$2000...

[TransAm87]

so here it is i havn't been here in a while but my car has been having some issues..after not being able to find the problem myself(checked fuel pressure, injectors, etc..) i caved in and had the local pontiac dealer take a look at it..they say that the plugs, wires and distributor have never been changed in my car..still has the ones that were originally installed (my car has 87,000 miles) so in order to due all this they would have to take out the engine and water pump drain fluids and so on..11 hours of work costing me 2 grand..thats basically the update, just wondering what everyone thinks of the cost..it seems to make sense because of the labor but im just not sure..

[poormillionaire2]

That's way off! You don't have to pull the engine to change the opti, plugs and wires. They are full of shit! Damn dealerships! Don't ever go there again! My mechanic quoted me for all that for $800, which is still a lot, but not $2000! You can change all that crap in the driveway if you have to.
They tried to screw you over big time.

Edit - Change the plugs and wires first to see if that's the problem. The opti is a bit more work to install. So start with plugs and wires and go on from there.

[blindeyed]

holy hell, that's rediculous man. Why didn't you just pop in and get some opinions here first before you took it there? I've never worked on an LT1 before, but 110% sure that you don't have to remove the whole engine to change plugs and wires, and the opti. You got screwed big time man. I hope you learned a thing or two about dealerships.

[TransAm87]

just wanna say here, im not completly stupid, it hasn't been done yet, so i havn't paid for anything yet..

[blindeyed]

Originally Posted by TransAm87

just wanna say here, im not completly stupid, it hasn't been done yet, so i havn't paid for anything yet..

lol ah, ok then. Good! I was about to say.. when I saw the "11 hours of work" part I just assumed you already had them do it. But still, the difficulty you would incur of doing that stuff on your own would be far more worth it than forking out $2k to a dealership.

[CreepingDeath94]

Not all dealerships rape the public. I don't know why they said they had to pull the engine, but when i had my '94 quoted back like 4 years ago, they wanted the same amount just due to the labor...and it wasn't the labor for pulling a motor. Those cars the motor drops easiest from the bottom with the whole crade and suspension...would have been more than 11 hours. Anyway, I agree that a small mechanic will probably get it done for you for about $700-$800. I got mine done for $700 at my local mechanic. It really isnt that hard though if you have the time to mess with it yourself. It will take the better part of an afternoon, probably the whole day, but you'd save about $500 in labor. Unfortunately, my time is money so I had to have it done by someone else...couldn't afford to spend an entire saturday changing plugs and wires on my bird back then. Getting back to the point, don't spend $2000...get another quote.

[poormillionaire2]

I'd say $800 is reasonable for parts/labor. I think in the shop guide, it tells them to tilt the engine a little for easier access to plug locations. I think the opti is the biggest bitch because its under the water pump and runs off the cam. But $2K is a big mistake.