How's it going. I just purchased a 93 touring edition a week ago. I had the car inspected by a local rotary shop. I know the shop is legit by reading others posts. It is Rick's Rotary in Pleasanton, CA. My question is this. Are the price quotes reasonable for the work I am having done? I am also pretty mechanically inclined and am open to doing things myself. Which of my listed "fixes" are worth doing myself. Thanks for your help guys. I want it done right, which I know they will do, but I dont want to spend more than I have to obviously.

Left rear upper control bushing replace- $135
Both rear toe control bushings replace- $270
Both front sway bar ends replace- $270
Left Diff oil seal leaking- $185
Left motor mount replace -$425
Oil Pan seeping oil at motor mounts -$550
Replace Alternator belt -$95

Downpipe and install- $450


All quoted prices include parts and labor. Are these pretty competitive? Also if any of these can be done with basic tools, jack, etc. I would like to save money on labor, but I cant have a 3 day project or anything as it is a daily driver.

Thanks for your help.

 

Those prices include parts and labor, correct? Price wise they are okay, I've heard it's more expensive out in Kalifornia. I myself would never pay anyone $95 to replace a belt, but I've seen higher prices as well.

 

From what I hear, Rick's Rotary is an excellent shop. If you think the prices are too high, try it yourself. You can always have your car towed to them if you mess it up

 

do it urself man learn something about the car, and be proud that u saved all that money

ionno about the bushings tho

mike

 

Are any of the listed items easily replaced without paying a shop to do the work or would it almost be not worth the headache. It's my first rotary and I am in the learning stages, but there are few things it needs right away. I will do a bunch of reading and studying before modding much. That said if it's an easy "saturday" job or something like that I might give it a shot myself if I can save a lot on labor.

And yes, all prices are parts and labor. Rick, who owns the shop, was very nice and really knows his stuff so I definately dont have any reserves about having them perform the work.

 

I'll do some price shopping around for parts, but roughly do you guys know about how much some of those parts alone would cost? I'm a little sketchy about doing bushings, because if they end making noise all the time it'll drive me nuts. How about the big ones like the motor mount and oil pan leaking? Are those relatively easy and save a bunch of money DIY projects? They also said that if I had the oil pan and the motor mounts done at the same time it woud save $130 in labor. So it would really be a bit cheaper than listed as individual price breakdown.

I have always done a lot of work on my own cars in the past. Scheduled mainenence, shocks, alarms, stereos, etc. Just basic stuff. I know rotary's can be a whole nother ballgame though.

 

If you worked on other cars yourself, then working on an RX-7 isn't all that much different. Once you take some time to sit down and review everything, I think it's actually easier to work on RX than another car.
Between www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/ www.nopistons.com http://robrobinette.com/ and this forum you have all the information you will ever need.
One thing you will come to find out with this car is that it does take a lot of upkeep and maintenance. You're also going to find that parts can be expensive and sometimes hard to get or find. We can help every bit of the way. I suggest you start searching for information on the sites I provided. Doing the oil pan and motor mounts can be a time consuming pain in the @$$! You are going to need an alignment after thats done as well.

My take is, if you have the patience, the tools and the time, there is no reason you shouldn't try to learn or do it yourself. In the end you will become more familiar with the vehicle and will feel more pride in that you've accomplished it yourself. Not to mention you will save money, and will gain valuable insight about how the vehicle works and how to fix it.

 

motor mount and oil pan will require raising engine out of car at least about 3 inchs or dropping the subframe. personnaly i would do my own work but thats becuase i cant afford to have someone else do it and there is no one here. if you have the money and its your first fd, id suggest paying them to do it right. i dont know if they are a good shop though although i have never heard anything bad about them. search to see what others have said about them.

BTW: 95 bucks to replace a belt is kinda high up there in price i think... then again, the rest of the stuff seems just about right

 

I think $450 for just the downpipe and installing it is quite steep. Although it can be a headache to take off if the bolts get stuck. I would recommend doing that yourself and saving a few hundred dollars.

 

Right on. I have spent a lot of time already reading on the sites you listed. Definately a great collection of info on these cars but that is to be expected on a car like this that has such a performance following. I have always wanted an FD and finally got my hands on one so I am enjoying learning about them. They are pretty impressive machines, but they have a few weaknesses that I am slowly working on fixing up as well. AST, Downpipe, etc. I think I will pay to have the most of work done. I love working on stuff myself, but I dont really have the time to do a whole lot on it. It would take me 6 weeks of working on my days off to get it all done. Instead of 2 days in the shop. I will be doing a lot of other myself already. Fan Mod, changing all fluids, etc. pretty soon. Thanks for your input guys.

 

I have read about the shop and everyone says they are great. It's nice to have a good shop nearby as I am sure I will need some serious work down the road sometime. I think I will do the belt and maybe the downpipe myself. I am going to fix the leaking and broken stuff now and get to the "reliability" mods and stuff next. Overall the car is in phenominal shape. Just some simple typical 12 year old car stuff. Keep opinions coming. I will consider just about every option before making a decision. Thanks again for your input.

 

Only thing I see that is obscene is the belt replacement.

The downpipe is one of those things that can go just fine or it can turn into a true terror if studs break off in the turbos. The price seems high but at the same time it's hard to predict how it will go. Downpipe installs often do not go smoothly if it has never been off before.

 

I actually think that the DP & installation may be very reasonable at that price. The DP alone may be $300 or more. I suggest that you find out which DP they are putting in your car.

 

While you're at it, make sure the DP is ceramic coated or wrapped or both for that price.

 

Do it yourself and learn or get a good shop.....

Rick is a great guy; personally, I had to insist/force him to take $ for helping me out with my PFC debacle. He begrudgingly accepted.

Also, get the (S.S.) DP ceramic coated. I'm sure it will be extra, but worth it. Make sure to use copper/bronze nuts on the studs to ease any future removal--rebuild turbos, pull engine, etc.

The best belts are the Goodyear gatorbacks. They are quiet. Make sure to clean the pulleys w/ 2+2 (made by Berkibile) before the installation.

All the above is IMHO.

 

i think all of those prices suck. find another shop who isn't looking to rape you.

 

Rick's Rotary

Sonny