Calling ALL mechanics. PLEASE HELP!!

It all depends on how many Lambos and Dinos are ahead of you in line!!!

It's springtime, bro, and the shops are ALL overloaded! HTH

My shop is taking all cars that break today on May 15, 2004.

 

...and if you get a bad mechanic..... two years!!!

Sorry, couldn't resist.....

 

A gearbox is more like a watch than just a set of parts, and often requires either A) the right tools, or B) a lot of assembly measurement, reassembly and remeasurement just to get the tollerances correct.

I like to remove gearboxes and send them to they who have these tools, and the various shims necessary to get the box setup correctly for long life. These rebuilders can turn the box in less than a week (add 4-6 days shipping for both directions), but we had to wait 2 months one time for them to locate odd 512BBi transmission parts one time.

 

I'm no mechanic, but here's a datapoint. My old 308 needs some transmission work, and I called James at Bob Norwood in Texas. He said $1k in labor to do a rebuilt plus a bunch of parts. We didn't 100% nail down a time frame, but I think we discussed a week turnaround once he had the unit? It was not long... Not long at all for the job. I got the impression he was ready to start it, and that he had done it before, so shouldn't take him too too long.

Call and speak to James, he'll give you a straight answer.

Good luck...

--Mike

 

PeterS,
It all depends on how backed up the shop is. If this is all they have to work on, it would be done in a few days...if they have 12 other cars being serviced, and you are last on the list....

 

With all neccesary tools and a rebuild "kit", 2 weeks would be taking my time. I'd say 2 weeks would definitly be enough to double check everything and reassemble the trans.

 

Also don't forget that the occasional F-part might take more than a few days to find/obtain. I've had a few instances where the wrong part was sent and a new one had to be shipped. Not a serious happening, but it does add days to the issue.

A recent 30K ended up taking about 2 1/2 weeks to obtain everything.

 

Also part of this job is an engine pull. My understanding is you can't work on the transmission without pulling the engine.

For 308s, these are typically quoted at a day's worth of labor to pull, and a day's worth of labor to put back in.

Anytime you pull the engine though, lots of little things are done... rusted hardware... beat hoses... and the like, which means you have to get the parts.

 

Every car is a different then the last. You may have other issues that arise during the job. Are you going to do timing belts while the engine is out? What type of work does the gearbox need excatly? Does you mechanic have the parts in stock? Does your mechanic's supplier have the parts instock?

A gear box rebuild should take on average about 2 weeks. Fron start to finish without unforseen problems. You have to keep in mined that these cars are old. Things can fall apart, and break once they are moved around. Estimating a job like this (time wise) is a trick all mechanics would like to know. Every car has it's quirks.

 

I know someone like that. Sorry, I couldn't resist either.

 

For what it is worth, my Alfa gearbox was rebuilt back in 97. It took about a week which included the ordering etc. I know it's not a 308 and I understand where you are going with this but I thought I would throw it in anyway.

Excluding the ordering and waiting as needed, I cannot imagine why it should take anymore then a week or two to actually pull it out, work on it and put it back in.

You could source a flat labor guide for our 308's. It will tell what the factory recommends in time units for a rebuild. That would be gold for you if you can get your hands on one. That would be your "written in black and white by the factory" testimony

 

The 308 gearbox is one of the easiest gearboxes to overhaul, you don't need loads of special tooling (like you do for 355,360 etc) just a few special wrenches.

Assuming you have the parts and tooling 1 week maximum, the only downside is any unforseen problems that might occur when removing the engine / gearbox unit.


MW

 

Once the motor and transaxle are pulled and separated, it takes our rebuild expert less than two days to strip, clean, inspect and assemble a 308 transaxle. As is the case with any repair, there can be unforseen problems that can take longer to fix.

Brian Brown
Patrick Ottis Company
Berkeley, California

 

ferrari Sevice time schedule: 308QV, overhaul transmission (disassembled from car and engine) 10 hours.

A reasonable actual time would be 15-16 hours.

to schedule 2 plus days worth of my shop, I am looking late May, early June.

Also, I would only do a COMPLETE job, all relevent parts have to be replaced. As all pro techs know, if we don't, the job and customer can come back and bite!

Brian

 

There you go, Peter. You should get a photo copy of that and move with it. Good luck.

By the way, did you ever get the headers, etc. in the mail?

 

I agree with the others, I would say on the bench, 15-20 hours barring any problems. and as they say, change all revelant parts, seals, etc....


best regards, jim

 

Unless the shop is backed up, there is no reason a manual trans job should take more than a few days. This excluding parts availabilty of course.

If I took 2 weeks to do a manual transmission job, I would be looking for another way to make a living. Manual transmissions are not magic. If a shop claims to be competent enough to take on a manual transmission job, they should be equipped with the tools (bearing splitters, pullers, a press, etc.) to do the job. I have have been inside of manual tarnsmissions out of everything from a KW Semi to a 911 Porsche. None of them have ever had any magic fall out.

I just finished a Celica GTS 6 speed manual trans last Friday. Started on it Wednesday, removed it, tore it down, and ordered parts before 3:00pm. Parts arrived Friday morning at 10:00am, car drove out with all new bearings, synchros, a new second gear and counter shaft, at 5:30pm. Flat rate time 11.3 hours. This is not rocket science.

Anything more than a few days (excluding ordering parts) is nonsense.