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How bad did I pay?

BCParker

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Illinois
So...

Radiator was leaking bad, many other things I wanted to know if they were bad or not, so I took it to a dealer.

Paid $515 with labor for a new Raidator.- figured it would be around 150-200 to do it myself, but lack of tools and experience, combined with a cold apartment complex parking lot as a service area led me to the dealer.


Mentioned that I was getting a lot of road noise: humming from the front, clunk in the rear-

they advised an overhaul of both diffs, original RTV on the covers.- apparently jiffy lube only likes to suck the old oil out the fill hole, instead of unbolting the covers and cleaning out the metal shavings.- new bearings clean everything up.- $990 rear- damn LSD, $655 front.,

After I gave the go ahead, the service guy I talked to called me up, and told me they could replace a bad u-joint, along with a busted tail light for cost of parts only- I agreed. $55+$75

I'm going on a 700 mile trip this thanksgiving- I'm pretty confident I could have done the Radiator myself, but didn't want to risk the Jeep being out of service for a week while I figured out parts and snapped rusty bolts.

I figure my lift and tires is gonna have to wait now...


what are your thoughts on this?


B
 
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You could have saved a ton ton of money doing it yourself, but you know that. If you dont mind paying the dealership and being confident they did things right, then I guess you cant go wrong. If I had the money I would have my Jeep serviced at the dealership, but I dont, so my garage has to suffice.

Personally I roll the dice and hope I'm good enough to fix whats wrong. And my radiator isnt looking to healthy either.
 
zfinger said:
You could have saved a ton ton of money doing it yourself, but you know that. If you dont mind paying the dealership and being confident they did things right, then I guess you cant go wrong. If I had the money I would have my Jeep serviced at the dealership, but I dont, so my garage has to suffice.

Personally I roll the dice and hope I'm good enough to fix whats wrong. And my radiator isnt looking to healthy either.


That's the thing. I was pretty confident I could do the radiator myself, but I was worried about it leaking if I didn't get something right, so I went to the dealership, (no good radiator shops close by and I didn't want to risk driving it more than a mile with no coolant flow)
It bothers me that it cost that much, and it really does hurt finacially, but, If I were loaded, I would have all my work done by competent professionals too.



I
 
IMO if the diffs aren't leaking (pinion or axle seals) and you can still hear the radio, put off the rebuild. I've had rear ends clunk new and keep on clunking for the next 160,000 miles or so. I've had growls run for another 3-4 years.
It often turns out to be the general rule, that labor is pretty much equal to cost of the parts (and dealer parts are usually twice as much anyway). But heck one job down and probably many more to do. Too late to worry about it now.
I used to worry about rear end noise also, but got one YJ with a really loud rear end (I mean loud). An afternoon, a new set of carrier bearings and it was as good as new. Maybe I just got lucky, but it made me think, maybe I 'd been worrying unnecessarily for years.
Had an XJ that was getting loud, new set of spider gears and axle bearings, it was good for another few years.
Now when they start to get noisy, I check the pinion for play, check for leaks and then ignore it till the next fluid change, then I do a serious look see.
 
Hmm, having worked at a Heep dealership and now at a parts supplier I kind of advise against dealerships. Hope I'm not angering any dealer people by saying this. In the Jeep world anyway, I really disbelieve there is any difference to taking your car to the dealership vs. other competeny mechanic. In some cities, I think the dealerships are less competent.

Reason is that I think it is a big myth that dealerships have a higher standard of service. The one I worked at (5 star too) hired people from countries I've never heard of (not to dog on them either) but from my experience they hadn't seen a Jeep before and weren't any more competent than your local service station mechanic. Probably different with more premium brands.

Best advice if you aren't a garage pro to find a good local shop and become a good customer of them. It will be a good experience. Especially if you live in a community where you run into the same people, you know what to expect. I have a list of local mechanics I know offer good service and prices that I recommend.

Price wise, don't think you paid more than another shop would charge (radiator). I think you could get the axles for less tho.
 
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The service at the dealership that was here when I moved into town was completely incompetent. They installed a radiator into my Ram Charger that didn't even fit, and when bolts didn't line-up, they just left them out. The next two versions of management at the same dealership were even worse: total schysters. On the other hand, the management that moved in three years ago is like amazing. Not cheap mind you, but scary honest. I've never seen the like and I keep pinching myself every time they treat us right, but so far they've been great. That said: They only work on the wife's van. I'm not going to give them that kind of money to work on my 12yo Jeep. Even so, you gotta do what you gotta do. If the Jeep were our only transport and I needed the job done now, I wouldn't hesitate to take it to the dealer here - that is, until this management leaves and another schyster moves in.

