Kuestey

So murphy's law got the best of me, and within a week our mechanic has found a host of things deathly wrong with my XJ I bought last week. She's a 98 with a 7" Rusty's and 35's. Even though it was inspected before we bought it, the other mechanic must've blind, and we bought it, little did we know the true state it was in. Anywho, the mechanic gave us an estimate on how much it would cost to fix it, and I don't buy it. The prices seem unbelievably jacked up, and even though I'm new to this, I feel like I could try and learn to attempt to address some of the issues myself (I want to become a gearhead ). I thought I'd share the invoice here, and see what kind of advice/comments I can draw up. EVERYTHING is appreciated, I'm in a huge pickle, thanks!

-here's the quote from the mechanic:

"The following items are recommended to get vehicle safe to drive:
1. The brakes are bad and the car will barely stop. Found the right rear wheel cylinder blown out and brake fluid all over shoes. Recommend replacing the rear brake wheel cylinders, shoes, and drums. $465.75 plus tax. Also recommend upgrading the front brakes to heavy duty pads and rotors due to the size of the tires and the lift. Replacing front brake pads and rotors with upgraded parts will cost around $625 plus tax. The front brake parts are designed specifically for lifted vehicles with oversized wheels.
2. There is coolant leaking from the radiator and the water pump. The coolant hoses are in bad condition due to age so we would recommend replacing at the same time. Also recommend thermostat replacement due to the condition of the cooling system. Drive belt is cracked and has to be removed for these repairs so it makes sense to install a new belt too. So to replace water pump, radiator, radiator hoses, heater hoses, drive belt, and thermostat the cost will be $902 plus tax. Once these items are repaired we will fill system with coolant and recheck for other cooling system issues. It is not uncommon for the next weakest spot in the cooling system to begin leaking once system has had so many cooling system problems repaired.
3. The steering geometry is incorrect. This will cause what's known as "death roll"; the vehicle is very difficult to control. Recommend installing a drop style pitman arm and properly installing trac bar then recheck to see if any other changes or improvements are necessary. Approx $660 plus tax
4. The springs have spacers above them instead of longer springs to accomodate the lift. The springs are sitting at an angle that is not safe. The shocks should be replaced with a different size. The brake lines are too short and could snap at any time causing complete loss of braking ability. Recommend replacing the springs with proper size, replace shocks and install extended brake lines with brackets to secure brake lines out of the way. $1068 plus tax
5. 2 rear tires are bald. Replacing 2 tires with Dunlop Mud Rovers would cost $561.50 plus tax.

The following items are also needed but if they had to wait they could for a little bit.
1. The valve cover gasket is leaking oil badly. There is oil residue all over the engine. Recommend replacing valve cover gasket then cleaning oil residue off of engine and rechecking for other leaks. $221.40 plus tax
2. The front and rear pinion seals are leaking. The pinion angle is off due to the lift. Recommend replacing the front and rear pinion seals for now and installing shims to improve pinion angle. $516 plus tax.
3. 2 engine mounts and 1 transmission mount are broken. Replace all 3 $468 plus tax.
4. The tailgate outside handle assembly is broken. $268 to replace
5. The left front window regulator/motor assembly needs to be replaced. $486 plus tax. The master window switch is bad causing the other windows not to work. Add $180 to replace master window switch if done at the same time as regulator/motor assmebly.
6. The a/c evaporator is leaking refrigerant causing the a/c not to cool. Recommend replacing the evaporator (dash has to be removed), replace drier, flush system and remove oil from compressor and condensor then recharge the system, add dye and recheck for other leaks. If factory Chrysler parts are used the cost would be $2099 plus tax. If you opt to go aftermarket on the parts there would be no labor warranty. So if one of the parts fails then you would be responsible for paying the labor to replace them again. The price for repairs with aftermarket parts would be $1576 plus tax.
7. The transmission cooler lines are leaking. Recommend replacing transmission cooler lines. $133 plus tax. Remember that the tech mentioned that the transmission fluid is in horrible condition and is burned badly. Transmission failure will most likely happen in the near future.

I think that's everything. :-) Call or email if you have any questions. "

When I drive it nothing seems wrong, the engine's strong and she handles fine. I'm confused, and don't want to empty more pockets to get her 'street ready' if its a hoax/ I could do it myself.

Thanks! and sorry for the massive read.

Mrjw1996

Danng..well i tell you that rear drum brakes suck but can be fixed...i replaced both wheel cylinders ( 18 bucks for both at auto store) all hardware in the drum brakes (9 bucks) new brake shoes(roughly 20 bucks) pain in the *** but no 600 dollars..your getting played for that price, front brakes are very simple. valve cover is very simple, dirty, but there is a very good write-up about it here on the forum. tires are tires and you will have to pay what you have to pay for that. i replaced my radiator, fairly siimple, i have just a replacement 2 row radiator that was 75 bucks, rad. hoses are not that expensive, thermostats are not expensive. Everything that i have fixed on my jeep i learned on here...no joke...just search around and have fun learning this stuff

Geck_87Laredo

This is so ridiculous. Do not have them do ANY work to your jeep! You made the correct decision on coming to a jeep forum to ask.

