$535 for changing Spark Plugs

[compose]

my local dealer wants $535 for just changing out the Spark Plugs. can anyone explain to me why it would be so much? this does not include the coils. And the price of the plugs are about 3 bucks each, so we are talking about $24. is 511 for labor sound right or am i missing something?

[DOOM]

:bs: :bs: :bs: :bs: :bs: :bs: :bs: :bs: :bs: :bs:

[RacerX]

Holy!!! I'll do it for $300!!!!! :D J/K! I'd do it for a beer if I lived near you. Yeah, total rip and he must not have done a mod motor before. That's about half of what you'd charge to remove the whole engine.

[MM2004]

:bs: :bs: :bs: :bs: :bs: :bs: :bs: :bs: :bs: :bs:

What^^^He^^^said!


Mike.

[MMarauder03]

Where are you located? We'll pin someone down who can do it for a beer! Anywhere near Denver and I'll do it for ya in about 10 minutes

[MMarauder03]

Holy!!! I'll do it for $300!!!!! :D J/K! I'd do it for a beer if I lived near you. Yeah, total rip and he must not have done a mod motor before. That's about half of what you'd charge to remove the whole engine.

But if its a Ford dealer...?

[RR|Suki]

my local dealer wants $535 for just changing out the Spark Plugs. can anyone explain to me why it would be so much? this does not include the coils. And the price of the plugs are about 3 bucks each, so we are talking about $24. is 511 for labor sound right or am i missing something?

Avoiding the dealer is typically a good move honestly

[Mercguy04]

That dealer is out of his mind.
My speed shop would not charge that much
I could see if you had a 428 Super Corba Jet engine in it. Not a 4.6 or even a 5.4

[RR|Suki]

That dealer is out of his mind.
My speed shop would not charge that much
I could see if you had a 428 Super Corba Jet engine in it. Not a 4.6 or even a 5.4

I don't see how that would make a difference... The plugs in that car are cheaper, and easier to change

[CBT]

I changed my plugs in about 15 minutes flat in the hotel parking lot in Louisville while Swordfish held the flashlight. This was also while drinking beers with justbob and guspech750, and I dropped a socket and had to bumper dive for it. Good times. :beer:

[Bluerauder]

my local dealer wants $535 for just changing out the Spark Plugs.

Sounds about right for an 8-hour job. :rolleyes: Ask the service advisor or technician what the book labor allowance is for changing the plugs. All the shops use them. Also ask what else is included in the plug labor. I'd bet that they keyed in the spark plug entry "times" 8 to get to the $535 number. That is already factored for 8 in the set (or 6 or 4 for different cars.) Probably no more than 1 hour even in the allowance book. More like $50 plus parts. Tops. JMHO.

Just my suspicion that they want 8 X 8 spark plugs.

[CBT]

my local dealer wants $535 for just changing out the Spark Plugs. can anyone explain to me why it would be so much? this does not include the coils. And the price of the plugs are about 3 bucks each, so we are talking about $24. is 511 for labor sound right or am i missing something?

You must have some biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiig spark plugs, man. :beer:

[SC Cheesehead]

Sounds about right for an 8-hour job. :rolleyes: Ask the service advisor or technician what the book labor allowance is for changing the plugs. All the shops use them. Also ask what else is included in the plug labor. I'd bet that they keyed in the spark plug entry "times" 8 to get to the $535 number. That is already factored for 8 in the set (or 6 or 4 for different cars.) Probably no more than 1 hour even in the allowance book. More like $50 plus parts. Tops. JMHO.

Just my suspicion that they want 8 X 8 spark plugs.

That could be it, Charlie, now way it's gonna cost that much. Must be a really lousy Service Rep. not to catch the error, too.

[MM2004]

That could be it, Charlie, now way it's gonna cost that much. Must be a really lousy Service Rep. not to catch the error, too.

That or said Service Rep is hoping the customer won't catch it.

:confused:

Mike.

[CBT]

my local dealer wants $535 for just changing out the Spark Plugs.

I think he's using math in dog years, everything is times 7.

[RacerX]

Platinum plugs??? Like, solid platinum! :D

[MM2004]

I changed my plugs in about 15 minutes flat in the hotel parking lot in Louisville while Swordfish held the flashlight. This was also while drinking beers with justbob and guspech750, and I dropped a socket and had to bumper dive for it. Good times. :beer:

So, when did said wrenching occur in Louisville, and where was I?

:confused:

Mike.

[compose]

Thanks for the replies. For a minute I though I was missing something technical. Now my biggest fear is breaking the plugs as I remove them. Need to read up some more to gain the confidence to do this myself and to be prepared just in case there is one broken or if I break one.

