Someone else just wrote a post asking how much damage could be done by a broken flex disc. It is interesting timing, because I just took my car in today for a weird vibration noise. They said the flex disc is starting to break down and needs to be replaced. The mechanic wanted a near laughable $350 for the part and repair. I was like, ummm, I don't think so.

That said, how hard is it to put in? The parts place said it's not that hard, but you know how that goes. What are the steps to do it?

Thanks,

Jeff 1991 300d, 104k

$350 isn't really all that bad, considering that the disk is close to a hundred for the part.

They're not all that hard to get in. I didn't remove my transmission mount and had to grind the side of a box-end wrench to get any grip on the nuts to tighten the bolts. I'm pretty sure that I have them tight, but I need to drive the car for a few more slow miles before putting it back up on stands to check the bolts.

If the shop changes it and it subsequently fails, you can make them fix your car. Mine is all on me. If I could have unwound my labor and returned the parts and paid to have them replaced before I started for $350 each, I might have.

My mechanic charged me an hours labor to replace the flex disc, granted I supplied the part, but $350 sounds a lot more like they were talking about replacing the center support bushing and bearing. I just had that done last week to fix a "vibration during heavy acceleration" problem.

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-justin

1987 300TD, 1987 300TD
2008 R32, 2000 Passat Wagon

If the flex disc comes apart at speed, the airbags might deploy, not a pretty sight. Search the archives, it happened to another forum member.

As for the steps to do it, they sell things called shop manuals, your mechanic had to pay for his, he didn't have the luxury of getting free advice.

Tell you what, when you spend $100,000 in equipment and tools to open a shop, pay workmans comp insurance, pay unemployment to the govt., pay a 3% surcharge to let customers use credit cards, pay for a lease, collect and pay back sales taxes, ASE certifications, internet website, and I can keep going...... then you will see that $250 in labor isn't that bad. People need to make a living, I'll leave it at that.

You couldn't buy the tools needed to do the job for $250.00, not to mention the experience needed to do such a repair. It's not as simple as changing oil.

$70 from ********, wholesale is just a tad lower.



How do you need over $250 in tools to R&R a flex disc??? I have an $80 combo wrench set, a $90 1/2" drive kit that does them no sweat.

If you were really crafty, you could get by with just an extra wrench to back the bolt and just remove them.

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

I am presently working on my 84D driveshaft. Changed center support & bearing. Support bushing was kapput. I believe that flex disc was changed by PO as its in good shape. But my guess is that the bushing could have used changing at the time the PO changed the FDs.

My take is that if the FDs are bad, I would take a close look at the center bushings too, or vise-versa. The rubber usually breaks up. You have to drop the driveshaft again if you have to replace the center support. So, why not just do it now.

$350 sounds reasonable especially if you don't like crawing under the car

How I wish I had a lift.....

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the sooner you start... the sooner you'll get done If it ain't broke, don't fix it.. Its always simpler to tell the truth...
2007 Honda Accord EX
2007 Honda Accord SE V6
96 C220
97 Explorer - Found Another Home
2000 Honda Accord V6 - Found Another Home
85 300D - Found Another Home
84 300D - Found Another Home
80 300TD - Found Another Home
Previous cars:
96 Caravan
87 Camry
84 Cressida
82 Vanagon
80 Fiesta
78 Nova
Ford Cortina
Opel Kadet
68 Kombi
Contessa

Sorry for bringing up the flex disc poll,,, now I'm to blame for your flex disc problem,,, just like when I cut the grass the other week, everyone blamed me as they started their lawn mowers,,, well anyway,,,


Flex discs are not that hard to replace (atleast the rear one) Loosen the bolts that you have access, put the car in gear and turn a rear tire, put car back in gear (Please don't be under the car when you put it in gear,, also the parking brake will prevent you from turning the tire) Make 100% certain the car is safe to be under,,, chock front tires,,,etc. Now remove the other two or three bolts. Note the location of the washers. The flex disk may not want to dislodge, what I do is put the car in park and push the car a few inches, that usually breaks them free.

The bolts are nowhere as tight as the steering wheel bolt so a breaker bar so be able to free them. Also the driveshaft can be moved forward to remove the rear flex disk.
Good luck

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Closing the store
Benzbonz.biz on your smart phone or tablet.

Man, if I were to add up the cost of the tools that I used, it would far exceed a thousand dollars!

This includes a jack, some hand tools, an air compressor and impact driver.

And I agree that the rear is easy. It's the front that's hard.

Shop labor pays for the overhead and mechanic, the profit from the parts is how a shop makes money.

The wholesale price doesn't matter when buying a part that a mechanic puts in, it's like talking about the wholesale price of eggs and ham at the diner. People don't complain about the cost of breakfast that is served to them, but the poor mechanic should sell parts at wholesale and give his labor away.....

The flex disk is $65 from the dealer and it took me about 45 min to change my rear disk with the back of the car up on the curb. The front one is not any harder.


$350...man I wish somebody was paying ME to do this stuff.

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

Where did I say to simply give your labor away?

When you look at some of the parts mark up, it is pretty simple how mechanics get a bad name at times. When $40 parts get upped to $120, you have a greedy person.



I too have thousands in tools, I SIMPLY stated it could be done on the cheap if you're crafty and a penny pincher. I've got most everything in Metric then SAE, air tools, jacks, stands, engine pullers, lots of specific engine tools, MB tools, etc, etc.

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

It surely doesn't require $250 in tools to replace a flexdisc. I dropped a whole driveshaft out of car in 10 minutes at the pick and pull with 2 wrenches which is all you really need. You could straddle a ditch or put one set of wheels up on the curb and wiggle underneath to do it. Is that worth $250 to you?
It's not hard. I'd put it on jackstands, do it myself and put the $250 towards another canoe.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

The man was on this forum simply asking a question about something he didn't know about. You raked him over the gravel with Your sarcastic reply. And just so YOU will know, IT is a piece of cake as other, calmer members have provided him with the proper help.
Bud

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1987 300D Turbo, 175k mi., 1998 BMW 323i Convertible, 1997 F250 4x4 7.3L PSD

If you don't like my sarcasm, you can put me on ignore. Just as I have done with you, as of this post.

I missed something. Your reply was sarcastic?