So i have an 03 4cy ranger 2.3 L that has 100k miles on it. I had a coolant leak wich my mechanic "patched" then the leak came back. My mech said i really needed replacement hoses in my engine. He said if im doing the hose i may as well do them all. My mechanic had my truck over a week and ordered all the hoses for my engine. He said it was hard to change all hoses etc. So i had ALL of my engine hoses replaced. I also had a new thermostat replaced as well as a new intake manifold replaced that he found was damaged during the initial hose replacement. So i get the feeling i was ripped off. He changed a bunch of rubber hoses, my intake manifold and the thermostat. Charged me 1400.00$ on an 03 ranger. Now im a real noob but that seems so much money for these repairs. Can you guys offer and input ? Also im mad because he noted a funny knocking noise from an area he dismantled during the repairs that was not making noise before i brought it to him.

Do you have a breakdown of the individual parts and hours billed?

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1999 5.0/4R70W/4406 Ext. Cab

Intake manifolds can be expensive. The rest isn't that bad I can't see over like 250 for a set of hoses, thermostat and coolant. Coolant is costly also.

If he ordered a new intake manifold from a dealership it could have run that much including labor to put it on and gaskets.

Junk yard would be the best place for a manifold LOL.

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Well 1400$ is a lot for complete hose replacement a new thermostat and intake manifold right? Also he cried and moaned about the hoses being hard to install around back of engine

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Yes i do. I will add details later when im home.

A local mechanic quoted us for some type of coolant hose on the back of the engine and they wanted to pull the engine... sorry I don't know what they were wanting to charge.

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If you don't want to get ripped off in life learn how to do stuff yourself

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"Damaged during initial hose replacement" that sounds to me like i broke something but i am going charge you for my mistake.

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Can you post a better picture of the bill?

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I would like to know what patching a cooling system is.
The picture of the bill is impossible to read.

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[QUOTE=stateranger;2736273]"Damaged during initial hose replacement" that sounds to me like i broke something but i am going charge you for my mistake.


Most shops are like that to a certain degree. When they guess and are wrong the customer still pays because it is part of the "Diagnostic process".

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Which to some "mechanics" is throwing parts at the vehicle until it fixes itself... LOL

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In the state, an estimate of the bill, a complete list of what is going to be done, and the parts required needs to be proffered to the customer before work can be done.
I cannot read the invoice, and the under hood image is too small to discern any details.

I do note the degas bottle has green antifreeze. Was the 'gold' specified for that year? IOW was the wrong coolant used?

If you have a difference of opinion with the shop, you can take it to the CA state gov office that handles consumer complaints about mechanics. If you paid by credit card, you may be able to dispute the payment using their services.
From what I understand, there is a coolant hose on the rearmost part of the engine which requires removal of the transmission for access. I do not own one, so cannot state as fact that is the case.
If something was damaged during removal or replacement, that should be on the shop to cover the cost. For example, if they were replacing the clutch, and dropped the transmission, breaking the extension housing, they should pay for a replacement. They broke it. Again, if they broke something trying to disassemble it, then they broke it. It did not break itself, and they must have used the wrong tactic to take it apart. For sure you should be able to dispute that portion of the bill with less difficulty. They are not going to roll over and beg for forgiveness, so you'll have to put some effort into it if you want to get your bill reduced. Figure what it should have been based on flat rate. Remember, they only have to drain and refill the cooling system one time when doing the work, so costs cannot be repeated for a one-time service. (they should not bill for drain/refill for each hose or assembly)
tom

Price does seem high but when I changed my intake manifold because the flappers were flapping around making a clicking noise it took me at least an hour if not two to fully remove and replace it with a new one.

Factor in 2 hrs of labor = $120, plus an OEM intake manifold $200 = $320 just to do that.

Hoses probably not that much but in reality it's one of those things that you paid and it's done. Move on or learn how to work on your truck for future repairs and not have to second guess if a mechanic is ripping you off, that or find a new mechanic that you trust.

-Nigel

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And they get away with it because the vast majority of people who take a vehicle to a shop don't know diddly about diagnosing and fixing automotive problems and thus get to swim in a tank filled with blood and sharks.

*As for the OP's initial leak concern and the BS patch thing (ie, former presidental rigged and the reason/justification/etc which should have been explained to OP).......people (like myself) replace hoses in the name of reliability, not because they all go bad and leak all at once. I'd like to think the "my mechanic" explained that to OP. Also I'm fairly certain that "my mechanic" excluded mention of him wholesaling the parts and charging the OP full retail for them, thus and as is usually done, fattening the repair bill and profit for "my mechanic". On top of all this, no mention as to why the intake needed to be replaced. Hard to be sympathetic when people don't ask the "why" part before authorizing work to be done on things, let alone bring along a knowledgeable friend or take it to another "maybe my mechanic" for another opinion and estimate.

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The hose with the plastic tee requires at a bare minimum that you remove the cat- the shop manual suggests removing the transmission. The hose is like $50, but who knows what labor was charged for this. The electric thermostat- depending on brand used- costs about $130 bucks itself.

Im not sure how many hours labor was charged or if it was fair, but $1400 still seems a bit extreme.

As another poster says OP, if you dont want to be ripped off you need to learn how to do it yourself. I could change every hose under the hood, the intake manifold, the thermostat and even the radiator for a 3rd of what you paid.

~$100 for main hose (with the plastic tee), and both rad hoses
~$35 dollars for 2006 thermostat and $1.99 for 5 pack of resistors to bypass the ECM's control
~ $250 for intake manifold
~$150 for a radiator from Autozone

~$537 in parts... ok a little over a third. Its only ~$383 if you leave out the radiator- more than a grand under what you paid OP. I could do all of it in a weekend just like anyone else here. Plenty of them could prolly do it all in a day...

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2002 Ford Ranger XLT Supercab, 2.3L Duratec I4, 5-speed manual, 4.10 gears, ~100,000 miles
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Well he put a patch on the T hose leak twice charging me 100+ each time saying i would eventually need all hoses changed. Eventually turned into 4 weeks later when his patch work failed lol. He showed me the intake manifold having a broken plastic rod in it. He said that should have triggered my CEL to turn on. As far as the noise he noted to me after having the repairs done was AC comp clutch making noise metal rubbing metal but not rubbing while AC. Is on. I told him it wasnt making that noise before i brought it in...853$ parts 563$ labor also he installed new thermostat housing thing.

Hmm... Since we can't read the previous invoice you posted, can you take a better resolution picture or type up what the info is? Something definitely doesn't smell right here.

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1999 5.0/4R70W/4406 Ext. Cab