Shops not willing to do hard work?

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JHZR2

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As I noted in my 350SD thread, my plan was a preemptive head gasket replacement. A number of knowledgeable folks I consulted with agreed, I did see about a teaspoon of oil in the recovery bottle per 1000 miles (I literally could absorb it out with a paper towel) but the coolant stayed crystal clear.

I called a few shops that I've had do other work on my cars. It was very interesting to hear the results.

All said either they don't do such large jobs, or they don't work on such old cars anymore. One said to call back when their oldest mechanic was back from vacation.

I went back to a shop I used years back that was further away. A place I trust and who knows these cars really well. So I'm comfortable and happy. But it's the owner who knows and was happy to take on the job. And he must be 65.

But it's incredible to see how people are unwilling to take on heavy engine work. The only ones are the older folks who will all be retired in 5-10 years.

Scary

It's always been that when cars go beyond some age, you really need to be an enthusiast and DIY. But what was more interesting is that stuff like headgaskets are too big/heavy jobs.
 
It's a shame. We see this all the time.

Years ago a brother had his 49 International KB1 engine rebuilt. The shop called the previous mechanic who was retired and he gladly came back in just for that job. The main bearings were poured babbit and no one had the experience of doing that.

He was very thankful for that job. He was around 80 at the time.

Now it's just parts swapping.
 
Yup, had a friend with a 93 Ranger. Nobody wanted to diagnose the driveability concern and kept sending him different places. Then the last place just said "it needs a new engine just buy a newer truck" I mean come on it isn't even something exotic it's a FORD!!
 
We wont work on MB cars either. We fix one thing then something unrelated quits and the customer blames us. BMW owners are worse! Its just not worth the hassle of dealing with an upset customer. Plus getting Dealer parts can be real tough. They don't want to sell to shops. You need to find a shop that specializes in European cars.
 
Originally Posted by JHZR2
As I noted in my 350SD thread, my plan was a preemptive head gasket replacement. A number of knowledgeable folks I consulted with agreed, I did see about a teaspoon of oil in the recovery bottle per 1000 miles (I literally could absorb it out with a paper towel) but the coolant stayed crystal clear.

I called a few shops that I've had do other work on my cars. It was very interesting to hear the results.

All said either they don't do such large jobs, or they don't work on such old cars anymore. One said to call back when their oldest mechanic was back from vacation.

I went back to a shop I used years back that was further away. A place I trust and who knows these cars really well. So I'm comfortable and happy. But it's the owner who knows and was happy to take on the job. And he must be 65.

But it's incredible to see how people are unwilling to take on heavy engine work. The only ones are the older folks who will all be retired in 5-10 years.

Scary

It's always been that when cars go beyond some age, you really need to be an enthusiast and DIY. But what was more interesting is that stuff like headgaskets are too big/heavy jobs.


An old 350SD is pretty cheap these days and there aren't many of them so there are few owners who'd be willing to have the HG done.
There are therefore very few that will come in to any shop needing a new HG, which is not a trivial job to do correctly. It's not just a matter of removing the head, scrapping the surfaces, slapping on a new HG and putting the head back on. Aside from the obvious mechanical complications, some machining will also probably be needed. Need I add that this was not one of the better diesel engines used in Mercedes cars?
The tribal knowledge about how to do this job has been lost as the older techs have either retired or dedicated themselves to easier work.
Thus, most shops won't want to tackle this sort of work.
The book time is too short to allow a younger wrench who's never seen one before to learn as he goes and he won't want to tackle it anyway.
Today, engines are rarely rebuilt at the shop level. Another engine is obtained from a rebuilder or as a factory-new crate assembly or a used one is sourced from a yard or importer and simply swapped in.
The reason for this is that the need for major engine work these days is becoming quite rare since modern engines last for a very long time baring major mechanical failure.
The maintenance and repair infrastructure that made ancient Benz diesels a viable long-life choice for decades is now mostly gone.
 
They may be busy enough with plenty of workload that it's not interesting to them. They likely also prefer work that pays 'faster' or sooner. I have no idea of what's involved in the work you wanted but it sounds like it would take a while meaning they'd have a mechanic tied up on that job for 'x' days before the money comes in. Offer to pay half up front and half when done and see if they take it on.
 
I have a mechanic who does this work however it takes twice as long always. Some examples were burned valve requiring engine removal on Subaru which lead to to major engine work since open. I think these jobs occasionally take longer and tie up shop/bay and build up.

I work from home so I can put up with this coupled to his $60/hr rate with honesty. At the same time he is trying to keep the quick customers with appointments happy.
 
I was talking a friend of mine about doing a RMS in my Rav4. He said he doesn't do jobs like that anymore. It's just not worth it to him to do those types of jobs.
 
