Wednesday, November 24, 2010

My timing cover is leaking ALOT of oil. How much does that cost to fix?

My car has been leaking tremendous amounts of oil lately and I took it to the Auto Check place to get an oil change and a lookover. The guy tells me that the valve cover gasket and the timing cover are the problems. The timing cover is the worst. There is oil all over the place. The car is a 1997 240SX SE. They told me that it would be a 16 hour job and gave me an estimate of 155 for the valve cover gasket and 1,575 for the timing cover to be replaced. That's crazy! Am I being taken advantage of? I don't know much about cars but someone told me that was way overpriced and i'm a unknowledgable girl about engine work. I thought maybe it was because of my type of car (they stopped making them in 98). How much do these jobs normally cost and am I being screwed over? I'm new to the city and have no clue on what mechanic is good or bad. Is there a auto mechanic franchise out there that anyone would suggest for being less pricey and good? My timing cover is leaking ALOT of oil. How much does that cost to fix?
You can find a recommended garage in your area at the Click and Clack Car Talk website.

As far as the timing cover, front wheel drive cars with the sideways engine require a lot of labor to get to the timing cover, a whole lot of parts have to be removed from the motor - and all of that done in a confined area. So if your car is front wheel drive, the job is going to be pricey.



EDIT: As long as they are doing all the labor of getting to the timing cover and gasket, it's worth it to have the timing chain/belt replaced at the same time, especially considering that the car is a '97 and the part is 11 years old. They will probably recommend replacing the water pump for the same reasons.My timing cover is leaking ALOT of oil. How much does that cost to fix?
Your valve cover has a max of 2 gasket/seals, both of which %26quot;DO NOT%26quot; cost more than $20.00. He's making up a big fat story to rip you unsuspecting girls off. Like the other guy said, have a guy take the car in and see what the mechanic comes up with. Gasket and oil seal replacement should be around $100.00.My timing cover is leaking ALOT of oil. How much does that cost to fix?
http://www.napaonline.com/masterpages/NOLMaster.aspx?PageId=470%26amp;LineCode=FPG%26amp;PartNumber=VS50550R%26amp;Description=Valve+Cover+Gasket+Set



http://www.napaonline.com/masterpages/NOLMaster.aspx?PageId=470%26amp;LineCode=NOS%26amp;PartNumber=17897%26amp;Description=Timing+Cover+Seal



hey there i allready chose the car yr and model for you, those links will take you directly to the two parts you said they said you %26quot;need%26quot;....and the timing cover gasket is the expensive of the two the other being 4 dollars n change, however unfortunately labor is expensive as hell these days and where I live its 105.00 hourly at a dealer certified shop, but i was a mechanic before my current job and I could do it in 4-5 hours w/breaks, so I think the previous person to post is right about the male thing unfortunately ppl aren't very nice.....