paintballer1305

Let me preface with: I am not a mechanic, I have absolutely zero mechanical skills and will not be doing any work myself. I wanted to double check an estimate and see if you experts here concurred with the dealership i took it to.

I have a 93 Jeep Cherokee Laredo with the part time 4 wheel drive, it's got 211,000 miles on it.

Long story short the rig had a coolant leak at the water pump, overheated and the engine stalled, the dealership says there was no engine damage. They want to:

Put in a new water pump, distributor rotor, flush coolant, do a complete emission tuneup (spark plugs, spark plug wires) and a new thermostat. They estimate it at $1,275+tax

Is this is a reasonable price for parts+labor and does everything sound related to the initial problem?

Thank you very much and glad to be a part of the community!

paintballer1305

Bump, and I didn't realize so many people on this site were from the North West. Live in Bellingham myself from Maple Valley.

Pelican

Every now and again someone asks this question, that is, is this a fair price to get such and so done, and these questions are virtually impossible to answer.

My personal simple answer would be that that is a ludicrous price for the listed work. The only thing that is remotely difficult on that list is the water pump. Parts for everything else would run under $100 and take a dedicated rank amateur a couple of hours to do. (I know, I know, someone will get on and say they can do all this work AND swap out the engine in a couple of hours but we're trying to be realistic here.)

But from your point of view, you are presumably not interested in working on your XJ and there is no dishonor in that as long as you have the funds to have the work done. I would get at least one other estimate from an independent shop and go from there, maybe get back on here if you see anything that doesn't seem to make sense.

And Welcome! Please don't hesitate to get back with any specific questions.

djb383

Knocking the 1 off that $1275 seems more reasonable. As said, $100 in parts and $175 in a couple hours labor.

dmill89

X2 anything above $500 is a rip off for that job and even $500 is on the high side.

Here's a breakdown of the costs

Parts:
Water Pump: $25 (Bosch #97082)
Dist. Cap, Rotor & sparkplug wires: $27 (United ignition wire #27625, Brass contacts and silicone jacketed wire)
Spark plugs: $2.00 ea., $12 total (Champion Copper #412)
Thermostat: $5 (Stant Superstat #45359)
Coolant: $14/gal = $28 total (Zerex Conventional Green)
Distilled water = $1/gal = $2 total (available at any grocery store)
Total: $99 (Granted this is for quality aftermarket parts, OE parts cost more, but these are as good or better as OE)
Even with a 50% mark-up that would only be $150 in parts.

Figure 3-4 hours labor, even at $95/hr that should only be around $400 for labor, many independent shops are $55 or $65/ hr. so it would be even less.

rmoore1031

I know you said your not a mechanic. But this could be a good chance to learn. All the info to replace those parts is on this site somewhere. Or you could buy a Chilton or Haynes manual, I'd get one anyone. Go to Harbor Freight and get a cheap set of tools for about $100. Maybe get a mechanical friend to assist you on the way. These ways could save you a ton of money.

Anyway that is a crazy quote. I agree with others saying it should be around $500 tops at a local shop. But the way I suggest will save you more money.

paintballer1305

Want to thank everyone here! Found a shop right by that will do it for 742 including emmsions tuneup, the total quote at the dealership ended up being 1,344.00 hah!