1988 Caprice Classic. Carb Rebuild, $820?

[bktfinest]

I recently bought a 1988 Caprice Classic and was told I needed to have the carburetor rebuilt due to excessive tarnishing and extended crank concern. I was charged $545 for labor, $65 for the Carburetor Kit and $165 for parts.
I know nothing about vehicles but I am trying to learn.
Is this reasonable?

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by bktfinest

I recently bought a 1988 Caprice Classic and was told I needed to have the carburetor rebuilt due to excessive tarnishing and extended crank concern. I was charged $545 for labor, $65 for the Carburetor Kit and $165 for parts.
I know nothing about vehicles but I am trying to learn.
Is this reasonable?

to remove then rebuild install adjust this takes a good amount of time. I hope the person doing this is well schooled in this work.. if the carb works good and all the vac operated pull off are replaced this is a good price.

as with old obsolete equipment this does add to the cost..

I got 380K milles out of my 1983 Q JET. never had to rebuild it but then again NO ALCOHOL FUELS ...

I would use MMO marvel mystery oil to the fuel every time you fill it up.. place 2-3 OZ on the tank. this will keep the carb clean and protect from the alcohol issues;corrosion....that includes the metal fuel tank ..

[maxwedge]

I do those carbs in my shop for about 350, remans are availble for about the same!

[emarkay]

Beware of remans and so called "quadrajet experts".
I know firsthand, these electronic units are getting rare...

Long story short - went through 3 poorly remanned unitts from a place in FL. (missing gaskets, poorly finished castings, etc...)
So I decided to tackle a rebuild. Got a similar carb from eBay, but found the transmission lever on the throttle base was grossly hacksawed off.
So I struggled to find another base. I bought one from a noted "expert". I replaced it and then found the throttle bushings on that base were shot. That ignorant SOB then charged me another $40 to fix his defective part - there's even a youtube video on this somewhere that I made over this - man was I annnoyed at that.
Successfully rebuilt this one, and then took it off as a spare and then, did the same thing with the original carb. It has been flawless for years now!

Get a quality rebuild kit, a clean workspace and a shop manual and you too can become an expert; one even better that so-called authority from online and the old car / performance magazine ads!

PS: I do not believe the above poster is related to this - send him a note, $350 is a fair price for an E4ME rebuild if it is done correctly!

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by emarkay

Beware of remans and so called "quadrajet experts".
I know firsthand, these electronic units are getting rare...

Long story short - went through 3 poorly remanned unitts from a place in FL. (missing gaskets, poorly finished castings, etc...)
So I decided to tackle a rebuild. Got a similar carb from eBay, but found the transmission lever on the throttle base was grossly hacksawed off.
So I struggled to find another base. I bought one from a noted "expert". I replaced it and then found the throttle bushings on that base were shot. That ignorant SOB then charged me another $40 to fix his defective part - there's even a youtube video on this somewhere that I made over this - man was I annnoyed at that.
Successfully rebuilt this one, and then took it off as a spare and then, did the same thing with the original carb. It has been flawless for years now!

Get a quality rebuild kit, a clean workspace and a shop manual and you too can become an expert; one even better that so-called authority from online and the old car / performance magazine ads!

PS: I do not believe the above poster is related to this - send him a note, $350 is a fair price for an E4ME rebuild if it is done correctly!

that is what I was getting at concerning the rebuild of this. not an easy task to find someone that is qualified to do the job properly ..

[Blue Bowtie]

The E4ME/MC is probably one of the easiest rebuilds there is - Even with a worn throttle body. The most important step is thorough cleaning of the passages, bleeders, and bleed tubes.

It's sad that someone would hack up the linkage unnecessarily like that, but remember that there were literally tens of millions of these lying around at one time. It may have been done when used units were available for five bucks from a salvage yard.
The toughest part is the TPS replacement (if necessary). There are a few tricks to performing a proper and permanent repair of the well plugs.

[emarkay]

Originally Posted by Blue Bowtie

There are a few tricks to performing a proper and permanent repair of the well plugs.

Oh yes - brain booger - do need to seal those - Google it - use epoxy - but disassemble first - I did one initially and did not separate the halves and when I did later, the casting cracked because the epoxy glued that area together!