Daizen Install
11-09-10, 08:18 PM
#16
Hi, i've replaced shocks, lower ball joints, outer tie rods and all new michelin pilot sports tires on my 02 gs430 with 101,000 miles. After numerous alignments, the car still gets out of alignment after a month and won't track straight. It is a pain to drive. Searching the forums, most of you guys have said that the bushings are the main problem. I ordered a full set of Daizen suspension bushings and sway bar bushings. My independent mechanic told me that it could be $1500 and 2 days of labor for him to press the bushings in and out!!! Is this a high price? Anyone know of someone in the DC,MD,VA area that could do it?
Thanks for your help
Thanks for your help
BTW, changing the bushing (along with a hunter alignment) turned my car into a handling BEAST!! Love driving it now where I was ready to drive it into the Potomac before then (non-DMV folks, the Potomac is a large river in the area :-)
11-10-10, 05:18 AM
#17
Everyone is right, $1,500 is too high and $350 is too low. If you have a spare car to drive while you work on your GS, take out the upper and lower control arms and I can press them in for you or for a couple of hundred my friends at Curry's Reston can press them for you.
BTW, changing the bushing (along with a hunter alignment) turned my car into a handling BEAST!! Love driving it now where I was ready to drive it into the Potomac before then (non-DMV folks, the Potomac is a large river in the area :-)
BTW, changing the bushing (along with a hunter alignment) turned my car into a handling BEAST!! Love driving it now where I was ready to drive it into the Potomac before then (non-DMV folks, the Potomac is a large river in the area :-)
How much would Currys Auto service charge to do the whole job? Like i said, i'm not a diy type guy and i definitely wouldn't feel comfortable fooling with something important like my front suspension! lol
11-10-10, 01:10 PM
#18
Update:
After getting the car, my mechanic called me back and said that the labor would be $1020 for the front suspension bushings and sway bar bushings install. He said that it is a very labor intensive job and it is a 12 hour job. How in the world are you guys telling me this is a 5 hour job tops?
After getting the car, my mechanic called me back and said that the labor would be $1020 for the front suspension bushings and sway bar bushings install. He said that it is a very labor intensive job and it is a 12 hour job. How in the world are you guys telling me this is a 5 hour job tops?
11-10-10, 03:30 PM
#21
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if its just the UCA and LCA#2 then its not too bad, but if you're doing the LCA#1 and you're doing it in 3hrs both sides I wouldn't ride in the car with you because you must have extra parts left over lol. Pressing in/out takes probably 30min-1hr because the LCA#2 bushing don't just easily come out, i cant see a complete front suspension assembly and disassembly in 3hrs unless there is a guy working on each side at the same time. That is unless the guy has done this job 100 times.
11-10-10, 03:35 PM
#22
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GSteg from what you're saying you only did caster arm bushings, correct? These were the easiest to press out for me. The other ones were more time consuming.
I totaly don't believe that your guy can do the ENTIRE job in 3.5 hours unless you have a helper and etc.!
Have you done the entire job yourself?
Last edited by krispl; 11-10-10 at 03:42 PM.
11-10-10, 04:31 PM
#23
I totaly don't believe that your guy can do the ENTIRE job in 3.5 hours unless you have a helper and etc.!
Have you done the entire job yourself?
Have you done the entire job yourself?
Honestly it doesn't hurt me if you guys don't believe it. Many of the socal GS guys who had it done knows it can be done. He can do it quickly because he knows our cars (after all he owns one), and no, there were no left over parts
. We're not talking backyard mechanic here. He's done at least 15 daizen install to know what works and what doesn't. Obviously the first few times took a while, but after that, it almost became second nature.Another thing people have trouble with is reinstalling the caster arm into the car because it's not as easy to realign the the 2 17mm bolts onto the LCA. That will add in quite a bit of time if it's the last part you're installing..
Maybe I should tell him to take his time and charge more for the service.
11-10-10, 07:21 PM
#24
Now that's a guy we need a DIY from lol, because if he can take it apart like this:
and put it back together on both sides after pressing bushings in/out in all 6 arms, you should tell him to raise his prices.
and put it back together on both sides after pressing bushings in/out in all 6 arms, you should tell him to raise his prices.
For my car, yes, I only did the caster bushing. It's the one most people have problem withs, pressing out and in.
No helper.
Honestly it doesn't hurt me if you guys don't believe it. Many of the socal GS guys who had it done knows it can be done. He can do it quickly because he knows our cars (after all he owns one), and no, there were no left over parts. We're not talking backyard mechanic here. He's done at least 15 daizen install to know what works and what doesn't. Obviously the first few times took a while, but after that, it almost became second nature.
Another thing people have trouble with is reinstalling the caster arm into the car because it's not as easy to realign the the 2 17mm bolts onto the LCA. That will add in quite a bit of time if it's the last part you're installing..
Maybe I should tell him to take his time and charge more for the service.
No helper.
