Hey everyone I have been to the local Mazda dealership and there complete vacuum line system cost over 1k is this very overpriced?

 

there is a reason those places are called stealer-ships..... unless you need all the solenoids and the metal portions of the rats nest just hit up http://hosetechniques.com/

they have a kit, although I haven't seen it, for 1/5th the price at the dealership, and if you search the forum, you can find diagrams you need as well as the required hose sizes and overall lengths per size you'll need. and still end up spending right around $100 and around an afternoon of work to get a better job done than what you can do with the stock system.

 

The original hoses harden and cause problems after a couple of years of use. Even if $1000 were a good price I would not do it.

You should be able to get the job done for the same price or better with silicone hose that will last much longer and be easier to work with.

 

aww thank you lol for some reason it didnt tell me that there was post on this thread... lol

 

PM Karack, he's well known around here and I believe he runs a shop in Norcal

 

we can probably work something out

 

Yes, it is very very very overpriced. Overall, I spent 80 bucks on parts from hosetechniques and Dale's viton check valves.

 

lol $1k. I'm surprised they didn't tell you the engine and turbos had to be replaced as well.

I wouldn't let a dealership change my oil on my CRV, let alone "troubleshoot" my FD. FD's are cars that pretty much either require you to become a part time mechanic, or have a lot of capable rotary oriented friends.

 

Even if $1k were a fair price, I wouldn't trust a dealer to do it, or many other places for that matter.

Been there, done that, didn't even get a T-Shirt.

 

A shop is probably going to charge you for 4-5 hours of work for the hose job. At around probably $85 an hour, you are looking at around 85 * 5 = $425. Add in the cost of some qualify hose, and you will be around $500-550 or so for a reasonable job.

 

Looking at my rebuild invoice, KD rotary charged $325. (labor & materials)

 

It is a lot easier to change the vacuum hoses when the engine if out of the car.

Having done this recently, I think $1k with labour (which will be most of the cost I would think) is probably about right from a dealer. Not that I would being the car to a dealer.

 

yea they want 1k just for the hoses though :/ and the problem I am having is my car is non op now, Mazda is only dealership in town and found out last owner fucked up my spark plug threading in my rear rotor so I have to pull engine now to fix that...

 

Maybe for you; I cut Viton hose from a batch buy of 1/4" and 1/8" stuff that cost me over $500 (I do have some left over), and the job took me around 5 days (engine in car) including taking 56 photos and painting color codes on 68 hoses. Removing the solenoid rack alone took a day. (Good luck with those screws on the firewall end of the rack!)

 

If it is the first time, pulling the rat's nest is going to be at least an afternoon by itself. The UIM, coils, fuel hoses and some coolant hoses need to come off first. And let's not forget all those wonderful electrical connectors that may be brittle. And if you want everything to go back together the first time, lots of photos and note taking are necessary.

I really wonder if people are 10x more productive that me when working on their car, or really are incapable of estimating how long it really takes to do something.

 

^^ easiest way I've found to do it is to pull the rats nest and unscrew everything when its OUT of the car. Its a PITA to get it there, and you'll have to remember where all of the hoses go, but if you can manage that swapping the hoses is much easier and much faster. As for the hoses that are in difficult to reach spots, the FPR nipple on the LIM and the Oil Injectors come to mind, cut a piece of hose extra long so it will be easy to reach when you reinstall it onto the solenoid and when you put it back on, either cut it to size if you never plan on working on the nest again, or leave it long and make sure its not kinked if you think you may have to root around in there again. Of course the other option is attaching the nipple from the LIM directly to the FPR since thats all the solenoid does anyway.
and dont for get this
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/vacuum-diagrams-stock-simplified-sequential-non-sequential-single-turbo-749702/

And by afternoon, I meant starting at noon with all of the right tools and going until 6PM or possibly later, its not a 3 hour job by any means, but unless you are extremely OCD it shouldn't take you longer than a day at worst.

wstrohm: damn dude, power to you. I just cut the silicone hose from a batch roll. Didn't document and didn't paint the hoses, so that may account for quite a bit of the time difference.

 

You need a price breakdown on paper of what the $1k involves. It sounds like they are including much more than rubbing tubing so it's not fair to just the quote unless it's in writing with the exact details being estimated.

That being said, have you queried the West forum for shops in Cali ? While I'm sure some are not right next door, I would bet it would in your best interest to take a longer journey to have the car fixed by a more competent shop.

 

Depending on how bad is it, a competent mechanic may be able to run a tap in with the engine in the bay..... also, I agree that around $500-550 sounds about right for a vacuum hose job done while the engine is installed (vs on the stand).

 

How much would you say the pricing would cost about to have it fixed in bay? Also the only vacuum line that is really fucked is the catch tank to the solenoid valve (purge control) and I am not 100% sure where the valve is located to fix it.