I'm coming up to my first major service - timing belts and all. How many shop hours is reasonable?
Good day wrcimprezza, It is really tough to say, as it entirely depends on your "and all" portion of your statement. For certain the engine will come out and this has taken me between 6-7 hours to do (+ a bit more to put the engine back in). As for the belts replacement... This is straightforward, however, at the same time valve clearances are checked, valve timing checked, as well as gaskets, seals,hoses checked/replaced, replating of hardware, rebuilding of water pump, etc... and depending on how well the car was maintained and its last services there could be other items needing attention (clutch, suspension, brakes, etc). Cheers, Sam
I generally pull the engine - though it takes me longer than Sam. Put it on a pallet, drive it to Atlanta to have one of the experts there do belts, cam timing and valves. While its in Atlanta, I clean, detail and order what ever small parts I need. I like doing it this way. Its cost effective, lets me take my time doing something I love, and lets me pay the mechanic for his expertise. I have a lift and would not do it with out one. Take lots of pictures. A couple months later putting it back together they will be indispensable for routing issues. Once in the mechanics hands, I think the service was only a couple thousand dollars - from memory which could be faulty. Drew
Not sure how many hours but I’d plan for $10K and hope it’s stays less then $15K. The belt service is just the minimum and things will be found. How are yours carbs? The wear between the throttle shaft and casting is a real issue and isn’t cheap to fix. That being said after having Pierce Manifold restore mine the car runs much better.
Thanks for your replies guys. I certainly won't be attempting this myself, I plan on using a recognised independent garage and was wondering how many hours they charge for a routine service plus engine out belts change.
40ish hrs is pretty common if you are starting with a routine no issue car. Similar to what Samsaprunoff mentioned. The rest is up to you when you get there. If you need a new clutch? Change your exhaust? Your a/c needs service .... need new gas filters, and or theromostates if 20 yrs old , then all bets are off on the 40 hrs.