Black out cost

[Mandrew]

Went in to the local dealership this morning to get a service estimate to install blacked out rocker box housings, rocker box covers, cam cover, front engine mount, and pushrods.
11 hours of labor. Oh my- that was quite a bit more than I expected. They said it was essentially the same work load as doing an engine kit. For anyone else that has changed out those pieces, does this match your experience?




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[CoHam]

That’s more than they need unless a beginner is doing it.
They are not pulling the heads, changing the cylinders, pistons, and all those associated gaskets. They are not swapping out the cams, bearings or shims. To say that it is essentially the same workload as an engine kit is seriously overstating it.
They need to pull the gas tank, rocker boxes, rockers, breather assembly, and pushrods. The cam cover and front mount is very quick and simple. If a professional shop spent 8 solid hours on it then I’d wonder how many beers they had at lunch.

 

[Mandrew]

Thanks for the reply. I had reviewed all of the work steps in my service manual. Everything seemed to be in my comfort and skill level except for the rocker box housings- and doing that made me want to go ahead and do the pushrods as well.
I’m going to check with other shops in the area. I want to swap the parts, but not for 11 hours of labor. I was legitimately expecting something in the 5-6 hour range.




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