Hi,

My 1998 Bonneville SE is currently in the shop. Here is what they found:


1. The rack and pinion unit was bad. I was getting "stiff" steeering and it was also "choppy" in turns, not smooth at all. This was putting added stress on the power steering pump as well. $925 with labor. Ouch! I went ahead and had them perform this since I need to drive the car soon.

2. I am leaking a little coolant that can be see with the car up in the air at the back of the engine. Not a lot, a very tiny leak. This is the dreaded Intake manifold issue. I went to the Techinfo area of this board and read up about this. I also found the updated kit that sells for $98.00. My mechanic is quoting $900 in labor along with a new t-stat and some other misc. parts to replace the unit. This seems very expensive to me. What should this cost and what have people paid? They told me that they perform an extensive cleaning of the intakes and this is essentially the same thing as doing an upper engine rebuild. I told them to wait on this until I can do more research.

3. One bent 16" stock wheel. (2) decent tires and (2) tires with uneven wear. Both are contributing to my shimmy at speed. I bought a refurbished 16" wheel from the e of bay and will research some good replacement tires. What are people buying for these cars? I'm a Michellin guy, but open to suggestions.

4. The remote for unlock/lock is broken internally. I bought a new battery but the battery housing is physically disconnected from the circuit board. I bought a replacement unit from the e of bay as well.

5. The power antenna mast is bent. The radio shop will buy a new mast from the dealer and install it for me. I can hear the motor operating when the radio is turned on or off so I think it'* just the bent mast that is keeping it from retracting.


So the biggy is the intake manifold. It sure does seem like a lot of money for labor on this job. I have not contacted a local dealer or other shops to get quotes yet. I thought I'd post here first since it seems like such a common problem and many others have had this work performed as well.

TIA

It seems to me it is something a average mechanic could do in a afternoon. Unless it came with a 3 angle valve job it seems high.

Dam, these cars photograph well

$900 just for labor? Well, I'm not surprised it'* ridiculous as most places are. This is something that is very easy to do though, with little to no experience and the right tools. Many members here do things like this all the time with little experience. I think you should do it yourself unless you have the money.

And what is this "extensive cleaning of intakes?" If they are just replacing the UIM there'* nothing to "clean" they are just replacing the old UIM with a new one. If they are doing the LIM gaskets then maybe they'll clean the LIM too. But I don't see what'* so "extensive" (or even necessary) about cleaning the lower intake manifold.

They mentioned the phrase "upper engine rebuild"...LOL, there'* nothing to "rebuild" on the top end of a motor for a UIM job, it'* an upper intake, and a lower intake w/ some gaskets if they even do that. When I hear "rebuild" I think of the low end, ie. crank, pistons, rods, bearings, etc.

that a lot of money for some cleaning and a 4 hours job whit about 100$ of part i did mine last week look at my topic (i don"t now how to move it) in performance under L36 intake swap

I had a DEALER estimate of $700 INCLUDING parts & liquids. I did it myself over a weekend for under $250 in parts and I'm sure I did a bettrer job than the dealer would have.

$900 is very high, I think you may need to find a better mechanic you can trust. I'd think a honest shop could probably do it for half of that.

Ed

Ok, tomorrow I will call around and see what kind of quotes I can get.


Can anyone in the Atlanta area recommend a good shop. Carl Black Pontiac/GMC is right down the road from me. I call and get a quotation from them as well.

As popatim said, it'* and afternoon'* work for someone with alittle mechanical ability and maybe a whole day for an inexperienced person. All the things people said above are true including the comments about the so-called extensive intake cleaning.

Updated UIM intake kit = $100 (rounded up)
Better than OEM replacement aluminum-framed LIM gaskets from the GM dealer = $60-65.
New Stent brand 180* thermostat at autoparts store = $8-10.
2 cans brake cleaner and 1 can Intake cleaner (for the Throttle Body) = $8-9
4.75 quarts of Mobil 1 oil at Walmart = $24
Dexcool compatible (BUT NOT Dexcool!!) coolant = $8-10
4 hours labor = However much you value your time at, but even at $100/hour it'* only $400

Total = $605-620

If they are talking $900 for just misc. parts and labor, not including the UIM kit, they are asking too much. Plus, have they included the LIM gasket upgrade in that price? If not, you definately are not getting your money'* worth.

seriously if you do end up having to spend 900, put that money in gas money and come up here to new york and i will donate my labor for free (and you can have a vacation lol) . It is very easy to do and can be done for about 200-225. If you decide to do it, you can pm me or firebuick and i bet we can just about walk you right through it.

I checked into that several months ago. I would supply the UIM, and they would do all the labor including the LIM gasket replacement. They quoted $350.00. They are in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.