[SC Cheesehead]

Thanks for the replies. For a minute I though I was missing something technical. Now my biggest fear is breaking the plugs as I remove them. Need to read up some more to gain the confidence to do this myself and to be prepared just in case there is one broken or if I break one.

Make sure the engine is cold when you change the plugs.

Use a little anti-seize on the plug threads before installing the new ones.

Use a torque wrench to tighten, 11 ft/lbs max.

[RF Overlord]

Platinum plugs??? Like, solid platinum! :DMore like unobtainium.


Make sure the engine is cold when you change the plugs.

Use a little anti-seize on the plug threads before installing the new ones.

Use a torque wrench to tighten, 11 ft/lbs max.What the Cheesehead said. Emphasis on using the torque wrench. This ain't your father's Oldsmopile and it's not hard to strip the threads if you get frisky installing them.

Also emphasis on using a little anti-seize...I mean like VERY little. Don't slather it on like you're putting suntan lotion on Kelly Bundy...

[RacerX]

Don't slather it on like you're putting suntan lotion on Kelly Bundy...
Just the thought... No maam, I can't go to the chalkboard...:D

[CBT]

So, when did said wrenching occur in Louisville, and where was I?

:confused:

Mike.

Dunno, you probably saw work being conducted and ran inside, lol. It was while Russ was repairing EATC's. Actually, I was about to change out guspech's EATC and Russ was there, long story short since my tools were out I decided to change my plugs. :)

[MM2004]

Dunno, you probably saw work being conducted and ran inside, lol. It was while Russ was repairing EATC's. Actually, I was about to change out guspech's EATC and Russ was there, long story short since my tools were out I decided to change my plugs. :)

That would have been around the time I had to bolt when Mongoose called and had a flat down the road. (I think)

I had more inportant things to do than change plugs. (thank you very much)

:D

Mike.

[jflave]

$535.oo Does it come with a BJ shoping card ? :dunno: Still to high. :)

[CBT]

That would have been around the time I had to bolt when Mongoose called and had a flat down the road. (I think)

I had more inportant things to do than change plugs. (thank you very much)

:D

Mike.

Just think of the amount of hours of labor charges saved by the tinkering we do on our Marauders at places like L-ville. People changing tires, spark plugs, EATC's, LCM's, water pumps, etc. etc. Ford would have a cow in his grave at all the repair money the dealers are not getting.

[MM2004]

Just think of the amount of hours of labor charges saved by the tinkering we do on our Marauders at places like L-ville. People changing tires, spark plugs, EATC's, LCM's, water pumps, etc. etc. Ford would have a cow in his grave at all the repair money the dealers are not getting.

True Dat my brother!

:beer:

Just look at the savings as an entire community just by answering questions on this forum.

;)

Mike.

[RF Overlord]

Ford would have a cow in his grave at all the repair money the dealers are not getting.Maybe if his dealers were not so greedy and inconsistent in their pricing...half a loaf is better than none.

[Bigdogjim]

While the price is sky high I think I know where it came from. They look in a reference manual and read that the fuel rails would have to be removed and base in the # of hours @ they dealers rate = sky high price. At least I ran into this before not saying the fuel rails need to moved on the marauder. Teck had zero or little experence with out 4.6 motors. I would have thank them for the quote and left:)

Find another shop or come to MV-IX and CBT will do them in the parking lot for a :beer:

[RacerX]

$535.oo Does it come with a BJ? :dunno: Still to high. :)
Well you're hard to please! Need a Happy Ending too?

[RoyLPita]

The dealer probably thinks our MMs are as difficult to change out spark plugs as a 5.4 3V F150.

[JoeBoomz]

While the price is sky high I think I know where it came from. They look in a reference manual and read that the fuel rails would have to be removed and base in the # of hours @ they dealers rate = sky high price. At least I ran into this before not saying the fuel rails need to moved on the marauder. Teck had zero or little experence with out 4.6 motors. I would have thank them for the quote and left:)

Find another shop or come to MV-IX and CBT will do them in the parking lot for a :beer:

Maybe they're afraid of the air intake tube. That thing can be a really bugger to remove, what with those two screws and all :rolleyes:

[Black Dynamite]

Or they just don't want the business and priced themselves out of the market. You laugh, but it happens all the time.

