"Big Bill" > wrote in message
...
| On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 13:04:37 -0600, "John Riggs"
| > wrote:
|
| > Yes, all well and good, but if a guy has at least a rudimentary
| >knowledge of automotive mechanics, this is one of the simpler repairs,
and
| >if he pays attention to what he's doing, it doesn't have to be a costly
| >repair, but a mere temporary annoyance. If he isn't comfortable doing it,
| >great, pay someone else, but if he is confident in his abilities and
| >conscientious about his work, it is a few bucks and 20 minutes of time to
| >replace. I can't tell you how many I have replaced, and never had so much
as
| >single glitch. The worst I ever had was a broken ear on the gooseneck of
a
| >'63 ford.....but it was also my first attempt at replacing one, and I had
| >incorrectly torqued the bolts....bought another one at a local salvage
yard
| >for a couple of bucks and was done in just a few minutes. It's really not
| >all that complicated. You just have to pay attention to what you are
doing.
| >My engines typically last well over 200K miles, so I can't be too far
off,
| >but I still recommend a guy buys himself a manual to help guide him
through
| >minor repairs like this.
|
| We weren't addressing whether or not someone can (or should) do this
| in his driveway, but rather the complaint that the dealer or other
| mechanic charges so much to do the same job.
| By all means, if the owner feels this is a job he can do himself, I
| say, let him do it. There's no problem with that, as far as I'm
| concerned. I don't even do work on my own vehicles any more (physical
| limitations).
| But I (and, I think, Jim, if I can speak for him) were only trying to
| give an idea of why that 15 minute driveway job can turn into a $100+
| job in a dealership.
|
| --
| Bill Funk
| Change "g" to "a"