Can anyone give us an idea of labour cost for changing the engine in a car?

poohbear59

My son recently bought a car with a badly damaged engine so he has bought a second hand engine with the idea of replacing it.

The person who wanted to help him complete the job is now unable to help so we need to know how much he should expect to pay in labour charges at a garage.

He has stripped it down to the bare block and gearbox. These will need to be removed by a garage and then the replacement engine fitted.

Does anyone know how much he should expect to pay?

rodenal

What's the car? Can he not rent an engine hoist and take it out / complete the job himself - if he has already removed everything that's in the way etc and takes his time there's no reason he can't finish it himself.

Cost to install (assume supply is done already) is going to vary depending on the car and who does it, in the region of £3-500 for something simple done by a garage, at the low end for a man advertising on gumtree

poohbear59

Thanks for the costing suggestion. It is an Astra GSI. We have asked a garage about 15 miles away for an idea of cost but not having a lot of choice means garages charge what they want.

We have searched for an engine hoist to hire and can't find one. Our location isn't good for hiring equipment. DS really wanted to do it himself and is a bit frustrated that he is unable to borrow the hoist that was originally offered and also not to have the help.

Also my son is back to college on 5th September and needs the car to get there. We have no public transport nearby.

rodenal

unfortunately it doesn't sound like you have much choice then, unless you have a garage / other fixed structure with strong beams and some ratchet straps? there are more ehhh, interesting ways to remove an engine / box (though really not reccomended) - how are you going to get it to the garage?

Have a check on gumtree for any local mechanics, though it sounds unlikely

poohbear59

We are planning to tow it. It is taxed, MOT, insurance. I hope that it is legal to do so. Otherwise we have friends who do car racing and they have a car trailer. We got the engine in a hired van and then did the final 20 miles in the back of our 4x4.

rodenal

You'd have to trailer it I would think - it'll have no (remotely effective) brakes at present

poohbear59

DS tells me he had his last old Astra to the scrap yard without any problems as the brakes are not affected by the engine being removed??

They are not assisted brakes.

We are still looking online for a local mechanic but haven't found any yet.

Hammyman

poohbear59 wrote: »

DS tells me he had his last old Astra to the scrap yard without any problems as the brakes are not affected by the engine being removed??

They are not assisted brakes.

We are still looking online for a local mechanic but haven't found any yet.

Yes they are assisted brakes on the Astra. The Astra has a brake servo that uses vacuum assist braking. Without it, you will have to press seriously hard on the brake pedal to get them to work and a hard stop will require both feet. The last car I drove without any assistance of any kind was an old 1980s mini.

As for the cost, if it goes straight forward you are looking at 5 or 6hrs labour plus fluids, filters and plugs. If it doesn't go straight forward it is then a case of how long is a piece of string?

Visiondvd

£250/£300 is what I get charged.

Rolandtheroadie

BIL needed one changed in an astra van (p reg) and I was able to find someone that would do it for...wait for it...... £100.

Propper job.

SailorSam

If he's stripped it all down i presume he's pretty handy so couldn't he so this last bit himself.
Rather than hire a hoist i'd do it the opposite way around. If you have a decent trolley jack raise the front of the car as high as possible then lower the engine onto the ground using the jack.