You spent the money. You got the job done. If it was competent work I'd say be happy and enjoy your Jeep.
 
BCParker said:
what are your thoughts on this?
How should I put it..... I would do it for about 50%, got you a rental car out of my pocket, bought you beer and I would still make a lot of $ :D
Mentioned that I was getting a lot of road noise: humming from the front, clunk in the rear-

they advised an overhaul of both diffs, original RTV on the covers.- apparently jiffy lube only likes to suck the old oil out the fill hole, instead of unbolting the covers and cleaning out the metal shavings.- new bearings clean everything up.- $990 rear- damn LSD, $655 front.,

After I gave the go ahead, the service guy I talked to called me up, and told me they could replace a bad u-joint, along with a busted tail light for cost of parts only- I agreed. $55+$75
I wonder how much work the did on the diffs. Unless they replaced the clutches inside the LSD, then they have pretty much ripped you off. Also for that money they better have replaced ALL the bearings and all the seals. It costs about $200 or so here to setup a differential. A rebuild kit costs about $120..... you could have had new gears and a locker put in the rear for that money :eek:
 
Kejtar said:
How should I put it..... I would do it for about 50%, got you a rental car out of my pocket, bought you beer and I would still make a lot of $ :D

I wonder how much work the did on the diffs. Unless they replaced the clutches inside the LSD, then they have pretty much ripped you off. Also for that money they better have replaced ALL the bearings and all the seals. It costs about $200 or so here to setup a differential. A rebuild kit costs about $120..... you could have had new gears and a locker put in the rear for that money :eek:
X2
 
Kejtar said:
It costs about $200 or so here to setup a differential. A rebuild kit costs about $120..... you could have had new gears and a locker put in the rear for that money
They want about $350 to set up a diff here.

I was forced to use the service department when the front hub bearings went out. I was in Maine and my XJ and wife were in TN. Not exactly a quick jaunt to repair myself and she needed it since I had her truck. I know I got hosed by the repair shop and I had to go and fix a few problems that they should have addressed with the hub replacement. (you mean to tell me the repair shop couldn't notice the u-joint was bad when they did the hub?) anyway..

IMO I think you paid to much for the diffs, but the radiator is about par for what repair shops would normally charge.
 
BCParker said:
the service guy I talked to called me up, and told me they could replace a bad u-joint, along with a busted tail light for cost of parts only- I agreed. $55+$75


what are your thoughts on this?


B

my thoughts are that I paid $15.00 ea for my u-joints about 2 weeks ago.

They had better of given you the "until the end of the world" warranty.
 
I'm feeling like I got the shaft more and more here...

I really do need to find a good independent shop around here- that, or learn to do it myself-

Wish I'd just had the radiator done, and put off the diffs til I shopped around- oh well, live and learn.


I know that's a crazy price to pay for a u-joint- I will be doing the driveshafts myself when the time comes.

here's what's listed on the invoice for what they did to the rear- everyone but the cashier had left for the holiday when I picked it up, so couldn't ask more questions about what all they actually did. how many bearings are in a diff?

description: Price:
Bearing A 46.00
Cup Drive 27.80
Bearing D 54.30
Bearing D (qty 2) 42.90
Cup Drive 18.20
Bearing D 34.60
Seal Driv 14.10
Lube 8.50
Cup Diffe 22.80

total parts: $312.10

no full description, but can anyone tell me exactly what all they replaced?

thanks

B
 
bajacalal said:
Hmm, having worked at a Heep dealership and now at a parts supplier I kind of advise against dealerships. Hope I'm not angering any dealer people by saying this. In the Jeep world anyway, I really disbelieve there is any difference to taking your car to the dealership vs. other competeny mechanic. In some cities, I think the dealerships are less competent.

Reason is that I think it is a big myth that dealerships have a higher standard of service. The one I worked at (5 star too) hired people from countries I've never heard of (not to dog on them either) but from my experience they hadn't seen a Jeep before and weren't any more competent than your local service station mechanic. Probably different with more premium brands.

Best advice if you aren't a garage pro to find a good local shop and become a good customer of them. It will be a good experience. Especially if you live in a community where you run into the same people, you know what to expect. I have a list of local mechanics I know offer good service and prices that I recommend.
It depends on the dealership. For many of the Jeep dealerships around here, what you said holds true. For the most part, they were Chrysler dealers and were informed by Corporate one day that they were now Jeep dealers, as well.

