Is this reasonable for shocks/struts/springs install?

I came to this newsgroup last year when a Goodyear mechanic reversed the polarity on her battery and tried to charge us for all sorts of extra things, and everyone was extremely helpful, so I figured I"d bring this up here too. :)

My wife's '95 Mercury Tracer has had bad shocks/struts and springs for about a year, and we're thinking that it's probably about time to pony up and fix them. We brought the car into a shop for an estimate, and I was a little shocked by the price. However, having never had to do this before, it may be a perfectly acceptable cost so I figured I'd run it by here as a sanity check.

The otherall cost is $954.63. Here's the breakdown on the quote:

Labor: Shock/Strut Assembly-Remove and Install - 2.5 hours @ $67/hr = $167.50 Labor: Spring/Top Mount-Remove and replace - 0.6 hours = $40.20 Labor: Strut-Remove and replace - 0.6 hours = $40.20 Parts: Shock/Strut assembly, qty 1.5 @ 79.62 = $119.43 (part no F4CZ 18124 C) Parts: Shock/Strut assembly, qty 1.5 @ 79.62 = $119.43 (part no XS4Z 18124 AA) Parts: Coil Spring, qty 2 @ $100.24 = $200.48 (part no 2775382) Parts: Coil Spring-Var Rate, qty 2 @ 94.33 = $188.66 (part no 2775374)

Total: Parts ($687.86) + Labor ($266.77) = $954.63

A few questions on the quote that I didn't ask while I was at the shop (and will ask before I decide to do this) is why do I need 1.5 shock/strut assemblies? Why isn't that a whole number?

Second, any ideas what "coil spring-var rate" is? Are there two springs in front and two in back?

So I'm just curious if this quote is in the ballpark range or not. If it matters, we live in the Twin Cities, MN area. We havn't had any reason to think that this is a bad shop, but sanity checks are still a good thing.

We were told that there's a crack in one of the springs, and that the drive will be much better once this is all replaced. It's been like this for a year, and while it isn't the most comfortable drive, how much urgency should this be given? Were we stupid for even waiting the year? Thoughts and opinions greatly appreciated :)

Thanks for everyone's help! CW

Reply to
Christopher White
Loading thread data ...

I remember that. Probably means I hang around this newsgroup too much.

OK...

Probably straight out of one of the flat-rate guides. Likely to be the same everywhere.

OK, probably...

Coupla things here:

1) As you ask: Why is this a 1.5 quantity? Doesn't make sense. Should be 2ea front and 2ea rear. 2) These are Ford part numbers. Why? You can get better, less expensive units from any of several reputable aftermarket suppliers (Monroe, Gabriel, etc.).

Looks like a NAPA Chassis Parts number, and

formatting link
confirms it. Price on that site for the Variable Rate rear spring is $80.

So with the exception of parts that you could find *slightly* cheaper if you bought them yourself, and assuming the labor rates quoted are accurate, then the estimate's not outta line. There is that odd 1.5 quantity on the shock/strut assemblies, and the price maths do work out to

1.5, so there's a good possibility the estimator wasn't paying attention and meant to double the quantity *and* the unit price.

Two in front, one at each wheel, and two in back, one at each wheel. A "variable rate" spring, which is the type used in the rear of that car, has a different spring rate at different levels of compression.

Depends on how much the car is used. Improper springs and shocks/struts can make the car a liability in an emergency-handling situation.

DS

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

"Buy One Installed Shock, Get the Second Half Price!"

Reply to
Stephen Bigelow

What if they're running a "half off the second one" type sale? That would cover it, methinks...

Reply to
Don Bruder

"Christopher White" wrote

The only thing that stands out is the extra labour for the spring and top mount. This really is pretty much included in whatever you have to do to replace the strut. If they wanted to charge you extra for it.....they would have been better off just to charge 3.1 to change front struts/springs/ upper mounts.