1- You can replace all the brake components easily. Just pay attention as you take it all apart and it should be pretty easy. Upgrading to slotted rotors will help. The price he gave you is absolutely Ridiculous. You can probably do the brakes including upgrade for $300 or less.

2-There is absolutely no reason to replace the radiator or water pump! Definitely replace the water pump gasket, tstat, and hoses though. That's maybe $150 or less! $900? wtf?

3- You can upgrade steering for cheap and all you do is bolt it up! That's 2 or $300 Absolutely nowhere near 600 bucks!

4- You can get pro comp gas charged shocks for $160 for all four! No need to take the spacer out! Everyone uses them and they do not hurt anything! Upgrade brake lines for around $100. Again you just bolt these up and bleed the brakes and your good to go!

5- I have not seen the tires but the back ones do not look too bad. I do recommend a entire new set if you need tires. You will then be stuck with 2 tires that are less tread than the rest.

- THE VALVE COVER GASKET IS LIKE 10 NUTS AND TAKES AN HOUR OR LESS. $20 for the rubber gasket which is recommended!!

-Pinion seal something that may take a friend who is a mechanic to help. Shims are 20 bucks at your local offroad shop.

-All mounts are maybe $100 or less.

-The hatch latch is a dealer part which i have no idea how much it is but probably nowhere near $268

-Again, the window parts are dealer parts and a couple hundred or less! That's a tricky one because working inside a door can be a pain in the butt if your not an experience mechanic.

-Don't know anything about the AC system. If it blows cold then keep using it. If the dash has to come out i def recommend sending it to a shop but NOT that shop!

-The ONE and ONLY decent price i see here is the transmission line. That costs around $100 bucks.

This really ticks me off that shops can do this to unsuspecting people! Almost Every problem there you can do yourself! You could even find a local jeep guy on this site or others and i'm sure they would be happy to help you!


By the way it's a nice looking XJ!! Every Jeep has it's problems and they can all be fixed! I just got a 97 XJ that needed a motor and i built a 4.6 stroker for it

mrfajita

There is absolutely no way pinion angle adjustment, diff seals, and a valve cover gasket should cost $700. That can be done by yourself for about $20, at least the seals, shims not much more for the angle. I say your mechanic is full of crap and trying to reap massive profit off people who don't know better.

Mrjw1996

thats just crazy..i wonder if there is some type of "agency" that goes to autos shop like this one and if they could get in trouble...those prices are just redic.

ThE_CaPtaIn

Dude I was auto mechanic for years and those prices are outrageous! I wouldn't go to that shop if I had to good trust worthy mechanics are hard to find... Almost everything you listed off can be done for a 1/8th of the price of what he is charging....
I would suggest tackling all those things yourself... Go buy you a haynes or chiltons book. To help with and between that and us here on the forums there is nothing on that list you can't do. Just take your time with it and don't get overwhelmed. You need help just post up on Here and ev1 wil be more than glad to help you. And don't forget the search tab there is alot of good info to be found on here

mentalbreakdown00

There is no agency for stuff like this. It is up to the consumer to educate themselves, before signing the repair order which is a binding contract. I run my own shop, and yes some of the prices I saw were way up there. What you have to keep in mind though is a shop has to make profit, which means marking up parts, and charging labor. You do not have to pay for anything except maybe some tools and the parts. A shop has to pay for parts, bookkeepers, office equipment and supplies, taxes, lights, phone, technicians, insurances, shop tools and equipment, and the list goes on. So if you are not inclined to do the work yourself, get 3-4 estimates, and trhow the highest and lowest out, and go to someone who treats you right out of the remainders.

KD3NE

$600 for a total rebuild of the rear brakes - replacing EVERYTHING is about right -----> AT A DEALER.

I can tell you the bill will read like this .....

LABOR - 4 Hrs @ $100/Hr .......................... $400 (approx)
PARTS - drums/shoes/cylinders/all hardware....$200 (approx)

With dealers the LABOR charge is a killer.

After I got that estimate I did the job myself. It was almost $200 in parts.

Hoooper

if you can change your oil, you can also do the majority of the work on that list.

