Gearbox repair times

[yon_pie_eater]

Austin's Schedule of Repair times states that to remove the gearbox from the car, dimantle, examine, fit new parts as necessary, rebuild and replace in the car is just less than 10hours. I wondered if the experts out there agree with these times, and if so then I'll try to negotiate a fixed fee with the classic car fitters in my area (hourly rates are very expensive around here...)
Thanks
Andy

 

[Guest]

It sounds as though you want to pay less than standard fare for a procedure by negotiation. Owning my own shop, I tell the customer how much a repair is going to cost him/her. If they do not want to pay that rate, they are certainly welcome to trade elsewhere. My rates factor in many things directly related to the cost of operation... like insurance, tool cost, utilities, rent, warranty expense, etc. The overhead makes it difficult for we mechanics to make a living. If you think operating a car repair/resto shop is cheap, think again!

 

[anthony7777]

pie eater, having rebuilt several a.h. trans. and overdrives (about 10) i can atest to the fact that not only can it be done in 10 hours it can be done in 5-6 hours, however the last one i rebuilt (my own) required 6 weeks to find all n.o.s. parts required to do so, hint-bring it to someone that only rebuilds healey trans.

 

[Guest]

Is someone in a hurry?

 

[yon_pie_eater]

Gearboxes are a scary black hole for me, and to see in the official schedule that the maximum time for the complete job was less than ten hours was a pleasant surprise. I'm more than happy to pay the going rate for the ten hours work, but I have no desire to contribute to the restoration costs of the achingly beautiful DB5, or the racing E-Type that have been worked on in the corner for a year or so. If it is ten hours, then my I feel that my first quote of some 4000 Dollars or so for the work alone is a bit strong.....

 

[zblu]

Lets say pull the carpet out, take the seats out, undo the tranny cover, undo the drive shaft bolts, unclip the wiring harness, undo the tranny to motor bolts/starter motor, lift the tranny/OD out and reverse process, say 2 hrs each way?
Pull the inspection plates, inspect/gauge say 1 hour if you know what your looking at,pull and replace say brass synchros and reset all say 4 hours,
reseal all say 1 hour
Now for the expensive side!, the parts!, worth shopping around!

 

[Guest]

The fact that the gearbox is out of your limits... I respect you for recognizing that... The statement you make about contributing to restoration of the other cars...... are they other customers' cars? Or, do they belong to the owner of the shop? If they belong to the owner, seek another garage. He/she should NOT put their personal projects into the mainstream of their business like that. I put my projects in another building.....

Howeever, if those restorations belong to other patrons, those cars do not concern you in any way. So, if you feel that you're being overcharged for his own toys, he isn't a bright business person.

 

[AUSMHLY]

Austin's Schedule of Repair times states that to remove the gearbox from the car, dimantle, examine, fit new parts as necessary, rebuild and replace in the car is just less than 10hours. I wondered if the experts out there agree with these times, and if so then I'll try to negotiate a fixed fee with the classic car fitters in my area (hourly rates are very expensive around here...)
Thanks
Andy

Hello Andy,

Here's the situation your in. The only way you can expect a qualified Healey transmission mechanic to do what the Austin's Schedule of Repair times states as less than 10 hours, is if you have ALL NOS parts, sitting on the bench, ready to go in.

Ask me how I know this. After market parts do not always fit. They look perfect, but the tolerances will be off enough, to say, it doesn't work with the other parts. Or the after market part will introduce another problem. Like it fixed this problem, but now it created another problem because it's not matting well with this...

The mechanic will end up doing a lot of trouble shooting.
He would not have to, if he was opening up an unmolested transmission. He would pull out the original old and replace with NOS.

But that doesn't happen any more. Now it's a lot of trouble shooting, trying to get the reproduced parts to work with each other.

I am working side by side with my mechanic. A fixed fee would not be a logical way to go. How does the mechanic know without looking inside what needs to be replaced? How many times must he take out the reproduced parts, you ordered, because they don't fit like NOS would. You find that a used part works better than the new reproduced part you thought would solve the problem. The hours can start adding up.