Perhaps they are referring to the rear springs/top mounts. In that case, I'd say the labour is very fair.

Ian

Reply to
shiden_kai

Seems to me that they left out the alignment.

I'd shop around, the total should be less than that.

Exactly how do you know you need springs?

When I had the struts replaced on my 1984 Escort GT it rode like a new car but I remember the price being close to $1000 but that included 4 new expensive TRX tires and an alignment and 4 struts installed.

Reply to
Childfree Scott

| |I guess I don't know specifically that it needs springs, but when we took the |car in last year, Tires Plus (as well as the ripoff artists at Goodyear in |Woodbury, MN) told us that there was a crack on at least one of the springs (I |can't remember if it was one or more than one). We ignored it, and when we |brought the car in for brake work yesterday, asked him to look at the |shocks/struts and give us an estimate. When he did that, he told us that there

|was a crack on a spring as well. So since three places have said it, it's |probably true...

I'd just get 2 spings, 1 to replace the cracked one (that's pretty unusual!) and the other side so they will match.

|From the comments here, I'm guessing that you always need an alignment when you

|get new shocks/struts? I'll have to ask about that I guess.

At the risk of being flamed, I'd tell you that it's not usually critical. The only thing that can change is the camber, but as long as it's put back where it was (a simple matter) it will be close enough that you won't notice. If there's any noticeable difference accoding to a "naked eye" observation, it may be enough to wear tires or pull, but not likely. Modern radials are very camber-tolerant. At the very least you can do that later if you think it needs it.

|Nobody's really addressed the issue of whether this is really critical or not.

|Is this something that others would have fixed right away, or can it wait a |month/quarter/year/?

Shock replacement is deferable as long as you can stand the ride quality and don't push your luck rat-racing with the Honda down the street :) The shock companies will tell you horror stories about how it makes your car fall apart, and in trutch it does transfer stress and wear to bushings etc. Good judgement tempers that, but a good shock (damper) will absorb a bad chughole, a bad one will let you damage a suspension part and maybe bite your tongue.

But if you are at all handy this is a good "Partial DIY" project. You can remove the strut/spring units yourself with hand tools. It's surprisingly easy on the front, varies on the rear. Buy the 4 strut cartridges and 2 springs from a good parts store and they will probably change them out there at the store for a small fee, or often for free w/parts purchase. Then go home and install them. Probable cost is around $300, add $50 for a Sears floorjack with jack stands. Then you've earned yourself $600 for a Saturday's work. How often do you make that kind of wages in a day?

Reply to
Rex B

"Rex B" wrote

Bad advice, Rex. The radials might be camber tolerant, but they certainly aren't "out of spec toe" tolerant. And when the camber changes slightly, guess what else can change more then enough to cause extreme tire wear? Toe-in changes with either camber or caster movement. Which is why toe is always the last adjustment you make.

I've personally marked struts and re-installed them as close as possible and then checked the alignment. Only if you just happen to get lucky are they ever close enough to "not" do an alignment. Why spend all that money and effort replacing those parts and then wear out your tires because you saved money on the alignment? Makes absolutely no sense.

Ian

Reply to
shiden_kai

|On Thu, 3 Jul 2003, Rex B wrote: | |>> From the comments here, I'm guessing that you always need an alignment |>> when you get new shocks/struts? | |> At the risk of being flamed, I'd tell you that it's not usually critical. | |See, the thing is, Rex, when you post bad/wrong/dangerous/dumb stuff like |this, you're probably *going* to get flamed, and you'll deserve it.

I'm speaking from personal experience, which works for me. I haven't had a car or truck on a shop alignment machine in 10 years.

Reply to
Rex B

[snip]

Dang, just sent email instead. Anyhow, some Mazda-derived Fords (Probe for sure) have these weird little plastic bushings and upper spring plates that are only available from a Ford (or Mazda) dealer. That may be what these are.

Reply to
Walter F. Dexter

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.