Brakes are extremely easy, but can be time consuming due to all the parts it takes for drum brakes to work but still suck

the coolant issues are likely stemming from a bad gasket at the water pump and old hoses. again you can do it yourself with a basic toolset and some patience. IF the radiator is bad/leaky, you can replace it with a used unit and an hour or two of your time for under $100

we would need a picture of your steering setup to see if it is truly "bad". If youre lifted less than 6" then there is no need for a drop pitman arm. A picture would also show us how the track bar is mounted. Im guessing its a new hole drilled further over which IMO is a dumb fix but plenty here do it without issue.

spring spacers are not an issue, they can stay. the bad spring angle is likely due to your pinion angle. The Jeep looks like its lifted WAY above what it should be which, because it is on short arms and likely not set up right, probably sucks on the road. Also looks to me like the leafs on it arent the right leafs, the rear tires are too far forward. What size are the tires? this might explain why the lift looks so high.

got a picture of the tires? they dont look all too bald in the attached picture

valve cover is another easy DIY, I did mine in ~20 mins. IIRC you only need a 10mm socket, maybe a couple other basic tools

pinion seals leaking sucks, I wouldnt bother doing that myself although if it is just the seals its not a big job. Correcting the angle IMO doesnt look like it can really be done as your setup is. It looks to me like you have stock arms on 5.5+" lift. A picture of the control arms and pinion angle would answer this question. if the rear angle is bad you may need to do an SYE. if you do, because you have posted this thread I am going to figure you dont have the grinder/tools to tackle a hack and tap style, or the know-how to install a true SYE

are the mounts actually broken, or just worn out? big difference in cost ad importance here

tailgate handle...easy fix and cheap from a junkyard with basic tools

working inside our doors sucks IMO, but doesnt suck $486 worth. More basic tools and time + junkyard regulator = minimum $386 saved. Also would want to do this before replacing the switch. Jeep isnt known for their wiring skills and your regulator being out may be affecting the rest of the windows

A/C...thats a big pain in the butt, + semi special tools. I think the price is high but you will likely need to pay someone to do this as well. maybe ask for rebuilt stock components

trans lines...short rubber lines that arent very difficult to fix. He is right though about the trans dying if the fluid is bad. the fluid should be changed to fix that though, installing new tubes to the cooler isnt going to clean out the fluid

knuckleduster271

Those labor rates are way off. Alot of that stuff is common on a used vehicle. My cooler lines are slightly damp, need rear brakes, had to do a water pump, fan clutch yadayada. Go buy a basic craftsman tool kit and a haynes manual and learn some skills that will protect you from flat rate money hungry mechanics (i used to be one) if you cant atleast repair brakes ypu have no bussiness off roading any vehicle. Things will break early andp often when wheeling, of i had to pay someone every time i broke something the jeep wouldnt be the only thing broke. Not being a dick but im telling you the gospel. Mechanics get paid by the job from a book that states how much time it takes to do a specific task, it is common for them to stack jobs and try to get ypu to fix everu seeping seal,gasket, cracked vacumn line, burnt bulb etc. Dont let this tool stop you from buying a vehicle. It os a used vehicle that has wear and tear, they all need something. Get a second opinion and fix the stuff ypurself at your leasure. Obviously some things may need immediate attention but others can wait. My steering box is seeping, im going to tackle a rear axle seal this weekend, could use new hoses "sometime" but they all still some time left before amything catastrophic happens. Do it all as you have time and money, tacle the biggeat problems first

Metlic53

i think all of those are alot of bull....

'' Recommend replacing the springs with proper size, replace shocks and install extended brake lines with brackets to secure brake lines out of the way'' a thousand bucks??? are you kidding me?!?!?! u can get rubicon express coils for like 70 a piece and shocks for like 150, extended brake lines, what maybe 50 bucks for a used set or fab up your own.....what is that 270 bucks, theres 730 bucks left over, i wanna know where their getting coil springs for 365 bucks a piece. LOL they must be realllll good!

no alibi

those are dealer prices,get you a haynes jeep book and do it yourself,just take your time and do one project at a time and when your finished caculate your expenses and you will see a huge difference.invest in a obd scanner also,those are great money savers,got mine on ebay for like 40 bucks and i luv it.if you have to take it to the shop you should ask around first cause those prices are crazy,whats he think he is working on,a lamborgini??

jomps

def get a book and get to reading

Kuestey

So, I took the XJ to Southern Off-Road Specialists to get a second opinion and they found some interesting things. First off, he originally installed a Rusty's 4" suspension kit, not a 7", and then decided he wanted bigger tires, so put a Budget Boost 3" on top of that. (the spacers). The car essentially is trying to drive around at 4" settings, but on a 7" lift. I'm resetting the lift next week and buying 33" BFG A/T/s. Also we're replacing the radiator and rear brakes. (for much MUCH cheaper). It's up to me to do the window regulator replacement and rear hatch fix. Also at some point I have to figure out the AC. hmmmm. At least we're getting somewhere. Thanks for all the input y'all.

lolz_jeep

sounds like someone is trying to bend you over and give you about this.............................................. .................................................. .........much