Best of luck with the rebuild.

 

[Healey 100]

The best thing you can do is get multiple estimates for the job. 4K sounds a bit high to me for a tranny rebuild, but as other posters have said, there is a lot of time and effort needed to track down and acquire the necessary repair parts. This can take hours on the phone or internet, it does not come for free. Your mechanic probably does not know all that is needed at this point, so his estimate may be padded some to cover the unexpected.

I know someone here who spent 7K with a shop rebuilding a bn2 tranny and it did not work properly in the end. Job ended with a lawsuit and another shop fixed the bad rebuild for about $1500. Rebuilding these units is not difficult -- but being familiar with the Healey is a big plus.

If you don't trust the shop to be straight and not spend your billed hours working on other cars, then go elsewhere. You can build trust by talking to a shop's customers, reputation means a lot. You also need to respect the high overhead these old car shops have, they do not have a steady flow of routine, simple jobs (change belts, oil, filters) that are easy to estimate that shops dealing with modern cars have.

Good luck!

 

[MarkA]

pie eater,

Remember that the times contained in the estimate guides are for a "repair job" and not a restoration. That 10 hours will not include 1 hour in the parts washer to strip off old paint. It will not include the painting after assembly. It will not include the time and attention to all details while it is apart. If you have the trans out, what about attention to everything under the tranmission tunnel and the drive shaft? I think 10 hours is on the low side for a "complete" job. You should shop around for the job you want. The estimate of 10 hours is OK as a basis to start. In the end, you want a fair price for the job you want done...

Mark

 

[Guest]

I never took issue with the time quoted, and I realize all too well, the time spent on the phone, internet, in my truck chasing parts, etc. is time which equals to money. I figure if the shop owner is pre-occupied with his own toys, he can't do his best for customers. Our guy seems bothered by this dynamic or he wouldn't have mentioned it in his post.... And by the way, I calculated my time spent in front of a parts washer combined with what it now costs me for medication to treat my diseased endocrinal system from so 35+ years of exposure to that good old poison, and figure that my new 5400 dollar parts washer was well worth the investment... no more harsh chemicals... just good old scalding hot water and soap! Push the Cycle Start button, and go earn money with my newly freed up time! So what if it uses electricity!?

P.S. Time labor guides are largely inaccurate. They appease the insurance guys more than anything else! I do charge for actual time spent... and people are willing to pay it if it is honestly billed.

 

[tahoe healey]

I took out the trans and brought it to the mechanic 500 miles away(an excellent Healey mechanic, I might add) He quoted me a very good price. I picked up the part he found clear on the other side of his state as the first motion gear/shaft was not made any more. He found a friend who had one new,in the box. He got it back together but he was not satisfied. He worked on many more hours until it was right. He must have put in 20 hours. He would not take any more than the quote. To have a Healey drive like it is suppose to is priceless. Look out for discounts in mechanics and parachutes. Nothing is cheap any more and neither is your Healey. Todays "mechanic" is only a part replacer. You need someone with experience with our cars or do it yourself with the help of this forum.

 

[yon_pie_eater]

Thanks for the input everyone. I understand a little more about the problems regarding the disparateness of the parts. I've re-built the engine of my Healey and a Cooper-S, and in my naivety I've never questioned the quality of the parts used. All went well though, and they have both run perfectly well. Is it gearbox parts in particular? Anyway, the car's been in dock for a couple of months now; what's a month or so in addition? I'm going to be a student of the sidechange box, and have a do myself. I'll have a peer into the unknown......on the plus side, it may only be the selector balls! (I'll put the clock on my work for a laugh!)
Andy

 

[MarkA]

Andy,

Take it slow and easy. Examine and understand all parts and fitment as you take them out. Use a camera to snap pictures to help with re-assembly. The shop manual contains enough pictures and instructions to help. As you take out parts and assemblies, look at the manual to identify them for re-assembly (like looking behind you as you hike so you will recognize the trail back!). Ask lots of questions. Replace anything that is close to marginal. It is not rocket science, but does require diligence and understanding.

Good Luck!