Repost - engine repair costs

Viscount

Viscount

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Folks, I'm reposting this as I'm sure there must be some real experience out there - thanks for the 2 replies my original post got. The fact is that I got the repair done by a VP dealer as I had neither the time nor confidence to do myself. I am not posting here what the bill was in order to avoid influencing the responses but I would really appreciate advice about how much such a repair might cost.

Original post:

I would be interested to hear opinions / experience on how much I might expect to pay a Penta dealer (parts and labour) to replace a burnt exhaust valve on an AD31a. Boat is on an easily accessible pontoon and the head comes off without having to remove the engine from the boat; access is good.
 
i did something similar myself....I dropped a valve which thumped the top of the piston....i had to take the head off and have it re-worked...

new valve seat
two new valves
new head gasket
new injector

All for an old ford d type....I did all the labour and it cost me £280...that included the head gasket and three hours of labour (£30/hour) to fix the head

took me another 3-4 hours to put it all back together....so at the going rate maybe another 3 hours worth of labour to get the head off....

Not really much change out of £500...but i am mean and and would rather learn about the engine so i did it myself....

Am I close...or was i very lucky
 
I had a head overhauled at a local engineering firm a couple of years ago, cost £150 including two exaust and one inlet valve replacement. I removed and refitted the head myself and the gasket set came to around £213 from keypart . Labour for removal and refitting I guess was around 10 hours tops but I am not an experienced engineer who should be able to do it quicker. At around £30 per hour for labour I guess around £600 should be reasonable for this job. Has anyone ever found a reasonable VP service engineer??
Regards,
Eddie
 
Parts and labour , between £500 and £700 , but I don't think we're getting the whole story , so I'll reserve judgement . Also , my charges are at East coast rates , not South
 
I'd have said 4hrs to remove, 3-4hrs or possibly more to overhaul the head depending on damage to valve seat, 4hrs to replace.

Maybe 12hrs labour £50/hr = £600 plus gaskets, new valve, bits, coolant, sundries, = £1100 or therabouts ?

Then again, that's the logical view. When my old AD31 overheated, they did a "head job" which included a skim, new injector sleeves, and a new gasket, and the bill came to £3500, which when broken down into gory detail made sense, but the total was horrendous.

dv.
 
You're the closest - it was just less than £1,500. Thanks to all that repied. As far as "the whole story" - not sure there is anything else to tell. Location is Scotland and labour rate is £35 / hour which is paid for travelling time also and a 35p/mile cost in addition. Exhaust clamp was left loose thus fumes and soot in engine bay and diesel now leaks from the injectors.
 
I've spent most of my life taking car and boat engines to pieces and fettling them, as an amateur, mainly because I couldn't afford for anyone else to do the job. I've now reached that age where all the enthusiasm has gone and I'd rather get someone else to do the work. But having read what peeps are having to pay for what are really straight-forward jobs, I don't think I can afford to flog my torque wrench yet! /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
You've been "LakeSailored".

There should be an addendum to the rules covering "estimate" situations, where the original poster accepts a later and less accurate estimate as being the closest. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

dv.
 
Tell you what Tom, Next time it goes bang, call me, I could come up from Cornwall, do the job and get back and still give you change from £1500.

Must admit though, gasket sets for the AD31 are not the cheapest in the world.

Not an easy job to do in the boat either as torquing the head down is a 5 stage process with three torques and two angle tightens and by the time you get to the last one, you are swinging on the bar. Not easy in a tight space. Can't afford a torque multiplier though!

Cheers

JH
 
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