CantSeeMe

I finally finished the install on my Na-T project a couple weeks back . Minus the AEM tuning and a few small welding jobs . So i had it towed to a shop last week to have them finish it out.
Just how much time is reasonable for removing the oil pan from an SC300, in order to weld a return line fitting?
Well 1 of the welding tasks was repairing the flange on the oil pan where i had cracked 1 of the bolt holes on the flange.
The shop seems to have a strong preference to remove it from the car. Wich im not totally against exactly. And i dont have a problem w/ paying a fair price either.
But according to their info its listed as 9 hours labor! .......Does that seem like a reasonable amount to you guys?

I know this can be done w the pan still on the car. As i have seen several others do it. I figured this was a job they could do real quick while they were welding the DP to the exhaust . I would have repaired it myself before i brought it in if i had known it would wind up being as much for this as the turbo kit .

Oh well, Im moreless venting than anything, But It kinda blows the more i think about it.....I did 90% of the project myself, so i could save labor costs and go w/ better parts.
I pretty much feel like i dont have much choice but to bend over on this one. since it cant be driven away as it is. ..... -Anyhow, Thanks guys

vipsoarer

have you thought of using the stock drain hole on the upper part of the oil pan? you dont need to do anything but drop the pan, drill the hole and then tap the two bolt holes that are pre-casted into the block. then you can use a flat fitting against the pan and not have to drill and weld.

9 hours to remove and weld on an oilpan is ludacris. try like 2 at most. good luck. hopefully they wont get you for those 9 hours of labor.

aliga

iTrader: (147)

sound like he has a broken bolt in the upper oil pan flange area. if thats the case, why dont you drill and tap the center oil hole? forget the flange, install a an fitting right in the center hole.

bens sc

iTrader: (2)

+1 if you have come this far why cant you do it yourself? its actually easy, just takes a bit of time.

CantSeeMe

What happened was, I actually had drilled that hole in the center of that flange that VIP Soarer was referring to myself when i was first starting the project. But i had cracked the corner of 1 of the mounting holes . But i did what i could to get the drain flange mounted.
But when i was working with the AEM in my driveway , I noticed a fair amount of oil leaking after i got the car started. And of course i knew right away where it was leaking from .
The only reason I didnt fix it on my own was, I planned to have the car towed to the shop for the tuning. And i already needed to have some welding done.
So i thought this would be a pretty simple quick job for them while it was on a lift .I didnt fathom this would be so difficult for them to take care of.
To be honest, I didnt expect a freebie, but I figured they would just do it as a courtesy while they were under there.(Thats how simple it seems to me)
And it was after i had it towed to them, and they had it on the lift , that they saw it. Then called me w/ the est.
Ive already tried explaining, and discussing w/ him the much easier ways to repair it w/o needing to remove the pan. But he doesnt hear (Or doesnt want hear )what im saying.
The vibe i get isnt as much that he will make more $ per se. As he doesnt want to admit he may be mistaken on his initial assesment.
Im kinda stuck though. Because A. The car cant drive 30 miles home if at all,as is. And B. I really do want him to tune it, since hes the ish w/the AEM .
And due to that fact. I dont want to give him too hard of a time, or insult the guy either. Since i know how mechanics can really F-U over when pissed off .... And i want him to tune it right.

aliga

iTrader: (147)

tell him to tap the center hole, simple as that. if he cant, tell him to go eff himself, there are plenty of good aem tuners around.

CantSeeMe

I made the decision to just let him do it. And not stress on it anymore. It was just simpler that way.
But I did Email him some threads discussing alternative methods to drilling the hole. W/O removing the pan to consider. And just left it up to him to decide.
Well he still did it his way , but he called me Tues. And he said it took less than 1/2 the time to do . Wich I can live with ......
The best part is, He also said he will be finished Wed . I cant wait to finally get to drive it !