On the other hand, the dealership I go to (mostly for parts, but for service in a pinch) was originally a Jeep dealer, and only got Chrysler within the last year or so. I know most of the guys in the shop, and I don't think there is a one of them (technicians or parts guys) whose personal vehicle isn't a Jeep. Makes you feel more comfortable when the lead tech's Jeep is the exact same year and model as the one you're having worked on, ya know? (Also doesn't hurt that he belongs to the same 4WD club.)
 
BCParker said:
I'm feeling like I got the shaft more and more here...
Yeah......
I really do need to find a good independent shop around here
there is no such thing... really
or learn to do it myself
Figuring the amount of $ you've paid you would have not only been able to equip the garage with a lot of tools, you would have also been able to hire a teacher!

here's what's listed on the invoice for what they did to the rear- everyone but the cashier had left for the holiday when I picked it up, so couldn't ask more questions about what all they actually did. how many bearings are in a diff?

description: Price:
Bearing A 46.00
Cup Drive 27.80
Bearing D 54.30
Bearing D (qty 2) 42.90
Cup Drive 18.20
Bearing D 34.60
Seal Driv 14.10
Lube 8.50
Cup Diffe 22.80

total parts: $312.10

no full description, but can anyone tell me exactly what all they replaced?

thanks

B
You have 4 bearings in a diff: 2 on a pinion gear and 2 on the carrier. Then there are 2 bearings on the axle shafts at the end.... all in all I wonder why they list 5 bearings and not 4 or 6? Did they just do one axle shaft??? I wonder also what cup drive and cup diffe are: maybe your trac lok got rebuilt?
 
Wow my head was spinning when I saw $500 bucks for a radiator. . . then I saw the prices for the diffs. . .
You live and you learn I guess, but it cost me less to put my 4.5" rustys on my jeep, buy my wheels and tires, and do my sye and driveshaft.
 
Wow. You got bent over, but you can't put a price on peace of mind.
 
Kejtar said:
Yeah......

there is no such thing... really

Figuring the amount of $ you've paid you would have not only been able to equip the garage with a lot of tools, you would have also been able to hire a teacher!
Yeah, I could have had a field day at the hardware store, that's probably the thing that gets me the most. (could have gotten a FSM too)
Kejtar said:
You have 4 bearings in a diff: 2 on a pinion gear and 2 on the carrier. Then there are 2 bearings on the axle shafts at the end.... all in all I wonder why they list 5 bearings and not 4 or 6? Did they just do one axle shaft??? I wonder also what cup drive and cup diffe are: maybe your trac lok got rebuilt?

thanks for the info- I was wondering about that too- why the odd number, and why only one seal listed?- I was under the impression they were going to completely tear down the axle and replace all seals and bearings, so the odd numbers are something I'll ask about next week.

overall a painful learning experience- more incentive to learn to do it myself
I'm taking over all fluid changes starting last week, Jiffy Lube can go to hell,- when the next big thing goes wrong, hopefully I can do it myself.

however, I am satisfied with the work done (just not the price)- Jeep is quieter than I've ever heard it, seems to have smoothed out the clunk and the hum from the rear especially, and the radiator hasn't leaked a drop.

B
 
Eagle said:
It depends on the dealership. For many of the Jeep dealerships around here, what you said holds true. For the most part, they were Chrysler dealers and were informed by Corporate one day that they were now Jeep dealers, as well.

LOL it was an AMC dealership once upon a time. They had a mural on one of the walls depicting Jeeps- CJ's, full size and a first year Cherokee- in a desert offroad scene. They painted over it because it wasn't reflective of what they were selling. But... they were owned by some sort of consortium and the basic principle was cars are all the same and were here to BS you into thinking you want the one that costs the most. They had a good parts department with some people around that were serious about Jeep but as they became more Chrysler oriented, people from elsewhere came in that were just much more interested in selling you a new PT cruiser while you were there than dealing with youre old XJ. I think a lot of dealerships are that way.
 
Don't feel bad, I paid $500 for my radiator as well. If I was still in the Marine Corps, I'd have done it myself, since I'd have had a shop on base to use. Paid $00 for new front bearings a year and a half ago, and less than a year later the driver's side hub was totally shot. It had almost a half inch of play in it and was just crap. I'm sthinking maybe the first shop didn't replace that one or something. I spent another $500 on that trip cuz they redrilled a bolt hole for my caliper as well...I know I overpaid there, but oh well, it all works again and my caliper still has both bolts again and the bearings are both still quiet...
 
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