have to bend over so far. I put the car up on ramps, then just used a bigger block of wood to lift the engine with the jack. Good luck

I would like to add a comment about the rant. I know $500 is a lot for labor, but if you don't want to play, you have to PAY! Simple as that. Impact guns make the job a lot easier, might want to rent an electric one. Have fun!

 

[t-rd]

- 20" breaker bar
- 3/4" ratchet
- two, 12" 3/4" socket extension
- 3/4" swivel joint
- 14mm deep and short sockets
- mid-range torque wrench

 

[Accord_2003_ EX]

Another situation in life where bigger is usually better ... :wink


OP - you mentioned having a bad back ? Do you have a back brace ? Wear it, and also keep in mind to bend more at your knees when you can, and sit down every so often to take the pressure off your joints ... huddling over an engine bay for an hour or two feels like an Iron Man competition at times.

Unfortunately it's nerve related. Brace doesn't help. Had a motorcycle accident a while back. Thanks though.

 

[qman]

OK so I still don't get it. If it only takes 15 minutes, how is it some shop says it takes 36 minutes and charges $500. Even if it does take an hour it shouldn't cost $500.

Where do you live pal. If you live in Colorado Springs use this guy:

https://plus.google.com/104431685561352882177/about?hl=en

He does good work and charges a great (for the customer) price.

 

[jimijam]

OK so I still don't get it. If it only takes 15 minutes, how is it some shop says it takes 36 minutes and charges $500.

You have a LOT to learn, grasshopper. I'm pretty sure you won't get this, but you might go back and compare the information stated in the thread title and compare that with what is stated in the opening post of the thread.

 

[qman]

Ya, I get that but the OP says that the time is .6 hrs. If a shop is charging $500 for .6 hrs of labor then that means they're hourly rate is near $1000. Not even the stealership is that bad.

 

[DreaminAccord]

Billable time vs time actually worked are very different things. You local attorney's office creates revenue the same way.

Exactly. They bill according to the manual that says what the "average" time is that it should take an "average" trained mechanic. If mechanics only charged by the time that it really took them, they would LOSE money. Following the laws of "practice makes perfect" - if a newbie mechanic and a mechanic with 20 years experience were to perform the exact same job, on the exact same conditioned car (including rusted bolts, etc.) - who do you think is going to finish in 1/2 the time? The experienced mechanic...right? Of course. He has performed that job numerous times over the years and has picked up tips and tricks along the way. So why should he, who will get you out of the garage twice as fast as the newbie who doesn't know Jack Schit yet, only be paid 1/2 of what the newbie would be paid? It wouldn't be fair.

Make sense now? Kthxbye.

 

[qman]

Make sense now? Kthxbye.

No, you musta missed my last post.

 

[2012Taffeta]

Exactly. They bill according to the manual that says what the "average" time it should take an "average" trained mechanic. If mechanics only charged by the time that it really took them, they would LOSE money. Following the laws of "practice makes perfect" - if a newbie mechanic and a mechanic with 20 years experience were to perform the exact same job, on the exact same conditioned car (including rusted bolts, etc.) - who do you think is going to finish in 1/2 the time? The experienced mechanic...right? Of course. He has performed that job numerous times over the years and has picked up tips and tricks along the way. So why should he, who will get you out of the garage twice as fast as the newbie who doesn't know Jack Schit yet, only be paid 1/2 of what the newbie would be paid? It wouldn't be fair.

Make sense now? Kthxbye.

That works in theory. However if it's really $500 for .6 hours average that's still insane. Most shops around me are $80+ for an hour of labor be it diagnostic or repair. So that wouldn't be anywhere near $500 which my guess is there is more to the Story. Maybe that's for all the motor mounts? Just a guess. And unless you take your car to a shop where the owner works on your car chances are the mechanic is getting flat rated and isn't making a whole lot. The rest goes into overhead/owners pocket.

My advice is to find a good, small independent shop. My guy charges $85 an hour and bills me for the time it takes not what Mitchell or alldata says. Never has my bill been more than the "average" time and is almost always less than it.

 

[DreaminAccord]

No, you musta missed my last post.

I think you all misread the OP. You keep concluding that his quote implied $500 for 0.6 hours. If you read the thread title, it's $500 for mounts - plural. In his OP, he's saying he can't believe that the itemized list is saying 0.6 hours for only the passenger side mount. The way that I read that was that he knows it is not going to take them that long to do the passenger side mount. He never once stated the entire job was quoted at 0.6 hours for all of the mounts. He also stated that he plans on doing ALL three of the mounts.

no sense in doing just one or two while I'm at it might as well bang out all three.

That tells me that when he called for a quote, what was asked was NOT: "Uhm...hello. I'd like to get only my passenger side mount replaced. How much?" "That'll be 0.6 hours labor, Sir, so $500."

I believe it went more like "Hello. I'd like to receive a quote on how much replacing all of my motor mounts would cost me?" "Okay, well let's see here... 0.6 hours labor for the passenger mount. X hours labor for the front mount. X hours labor for the rear mount. In total, Sir, you're looking at around $500."


I'd also like to point out that twice you asked the question, and never once did he answer you, qman. He either skipped over your post and never saw it, or completely ignored it and continued talking to t-rd regarding how he could DIY. Again, telling me that he was only appalled over the labor quote for the one mount and not that it was implying 0.6 hours = $500. We all know that dealerships and mechanics charge anywhere from $70-100/hr.


Rant threads are the best! Weeeeeeee!

 

[jimijam]

Ya, I get that but the OP says that the time is .6 hrs.

Go back and read my edited post and feel free to ask Ben (dreaminaccord) questions if you still don't get it; Ben gets it. :wink