That wasn't so hard! Front bearing replacement on 2500 Chevy

So, on a trip for business 2 hours south of here, I noticed a bump...bump..bump sound from the front of my 2007 Silverado 2500. I checked the tire, thinking it was seperated (it"s new). Stupidly, I drove it home on the interstate. Back at the barn, I jacked up the front end and discovered 2-3" side to side play on the tire. Called the mechanic and he told me $200 for the bearing assembly and $300 to install it. Researched it on the internet, got instructions and torque values, and did it myself. Paid $175 for the premium bearing assembly from my local parts house (not discount), borrowed a big torque wrench from same mechanic friend, and had it done in less than an hour. I"ll call that a success!

Good job.

You're right,they're not hard. It was pretty gracious of your mechanic buddy to lend out his tools.So he gets $300/hr shop rate?

I guess the "book" calls it a 3 hour job?? And I use the phrase friend loosely, I should say someone "I know"!

I'm finding out that google can be your friend. I did a 400 dollar repair job on my car last week for the price of a couple hours of my time and 115 bucks for the part. I felt good about that too!

Some mechanic friend you got!
$300 for one hr of work!

glad to see you were a back-barn mechanic, lol. seriously, depending on mileage and that you know what to do now, do other side to be on the safe side. total will cost what you would've spent on one side.

My sons GMC needed a new bearing.Paid 140 for the bearing.Did it him self in his stepsons garage.A friend paid 400 bucks per side on his truck.This bearing problem seem to be a common problem on GMC and Chevy.Labor rates have gotten out of hand here,small garages are worse.

Shops go by the flat rate. That includes time to pull the car in, lift it up, do the repair, test drive it and clean up prior to bringing in the next car. ON most repairs you can shave some time off of that but sometimes a 3 hour job takes more time. Most shops are not going to adjust for that time.

Lets see.

Stop what you are doing to talk to the customer = 15 min
Test drive or look at the vehicle to establish what is wrong= 20 min
Schedule the time to repair= 5 min
Order the part= 10 min
Pull car in the shop and put on lift= 5 min
make repair (change bearing in this case) 60 min
test drive =15 min
prepare bill =5 min
clean up bay and put tools away =15 min
give customer bill, tell him what was done, show him the old bearing accept his credit/debit card or check. =10 min

That totals to 160 min or 2 hours and 40 spent dealing with that car. And thats if everything goes right and the customer don't spend another 20 jawing!

Been there done that!


Rick

I second the "Good job". Lately, been doing all the repair work on my '01 Pontiac Grand Prix and "02 Silverado 1500 myself, including clutch on the P/U, rack/pinion, CV joints, wheel bearings on the Grand Prix. Figure I've saved thousands doing it myself. Both vehicles are in the 130k mileage range and needing more and more non-trivial maintenance.

Having the Service manuals is invaluable and the Internet is a big help. Automotive forums give a lot of tips from people who've done stuff in the past which can be very helpful. I research parts costs and buy some from GMpartDirect, etc. RockAuto has great pricing and fast delivery. Also buy stuff locally but avoid the chain brands (Fenco, etc) for stuff as I've had several failures on p/s pumps and heard similar stories about "cheap" wheel bearings having to be redone in a few months. I think more and more people will be doing their own repair work as the domestic brand fleet ages and many of us can't afford a new vehicle. One thing for sure is I won't buy another new GM/Chrysler vehicle in my life after the bankruptcies. The unfair treatment in those deals by external_link, shafting secured creditors and bondholders completely and giving ownership of the companies to the UAW was a travesty.

Funny thing is I just talked to 2 longtime friends who've NEVER, EVER owned anything but domestic and one bought a Hyundai and another bought a Nissan AND a Kia and both say they are more satisfied with the purchases than they've ever been with the Big 3.

Another interesting thing is when I've talked to people who own foreign brands (especially Toyota and Honda), they don't seem to be doing the same semi-major repairs I've been doing even though many of them have well over 150k or even 200k on their cars.

HMMM I'm not going with that. I've got 245K on our Suburban With total repairs being 2 brake calipers at 180K. One front wheel bearing at 220K and an alternator just last week. So what are you guys doing to have these early failures????

I never go by what a person feels right after they get a new vehicle. Wait till they have some miles on em, say 100k or more and then tell me about how good they are. Wait till they have problems!

Rick

I agree with most things said, but I have also seen where someone has tried to fix it themselves and screwed it up. Then they bring it in wanting it fixed right with a comment like "you aren't going to charge me since I did most of the work ar you?"

Repairs are so simple and easy I wonder why everyone doesn't start their own shop! They could enjoy all the late payers,fix it now and let the Customer tell them how overpriced they are. Keep up with all the new technology and latest test equipment. Life is so wonderful on the other side of the fence. Sorry about the rant just don't seem like you ever hear the other side of the coin.

I don't know. My '06 2500 went 350k on factory hubs. Left side went 400k.

Sons truck lost a bearing at 100000 miles.

I had a customer that though I quoted too much for a rear hub on his Caddy, so he did it him self. The part cost him 200.00, all day doing the job and then he screwed up the anti lock brake plug. He was a good man and hauled his kids to every ball game in three states so I fixed the plug for 20.00.(Three minute fix)

Sorry but the charges I see people paying tell me that auto mechanics are crooked.Those will low labor rates pad the bill.Friend had a spring hanger replaced on a Ford Ranger.Hanger was 60 bucks, 4 bolts were 24 bucks, labor was 200 bucks.I just bought all 4 spring hangers for my F150 ,new bolts included.112.00 Not an easy job but doable because I have the tools.The Ranger lost a gas tank strap.Heres a quote from a Ford dealer.Front strap 125 bucks rear strap 150 bucks labor 200 bucks.I bought both straps for 35 bucks,put them on in an hour.Charged him 25 bucks for labor.I told him that the muffler and tail pipe were bad but the rest of the system was in good shape.I didnt have time to do more work on his truck,Had sawed firewood to get out of the woods.He took it to a muffler shop where they replaced the whole exhaust system.They put on 2 tires and a new battery and charged him 800 bucks.A woman had warned him to stay away from that shop but he went any way.The job was done in November.In March he took the truck in for an inspection sticker.Mechanic told him the exhaust system was shot and had to be replaced.He took the bill out of the glove box, showed it to the crook and left.I urged him to take legal action against the garage.He wouldnt do it.The State would pull their inspection license.Another friend just bought a Ford Ranger.He had a mechanic check it over before he bought it.Found a broken shock bracket and a twist in a new brake line.Car dealer didnt do his own repairs yet.He told my friend have it fixed Ill pay for it.Cost 300 bucks.If I was younger I would build a garage and do honest work for people.I notice a trend when I go into the city with my wife driving.All the cars and trucks are brand new.People are tired of being ripped off on repairs so they buy new cars and trade them in before the warranty runs out.I worked as a mechanic for many years in 4 different shops and never saw the rip off that is going on now.I know the new cars are harder to work on but the is no reason for charging 300 bucks for an hours work.