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Why I like doing my own work when I can

S

sigtauenus

Active Member
I just changed out both CV axles on the front of my 93 Honda Civic. Total price, including fresh oil for the transmission, was $144, with new parts with lifetime warranty. Estimate from shop who did the last state inspection: $800, which was $300 in parts and $500 labor. Yes, same $300 in parts I got for $144.

I bought the parts at Autzone today at 2:30, and it is now 5:00 and I am done, tools put away, hands clean.

WTF? $500 for 2.5 hours labor? You gotta be @#$%ing me! AND they likely would have done it even faster since I was doing this for the first time and still figuring things out.

Anyhow, it was the first time I did that, it was neat, and glad to have it done. I do somehow still enjoy doing stuff like that, but my tolerance is getting lower. The joints were clicking and clacking at me the past couple months and it had really started to get annoying. I hadn't done it because I've been too busy, was hesitant to do it since I wasn't sure how hard it would be, and have had other priorities.

Next I need to doing timing and accessory belts on both the Civic and my wife's RX300. Not looking forward to those but know each is about a 3-4 hour job, so maybe I'll knock them out tomorrow to keep the primary drivers in tip top shape and get back to working on the fastback.

And since the old cv boots were split and shot grease everywhere, I was reminded while washing my hands of a trick my late grandpa taught me when I was a kid. Add a small scoop of sugar, the old fashioned granulated kind, to your hand soap before you start scrubbing and it acts as a great abrasive to get the grease off. For those times when you don't have any fast orange, pumice soap, or other "garage" type hand cleaners handy.
 
I had all the tools on hand. I had looked up a how-to and the axle nut is 32mm so I grabbed that socket at Sears, but when I got home I figured out 32mm is the same as 1 1/4 which I had so i'll take the other socket back.
 
The savings is the reason I began my own wrenching. Then it led to this hobby... so much for saving now :craz
Bill
 
indeed it is a blast. I replaced my motor, trans, 2 clutches, full suspension, supercharger, full brakes on my 2000 cougar. the engine is one from a 02 sable. only thing i didnt do is the headwork. I learned it all when i was restoring my mustang with my father in high school. plus now I work on helicopters so I enjoy taking parts off and putting it back together...my wife still doesn't get my hobby. but once I start a task i tend to get OCD and en-gulfed in it..but is that really bad..lol
 
Shops DO need to make money. Granted, that's a high quote for a couple CV axles, but not as bad as some shops I've seen (ie. dealerships). When I worked at sears, CV axle jobs usually ran $150-200/side, labor included. But then you usually need to realign the vehicle afterwards, which is another $65 or so. And if you're doing a tranny flush, add another $100, plus parts/fluid.

Shop labor out here is $75-100 (higher in LA area), depending on the shop, and most shops will mark up parts anywhere from 40-100%. There are also different places to get parts from, with different quality levels for those parts. A lot of shops won't touch Autozone because of poor service and poor parts quality. Other parts houses charge the shops more because they have better parts and better service.

I have people coming to me all the time at work telling me about how shop X wanted Y for parts and Z for labor to fix their car, when they could get the parts for less over the counter and do the job for half as much in 2 hours in their garage. Is it true? Of course. I'm all for people fixing their own cars. If you can do it, go for it. But shops are out there to make money, not to work for free. So go easy on the shops. If their prices really are exorbitant, they won't make it because nobody will take their cars there.
 
I have no problem paying a fair price for labor. I had that same shop do my rear brakes for me because I was too busy that week and they needed done to pass inspection. Figure shoes, new drums, hardware, etc, and it wasn't a bad deal for $300. But good grief, $250 an hour labor? If they had quoted me $200-$250 a side installed I likely would have had them do it.

I'm off to the garage to start on the Lexus. Timing belt, water pump, all hoses and accessory belts. Side mounted V6, Should be fun.
 
Um, holy crap. I'm off to Sears to buy a air ratchet. Should have got one years ago. WAAAAY too many 10mm bolts I'm taking out right now to do them all by hand.
 
Yeah, air tools cut job time in half. I don't have a compressor, but I picked up a cheapo clearance cordless 3/8 speed ratchet from work and it always comes in handy.

That Lexus can't be a fun job. It's DOHC, iirc, which makes timing it a little more tricky. My gf's Camry probably needs a timing job, but I'm hesitant to start in on it at home. It's SOHC, but there's no clearance next to the firewall. Much easier to do on a lift if you yank the wheel off and go at it from the wheel well.
 
It is=/ 210k mi and no maintenance history on it. Runs great, but needs a tranny flush and probably the timing job. Had to put a radiator in it right off the bat, but it's been good to us since we got it a few months ago, and it needs to last a couple years more.
 
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