[burt ragio]

This is the reason why the stealer wants $535.00 to replace the plugs is because they can. They have a light bill, phone bill, internet bill, tax bill, mortage bill, invetory bill, maintanence bill, water bill, sewer bill, a/c bill, employee salary, primary house mortage, vacation home mortage, kids private schools, pizza for the staff every friday. Oh, willing customers that don't know where spark plugs are or do. They say ok lets schedule the work I don't want to break down while on the wrong side of town. I also need the tires rotated & the oils changed. Where is my loaner for the next two days ? If the car needs anything else please call me.
If you lived close to me I would do it for a warm Old Milwaukee & some beer nuts.

[Bluerauder]

FYI on automotive labor and how repairs are calculated and charged. IMHO they entered the wrong codes for the spark plug job (or included other labor/parts that shouldn't be there). Ask to see the Mitchell numbers for your job. The only other explanation is that the guy doing your work is a moron who takes 8-hours regardless of the job and doesn't bother to use the chart. ;)




Understand the Mitchell table. Under the Mitchell Standardized Labor Rates Table, rates are shown for how long, on average, it will take a mechanic to complete any and all repairs on every make and model of vehicle. Mechanics can access an online directory to arrive at this standardized rate, or look at a labor rate chart. For example, you might discover that to replace the brakes on a 2000 Camaro, the flat rate is 2.6 hours. So every shop, regardless of location, staff or business strategy, will use this same number of hours when calculating labor charges.

Realize how shops make a profit. The Mitchell table outlines the average amount of time it should take to complete a job, but it certainly doesn't account for all circumstances. If a shop is staffed with experienced, speedy and efficient mechanics, a Camaro brake repair likely won't take as long as 2.6 hours. If the mechanic is able to complete the job sooner, the shop will still charge the same rate to the customer (2.6 hours of labor) but the shop will pocket the extra money. In essence, a mechanic could put in an 18-hour day in 8 hours, provided he works efficiently. Now you can start to see how an auto repair business can really rake in the cash.

This isn't all just bad news for us, the consumers, though. Look at the flip side of this situation. If Joe-The-New-Guy is assigned to change the brakes on the Camaro, and it takes him 4 hours because of his inexperience, it doesn't matter. The shop can still only charge the customer for 2.6 hours of labor, according to the standardized Mitchell table of labor rates.

[mrjones]

My thought it that the dealer is doing this to avoid the problems with plug changes on the newer 3V engines. Those have been very bad about stripping threads out or breaking the 2 piece plugs off in the head. They go up on the prices for a plug change (radically), and most people are gonna go somewhere else to get it done. They are probably just pricing themselves out of the plug changing business.

[guspech750]

I changed my plugs in about 15 minutes flat in the hotel parking lot in Louisville while Swordfish held the flashlight. This was also while drinking beers with justbob and guspech750, and I dropped a socket and had to bumper dive for it. Good times. :beer:



Good times indeed. Watching others work on vacation!!

Sent from my iPhone
Go White Sox!!!

[PonyUP]

Good times indeed. Watching others work on vacation!!

Sent from my iPhone
Go White Sox!!!

You worked, it was just a different kind of job from what Casey and Bob told me

[justbob]

Just think of the amount of hours of labor charges saved by the tinkering we do on our Marauders at places like L-ville. People changing tires, spark plugs, EATC's, LCM's, water pumps, etc. etc. Ford would have a cow in his grave at all the repair money the dealers are not getting.


True Dat my brother!

:beer:

Just look at the savings as an entire community just by answering questions on this forum.

;)

Mike.

Maybe time for a Louisville parking lot MM tear down and rebuild? Or we could take all the parts Spectragod has and build 209 of them??

[CBT]

Maybe time for a Louisville parking lot MM tear down and rebuild? Or we could take all the parts Spectragod has and build 209 of them??

Now I have 7-11 coffee burning my sinuses, thanks homie. :beer:

To the original poster, send a PM to someone on this site that lives by you, save 515 bucks. (the 20 is for beer and pizza;))

[jsignorelli]

Not only is this dealer a theif, he probably hired mechanics who will strip the aluminum threads in the heads when they over tighten the plugs.
Here is a hint..buy tools at Sears, buy some beer, call some friends,...and then...do it yourself.

It will take an hour or less................more if you bought too much beer!

[CBT]

Not only is this dealer a theif, he probably hired mechanics who will strip the aluminum threads in the heads when they over tighten the plugs.
Here is a hint..buy tools at Sears, buy some beer, call some friends,...and then...do it yourself.

It will take an hour or less................more if you bought too much beer!



^^^The man with the plan^^^

[dohc324ci]

Wow....45min to 1hr max.

[CBT]

Wow....45min to 1hr max.

That's what she said. :(