I have to have the back side, bank 1 cat replaced and my mechanic is saying 20 hours labor...says they have to remove the subframe to get to it and the book says 20.7 hours for the subframe.

Help!!!

 

I think that is a little high. While I haven't done this particular job, I think you can slide the cat out with just removing the rear drive shaft out of the way. That would only take but maybe 2 hours of work (1 hour out, 1 hour in). Then add in another hour or so to remove the cat and install the new one. So, round up a little bit, I would say all could be done in about 4 hours. Hopefully one of the techs that actually does this day in and day out can give a slightly better estimate.

For 20 hours, you can drop the whole motor in that time, pull the cat off with the motor out of the car and then put it back in.

 

Something is up and I hate those books. I called the *********** and asked for a labor quote alone and they told me about 6 hours. I will be having a talk with the shop owner tomorrow.

 

I looked under mine today to see what I'll be getting into this weekend, and im 100% certain you have to pull the subrame off. I just didnt see a place that it could possibly physically fit through. I will update after I replace mine this weekend.

 

Thanks mcduvall, ill be interested in what you find.

 

Another member on here said that he had taken his out thru the top of the engine, and this is correct. I know because I just replaced it this weekend. Its still a pain and the lower clamp had to be cut off since we were not able to get a socket around it. but it got replaced and was a lot easier than removing the sub frame. It still ran like crap afterwards but that was because one of my friends tightened on the to spark plugs to hard and cracked it, just replaced the plug and it purrs like a kitten now!

 

I called two other places and they quoted me 6 hours as well so the car got moved, should be ready today.

Thanks for the response mcduvall, glad yours is purring away.

Why does the forum think s t e a l r ship is a bad word?

 

>Why does the forum think s t e a l r ship is a bad word?

I think because we've had a number of dealership-techs on the list who've been very involved with discussions and generally very helpful. I think we just don't want to tar the good with the bad. The business model of a modern car dealership is complicated and some are much better to deal with than others. It just seems appropriate to both point out the bad ones and also to comment on the good ones.
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Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons

 

I am an active member on a couple of other forums in which techs are active members. I don't believe for a second that the tech has anything to do with the complicated workings of how a s/dealership ticks and I always appreciate their first hand knowledge. This case is a perfect point on why a dealership deserves the name; I purchased the aftermarket cat for $430 and the s t ea ler ship wanted $1500, that is bordering on theft. I understand perfectly that parts and labor is where a dealership makes its money rather than on vehicle sales. The good thing here is that the Jag service dept did quote me the same labor hours,6, as the two other mechs....labor rate was a good bit higher.

By the way, the mech that did the install said this job gave them fits!

 

>I am an active member on a couple of other forums in which techs are active members.

Understood and I appreciate your observations. My point was to simply suggest that we try to not overly objectify or generalized dealerships and their service/parts departments.
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Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons