1999 Ford Escort

ALCIBIADES

MEMBER
1999 FORD ESCORT
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
92,000 MILES

Gentlemen, I live in Brazil and my son is in San Diego, CA. He bought a car recently and now had some mechanical problem. The mechanic sent the following message to him:

Hi Ricardo, Here is the estimate for repairs that need to be done on your car.
Head gasket replacement- $800 parts and labor Battery Replacement- $60 parts and labor
AC compressor replacement- $300 parts and labor Water pump, timing belt and timing belt tensioner replacement- $122.29 only charging for parts, labor is free!
New serpentine belt- $15, only charging for parts, labor is free!
Total cost for you is $1297.29
You will get 12 months/12,000 miles warranty for the parts and labor.

My question is just about the first item, the gasket replacement. I agree with the $120 per hour labor cost, but not with the time estimative for changing the gasket, that seems to me to be too high, some like 7 hours. I would like very much to have your oppinion about that. Thank you very much and please excuse my English, Alcibiades

1 Reply

MERLIN2021

MECHANIC
17,250 POSTS

The estimating guide calls for 8.0 hours for a dual overhead cam engine and 6.3 hours for a single overhead cam engine. Just for the head gasket replacement. The head then needs to be sent out for machine shop service, so the price is good!