2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

[bigbad4cyl]

i have removed my upper gear housing when i removed my engine....i took it in to my machinest ,,,,i braught him the 2 new u joints ....he was kinda new to the whole procedure ,,,,,i went in to check on my engine and asked how much he was charging me for replacing my u - joints....he said the whole assembly had to come apart and he replaced a few seals .....he said it took him about 2 hours ,,,,checkin with you guys ,,,does this seem right ...its a 290a outdrive

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

2 hours seems O.K. to me.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

2 hours is about right if the upper gear box was correctly disasembled and reassembled. if all I need is u-joints I dont disassemble the upper box. then the time will shorten a bit but I always reccomend upper bearing box dissasembly at u-joint replacement. seals dont last forever.

 

[bigbad4cyl]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

he said today that he replaced an o ring somewere near the u joint assembly a paper gasket on one of the covers and another gasket on another cover ,basicly replacing the gaskets on the covers....and he pulled the whole u joint assembly out and cleaned it up real nice and put in the new u joints i braught him ,,,his shop says machine and marine so i thaught he would know what he was doing ,,,but i think the guy who did the marine stuff for him left ,,,i like his shop and attention to cleanleness,,,,,,but im starting to pay attention to this whole upper gearbox thing as critical ,,,he said sence he diddnt remove or replace anything he diddnt set any shim or preloads up just put it back togeather the way it was.....

 

[bigbad4cyl]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

any help would be appreciated ...sorry for the fast bump im just interested in knowing...

 

[Don S]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

sorry for the fast bump im just interested in knowing

I agree with the previous posters about the 2 hours if the gear box was taken apart, but while there are some orings in the upper, there are NO paper gaskets anywhere in the drive.

 

[bigbad4cyl]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

well he did a good job on the u joints ,,,he replaced the gaskets on the 3 other covers he says and reassembled it ,,,he is not charging me for the gaskets cause he said he had them from a previous job.....so 2 hours is 2 much for replacing the 2 u joints on a carried in upper gear box....

 

[Capt Ken]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

I look at it this way, do you take your own steak to the restaurant and ask them to cook it? By furnishing your own parts, you deprive the shop from making that extra profit needed to keep him in business. We have a policy of not using owner furnished parts due to most of the time, they are either the wrong parts or of poor quality due to the owner shopping for the cheaper price. If we did use the owner supplied parts and the job failed due to the cheaper part, who do you think would get the blame? Not the owner supplied part, that's for sure.

 

[bigbad4cyl]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

just answer the question ken i dont need a lecture on your opinion of me bringing him parts....some parts are hard to come by ,,,and by me bringing him some parts it insures that he replaces it and dosent just say to me or himself "that diddnt realy look like it needed replaced " i wont be able to stand over his sholder every moment and insure his decisions are in my best interest not his wanting to slam out a job.......if your so interested in this parts issue ...please look up the hours for a basic u joint replacement in a shop labor manual ,,would ya.

 

[jeff13601]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

I talked to someone I know that had it done and he said he got charged three hours and it sounds like this guy did extra work. I am in the process now of pulling a motor for the first time ever. This is after I had to get it unset and then running. I have developed a new understanding and respect for boat mechanics. I have been at this for about twenty or thirty hours. If I would have taken this to a mechanic it would be a couple thousand dollars by now. I now know that every bolt turns different. I think you should thank him for fixing it properly

 

[cc lancer]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

BB4C:<br />What were you charged for the 2 hours labor?

 

[bigbad4cyl]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

i dont know yet i had an intermidate housing done for 1 hour ,,,,and he is replacing the pistons /rebuilding my engine as well ,,,so ill find out latter i guess ....i think hes 110 an hour or somthing like that..

 

[Capt Ken]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

Lets see, Dr Freud would say you have a distrust of mechanics yet we don't know where the root of this distrust comes from. <br />"quote" (i wont be able to stand over his sholder every moment)<br /> The mechanic made his money off of you (your parts or his) or did you just ignore Don when he stated there was "no" gaskets in the upper. Don is correct, O rings yes, gaskets no.

 

[bigbad4cyl]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

your quoting freud and don s ,,,lets concentrate on you and your all over the place responces...he hasent made nothing yet thats why im here doing my homework ...no paper gaskets is what don said ....the machinest actualy said paper gasket then corrected himself..2 hours seems like a lot ...now look up the shop labor hour alotage like a good chap pretty please..

 

[bigbad4cyl]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

i am a proffesional truck driver and deal with mechanics every day...

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

In my experience, flat rates are fairly meaningless. They assume that the part is laying right in front of you with tools at the ready and parts in good condition. What replaced part is in good condition??? Add saltwater corrosion to the mix and you might as well use the paper they are written on to wipe your butt. I know for a fact that engineers and mechanics don't determine flat rates. A bunch of executroids sit at a table and decide what they are willing to pay for a given repair. It never has anything to do with reality, and few of those that decide know the difference between a wrench and a ratchet.<br /><br />Sounds like you're beating a dead horse. If you wanted it done in an hour or less, you should've tried it yourself. Sounds like nothing anyone here says is going to convince you that you aren't being screwed. So I'll not waste any more time.

 

[jeff13601]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

Flat rates are determined by mechanics tearing apart and putting back together brand new engines etc. I would like to see what the flat rate manuals would say if they used something ten years old.

 

[Capt Ken]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

No, flat rates are figured by engineers in the factory and are used for warranty payment to the shops. Does not take in consideration what boat the engine is installed in or what contortions the mechanic has to put his body into to perform the job. Usually is several hours less than what the job takes. Unlike the auto or truck industry, there is no shop rate manuals for boats.

 

[cc lancer]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

....he was kinda new to the whole procedure <br />That may be the answer to your question. I have the tools and knowledge to do the job, but Don or Rodbolt would be twice as fast as I would because I don't do it as often as they do.<br />If he opened the top gear box , checked gear lash, put in new seals, and new u-joints two hours is not unreasonable.

 

[Capt Ken]

Re: 2 hours labor to replace u joints on a 290 vp out drive

But why would one check gear lash if there was no problem with the unit. If the gear lash has been out for a period of time, then the gears have a wear pattern from that set up. Reshimming the gears will throw that pattern out and cause the gears to wear unevenly and self destruct. Kinda like going in for a tune up and the mechanic pulling the pistons to check for ring wear.