My car started leaving big puddles of oil, the rear crankshaft seal seems at fault. It seems that rear seal is out of my roam of expertise without a garage, so today I was quoted 650 by a transmission shop. 630 if I bring my own seal.

Is this a fair price?

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98 Stock Talon ESi
Mods: New spark Plugs NGK, Fresh ATF, K&N, AGX, UDP and ZipTies tieing the strut towers (according to BlackMagic increases my torsional rigidity)
I know spark plugs are not a mod but the car runs so smooth now.

Thats a labor book price. neither fair nor rip off. If you want to shop for prices, i recommend asking not only the price but the hours and labor rate they are quoting. This way you can call multiple shops and make sure they are using the labor book hours and see what their labor rates are.

FWIW, all shops use a Labor book. That book will tell you what a job is worth in hours. You then multily the hours with your labor rate, add tax an any materials to give your estimate. What the book will not account for are broken frozen bolts and things of that nature.

To R+R (Remove and replace) a trans, the book is prolly in the realm of 4 hours. The Main seal is prolly another 30 mins. Keep in mind the book at time will pad 15 mins or so for a difficult seal. Average labor hourly rate varies by region of the us. Here in IL the average is 85.00 to 95.00 and hour for a smaller shop and 125.00/HR for dealer.

CA would be a lot higher and you get the idea..

I always use my old work labor book when i quote side work. One of these days I am going to have to get off my ass and buy my own. Labor book is usually 200.00 and they update every year.


Terry

Well if 4 hours is book value for r and r than I am being charged 162/hr rate... that seems to be a rip-off. The quote was from a small transmission shop. I figured they do that kind of work all the time and hence it should be cheaper... I guess I was wrong.

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98 Stock Talon ESi
Mods: New spark Plugs NGK, Fresh ATF, K&N, AGX, UDP and ZipTies tieing the strut towers (according to BlackMagic increases my torsional rigidity)
I know spark plugs are not a mod but the car runs so smooth now.

I said about 4 hours. I havent checked the Labor book on this. A Transhop is going to be faster and R&R the trans but that doesnt mean they are going to do it cheaper....I wouldnt. My speed is for my benefit, not yours. You will get charged the labor book regardless of how efficient a mechanic is. Only way you are going to know is to call them and ask for a break down of the price.