$8000 and 54 hours to install Stryker Heads, Cam and Headers??????

[Tim]

$8000 and 54 hours to install Stryker Heads, Cam and Headers??????

Well I had Stryker Heads, Cam and Ballenger Headers installed on my 2002 RT.
Now when I get back home to pick the car up I have been told that I have a bill for 54.3 hours or just shy of $8000. I supplied all of the parts, gaskets etc except the oil and any misc. parts that may have needed changing out.

Now I know that there were a few problems along the way but this seems a little excessive. This is a certified Viper Tech at a Chrysler Garage here in Canada so the learning curve should be minimal. I know the guy is meticulous but I think this is a little on the high side as far as hours booked on this.

Does anyone know what book rate is for a head and cam swap. Yes I know there is added time for degreeing the cam in (we pulled the motor to make it easier to work on) as well as the installation of the Rockers, headers etc. I asked that 3 days be put aside to do this so he can work steady as an hour here and the hour there is expensive and an inefficient way to do this.

End result if it all works well and doesn’t blow up and there are no problems then I will be happier…….but 54 hours??????????????

Thks

Tim

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

Actually that sounds not to far off if they charge you for each job individually. Most Techs will not do time and materials jobs so you pay per line item. When you add this up it is about right. If you had a deal to do time and materials then you would be 10 or so less I'm sure.

 

[1BADGTS]

Its very high.Nick at Modern charged me 5500 Labor complete rebuild (including blueprinting,balence and complete headwork)on my highly modded Gen 2 last year.

 

[Kevan]

Wow.
Just......wow.

 

[Burntrubber]

to make sure I am reading this right...was it $8k U.S. dollars just for the install?
if so that sound like alot to me

 

[99 R/T 10]

Should have been about half that ($4000) It's not that complicated.

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

Yea I wish i could get $148.15 an hour!

 

[hardtop]

Thats way high i charge around 4000.00 US.

 

[ViperTony]

Did he give you quote for the job before you dropped off the car? Did you keep the cast pistons or replace them with forged? Post some numbers when you get everything broken in.

 

[FATHERFORD]

8k for that?


Jeses I need to become a viper tech.

 

[1BADGTS]

Guys its off the charts 54 hours labor.Iam telling you Nick did my entire engine including removing it from the car and reinstalling in approx that many hours hours.Keep in mind on the bottom end he had to not only check all tolerances but balence the rotating assembly ,recond the rods ect.Plus disassembly hot tanking assembly headwork ect ect.

 

[1BADGTS]

Did he give you quote for the job before you dropped off the car? Did you keep the cast pistons or replace them with forged? Post some numbers when you get everything broken in.

Tony he could not have replaced the pistons because if he did that he would have to have the capacity to rebalence the entire rotating assembly(different piston weights ) clean hone the block ectThe entire engine needs to come out ect.Sounds like just the top end was done

 

[plumcrazy]

Recently, DLM charged me a lot less than that for very similiar work

 

[Viper Wizard]

8k for that?


Jeses I need to become a viper tech.

Sorry to say but it would be short lived at those prices!


Tim, ouch!! That's not right!

 

[Tim]

It was the top end only. When I took the car in the side sills were off as well as the tappet covers that were powdered coated to match the Ported Intake that was powdered coated Yellow and Black to match the yellow car. The car already had on it the 3" corsa cat back so the header install should not have been that much more complicated. The 1st cam that was sent was machined wrong and he had to pull it and exchange it when he found the timing gear was rubbing in the block. The wrong push rods were sent and had to be changed out. So allowing 10 hours for this it is still over 40 hours. The labour was $6400 cdn. that is more or less on par depending on the spin the stocks for the week. The rest was for .25 parts etc. Yes I was told verbally 20 to 25 hours at $120.00 an hour

I will post some pictures next week of the engine and some performance numbers when I have them.

 

[Viper Specialty]

54 for a head and cam job? Holy Moley... I billed almost exactly that for removing, completely rebuilding, & reinstalling both an engine, AND a transmission... and I didnt charge nearly 150 an hour. [granted, I bent myself over a bit on that job because of the parts... but even still!]

OUCH.

Wow... For that price, I would FLY to your house, bring my tools, wear white cotton gloves.... and *MAYBE* even wear a speedo for an extra 1000 or so.

 

[Kevan]

.... and *MAYBE* even wear a speedo for an extra 1000 or so.

That's hot.

 

[Viper Specialty]

That's hot.

haha, I thought so.



Capitalism... you know?

 

[plumcrazy]

lol@kevan and dan

 

[2001 GTS]

WOW...R&Ring the motor and doing the heads and cam only runs $2k down here

 

[dave6666]

and *MAYBE* even wear a speedo for an extra 1000 or so.

Sooooooooooooooo, how much for table dances?

 

[Viper Specialty]

Sooooooooooooooo, how much for table dances?

:lisp: Well, that would depend there big boi. Did you want the Niagara Falls NY Hammock show, or the Niagara Falls Canada Stir-Your-Drink deal?






[thank god you are already a customer... cause that 'ish would be OVER now... hahaha]

 

[Viper Specialty]

WOW...R&Ring the motor and doing the heads and cam only runs $2k down here

You dont have to pull the engine to do a heads and cam... there are ways around it. 2 grand for a H&C swap is on the low side IMHO unless the engine is VERY easy coming apart without lots of gasket stick, should really be about 2500-3K, and certainly not including any of the gaskets/seals/etc.

 

[pteam]

$148 an hour

 

[HI-NOS-Viper]

Wow, just wow. Talk about taking the "viper tax" to a whole new level. Sorry to hear about that. I bet that half of that 54 hours was drinking beers while watching the Olympics

 

[bvk]

did you get a written quote first?

 

[Bandit3]

Mitchell on demand labor time is about 20 hours total for both.

 

[plumcrazy]

dan is right 2500-3000 for heads and cam is about right

 

[Camfab]

Ok, I'm going to throw my 2 cents in here. Labor based on some manual and reality are two different things. Sure, a head and cam swap can be done really quick. Is it done to perfection, NO. I did that exact job on my car, and I am not a seasoned tech, but I can tell you to do that job right it's no $2000 job. Did the guy do a perfect job, I don't know, but the fact that the pushrods were incorrect and other issues were discovered along the way tells me he was at least careful. All that work costs money, and the swap is not involving factory parts, which means lots of additional checks. Yes I think Eight Thousand dollars is a heck of a lot of money, but with issues and unfamiliar parts you became part of the learning curve.

 

[ViperTony]

If you knew it was going to cost $8K (plus the costs of the heads, cam, etc.) BEFORE you started this project would you rather have spent the money on a new Roe SC system instead? I think for $8K you'd have a new Roe purchased and installed. DIY would be a little less. I'm going back and forth between doing an NA build with my creampuff vs. installing a Roe.