I know what you mean, the only thing keeping me from heavier stuff is illness. Hopefully they get this taken care of with the new drug along with another they try on Tuesday and I can get back to my old self.
I see it all the time, guys in the 40's to darn near 70 are still hard at it, the younger guys (not all of course) seem to want to do the easy stuff that pays good rate eg scan tool diagnostic time and slack.

As has been said this one is not as easy as it sounds, as you know this is no little 4 banger aluminum head. You need a real mechanic for this, shade tree and OJT are not happening.
 
Originally Posted by edwardh1
maybe get a good used Toyota.

Good idea. Mechanics in general have plenty of experience changing toyota headgaskets.
 
Keep in mind that theres usually special tools needed for a head gasket replacement, and on a vehicle that a bit older, or a little more rare, most wont want to invest in the timing kits or the time lost learning a new job on a lift, unless its going to become a profitable endeavour, either money or notoriety online. Plus, most techs will be losing time on the first few heads that they pull, along with the always present incidentals on older cars, things you find only after the heads off, so sometimes on larger jobs like this estimates can go out the window. 20 year old plastic connectors that have never been apart do not like moving. Hey this coolant flange looks crappy, its 4.5 hours with the head in but 30 mins right now, or these hoses are terrible, change it while its out. What if the head has a tiny crack like my X3 and turns into a week trying to find a good used one, which still needs time at the machine shop before you get it back on. More dead time on the lift, more things they couldnt possibly expect to see. I was "lucky' I had this happen to me on my personal X3, and not a customers, since it added an easy 1200 to the bill. I have invested in a few kits that I know Ill always use, some much more often like the Mini N12/14, or BMW M50/52/54, but for that I couldnt lay out the $2-400 for a job Ill only do once. At one point, Id bet that those cars and body style were your shops bread and butter, cars that kept the lights on. I would personally love to do an old AEB 1.8t from the early audis, but I grew up working on them and feel comfortable tackling a job like that. One mistake could cost the shop thousands, especially on an engine like that, and dont see the return over the risk. Dont mean to ramble, but just a view from the other side of the counter.
Cars can be much more complicated now. A rear main seal that used to be 3-4 hours on a RWD V8 can be 10-12 hours on all wheel drive or transverse motor compact SUV.
 
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I took my car back to the dealer of purchase for a 60kmile service and was pretty picky about making sure they knew what I wanted done...I told them I was doing the oil and quizzed them about the PCV valve to make sure it was going to get done.
I noticed that their service flyer said the PCV valve was replaced "if applicable" at 60k and I thought any car they sold would have one, so I got a verbal assurance from the service advisor that it was going to be take care of.
After I got the car back, I checked through the service writeup and invoice carefully and noticed there was no charge for a PCV valve...I called the dealer and the same service advisor told me that they don't do those on turbos because they have to take the intercooler off to get to it! I started to complain and he blurted out, "Subaru say it's a lifetime part!" I pointed out that he had assured me directly that it would be done and he claimed I didn't tell him it was a turbo (I guess he didn't know what XT meant in Forester XT, plus they sold me the darned thing).
I didn't get it in writing, so I felt like I had sort of screwed myself...I took it back there for warranty work on the CVT, but I'm not planning to pay them again for any service.
 
Got hired for job on time off to rebuild a Toyota Cressida years ago that a mechanic rebuilt twice and each time it blew within 50 miles. Needless to say he lost his job. I seen customer years later and he claimed to put 300k on Vehicle which he offered to sell it to me first if he ever sold it. Did a couple of 350sd engines for oil leaks as well as timing chains. This is not one I would want just a parts changer doing head gaskets on.
 
If you have the bad luck to need an engine pulled, and assuming the car is old enough to have engine problems, you might as well donate the car to your favorite charity and they will have it towed to the wreckers. Rebuilding a car engine at today's rates makes no sense. The shops know this, and coupled with the expected warranty, makes it a no brainer. Perhaps most shops should have a Chaplin to break the news to the customer.
 
Originally Posted by PeterPolyol
Originally Posted by edwardh1
maybe get a good used Toyota.

Good idea. Mechanics in general have plenty of experience changing toyota headgaskets.


Exactly, because I hear so many Toyota's blowing their HG's
smirk.gif


I know what you mean tho OP.
I called a reputable shop in my area for a quote on replacing my rear wheel bearings on my BMW (very slight noise...hardly noticeable).
Despite having a good reputation, they outright refused as soon as they heard it was a BMW e30 (to their credit the rear wheel bearing job is a real bear).

Just be grateful those mechanics refused.
Nothing worse than paying good money to a mechanic who just doesn't care to take the time and effort these old cars require.
 
I agree that some shops have trouble finding parts, and give up too easily on that. When I had my Audi, one shop I favoured (and still do) actually encouraged me to find my own parts, since they didn't want the hassle. It just required a bit of out of the box thinking, rather than their normal parts network. Some actually were grateful when I showed them, since they found a cheaper supplier than their traditional German supplier.

Some are intimidated by larger jobs. Others are intimidated by German cars.
 
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