Honestly it doesn't hurt me if you guys don't believe it. Many of the socal GS guys who had it done knows it can be done. He can do it quickly because he knows our cars (after all he owns one), and no, there were no left over parts
. We're not talking backyard mechanic here. He's done at least 15 daizen install to know what works and what doesn't. Obviously the first few times took a while, but after that, it almost became second nature.Another thing people have trouble with is reinstalling the caster arm into the car because it's not as easy to realign the the 2 17mm bolts onto the LCA. That will add in quite a bit of time if it's the last part you're installing..
Maybe I should tell him to take his time and charge more for the service.
Last edited by pizdets17; 11-10-10 at 07:25 PM.
11-10-10, 07:35 PM
#25
For someone that is REALLY familiar with the GS, working on cars, and has done this type of thing before I believe you when you say 3.5 hours. For guys like me that are good around cars, solid DIY guys, and have not done something like this before, 8-10 hours is a good estimate. I spent a weekend doing mine with a little help from my next door neighbor who's a competent DIYer as well.
$1,000 firm for labor isn't such a bad rate in NOVA. If I had it to do all over again I would have paid someone to have that weekend back.
$1,000 firm for labor isn't such a bad rate in NOVA. If I had it to do all over again I would have paid someone to have that weekend back.
11-11-10, 06:20 AM
#26
For someone that is REALLY familiar with the GS, working on cars, and has done this type of thing before I believe you when you say 3.5 hours. For guys like me that are good around cars, solid DIY guys, and have not done something like this before, 8-10 hours is a good estimate. I spent a weekend doing mine with a little help from my next door neighbor who's a competent DIYer as well.
$1,000 firm for labor isn't such a bad rate in NOVA. If I had it to do all over again I would have paid someone to have that weekend back.
$1,000 firm for labor isn't such a bad rate in NOVA. If I had it to do all over again I would have paid someone to have that weekend back.
I ended up doing it myself, but having a shop press in the bushings. All said and done, I did it in 6 hours with basic hand tools. No helpers. I even fudged one side, and had to reassemble it again. But if a moron like me can do it in 6 hours. Ain't no way in hell a shop with a lift and air tools should take over 5. I wouldn't it pay it. Keep in mind, I said I didn't press in/out the bushings. That part sucks
So maybe I'd pay for 6-7 hours of labor to get MY friday night back if I did it again.
11-11-10, 06:37 AM
#27
fwiw, I'm an IT doofus too and didn't know how to change my oil filter when I got the GS. So tackling the control arm job was all foreign to me, I'd done the brakes a few months before though.
I ended up doing it myself, but having a shop press in the bushings. All said and done, I did it in 6 hours with basic hand tools. No helpers. I even fudged one side, and had to reassemble it again. But if a moron like me can do it in 6 hours. Ain't no way in hell a shop with a lift and air tools should take over 5. I wouldn't it pay it. Keep in mind, I said I didn't press in/out the bushings. That part sucks So maybe I'd pay for 6-7 hours of labor to get MY friday night back if I did it again.
I ended up doing it myself, but having a shop press in the bushings. All said and done, I did it in 6 hours with basic hand tools. No helpers. I even fudged one side, and had to reassemble it again. But if a moron like me can do it in 6 hours. Ain't no way in hell a shop with a lift and air tools should take over 5. I wouldn't it pay it. Keep in mind, I said I didn't press in/out the bushings. That part sucks
So maybe I'd pay for 6-7 hours of labor to get MY friday night back if I did it again.
12-10-10, 01:11 PM
#29
so im here at the shop getting all of my daizen control arm bushings installed, the sway bar bushings and a hunter alignment.the total cost is $817 bucks.is this a good price? the shop charges 90 bucks an hour for labor.i talked to the tech who worked on my car and he said the bushings only took 4 hrs 15 min for him to install,and the sway bushings were easy,probably about 30 min. The shop charged more than his stated labor time because they said they charge by the book hours even if it takes less time to do.Did i still get a good deal or did i get hosed?
12-10-10, 01:24 PM
#30
They are only supposed to charge you for what it took... period..
They like to quote from the "Big Book Auto Service" time.. forgot what it is called. But If they are going by hourly rates then they need to follow it. Otherwise they can quote you for the whole job neglecting how long it will take them to do it.
For example I asked The local mechanic down the street his labor just to install caster arm #2 bushings and we agreed on 135$. bear in mind this is on a 1st gen GS300(91'-97') where you have to literally loosen the 2 front bolts of the sub frame, remove the 2 rear bolts and let the subframe kinda hang from the body to gt the caster arms out. For the 2nd gen gS300's it is waaay easier to do.
They like to quote from the "Big Book Auto Service" time.. forgot what it is called. But If they are going by hourly rates then they need to follow it. Otherwise they can quote you for the whole job neglecting how long it will take them to do it.
For example I asked The local mechanic down the street his labor just to install caster arm #2 bushings and we agreed on 135$. bear in mind this is on a 1st gen GS300(91'-97') where you have to literally loosen the 2 front bolts of the sub frame, remove the 2 rear bolts and let the subframe kinda hang from the body to gt the caster arms out. For the 2nd gen gS300's it is waaay easier to do.
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