Sounds like they went S L O W, all right.

$600 to do GPs and they didn't have to remove the head???? I'd say for that price, you got took. Now, if one of the plugs broke off and they had to drill it out or send it to a machine shop, that price would be excellent. $600 to take the intake manifold off and unscrew the GPs out?????

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

I could have an intake manifold off of an E300D in under 20 minutes and I have only done it once! For $800 yeah they took their time.

If I owned a 606 I would pull the glowplugs out and ream the holes every spring. I could do it in a little over an hour and never have to worry about a stuck plug.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

$600 was labor and $200 was parts. No wonder they were nice to him. If I am reading it correctly $600 to remove 6 GPs is steep. I think I am going to be an Indie myself. That way I can farm it out to the MB shop and still make a profit without getting my hands dirty.

That is what I am determined to do every december since my cycle started in December.

98E300Man, You shouldn't have to hand them any post. If they don't know how to do it already, you are at the wrong place. I could have done the job in less than 2 hrs if my plugs weren't stuck and I was just reading the post. BTW, call your MB shop and figure out how many hours it takes to change the GPs on your car and how much it should be. Let us know

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Actually, that's not far off. My second set was done at the dealership while the car was under the extended warranty. I mistakenly assumed they were covered and got a bill for $540. Book time for R&R of the manifold is something like 2.5 or 3 hours.

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Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

Hey I'm glad y'all can do this work so inexpensively. When I retire one day from the $$ rat race and raising kids, I'll probably DIY as well. By that time, I'll need my 2d set of GPs for sure.

I really like this repair shop. I never claimed they were cheap. But they do great work IMHO and they are honest. To pre-empt the inevitable questions it is Silver Star Motors in Vienna, VA. I think they are less expensive than American Service Center or HBL and they definitely are more reliable. More convenient, too. I can walk in the shop, ask questions, etc. I agree that they probably didn't need the Lightman posts; it was me!! I was super-scared and could not resist the temptation to print the posts and bring 'em.

Also here in Northern VA I feel prices tend to be high, unfortunately.

That does seem high for labor, but what is a fair labor rate for a full service import shop with overhead and mechanics that know what they are doing?

I think a fair labor rate in northern Va. or here in NY is $100. per hour.

At that rate, I just fail to understand how the job could take six hours by a professional mechanic.

I had spoken to the Indy that I deal with in North Carolina about the time required to R&R the head gasket on a 617 (which I still need to do).

Offhand, without any side work, or add-ons, said it was an 8 hour job. Four off and four back on. So, figure 10 hours. Now compare this to 6 hours for doing glow plugs.

I wonder how many hours these guys would get for a head? Probably 20.

IIRC, Gilly said it pays him like 12 hrs for a head job.

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow