[dgt_mustang]

I have no idea why no one here has told you that this mechanic is shafting you, taking advantage of you, raping you, your a drunk college girl and hes a half wasted Jock, He is holding your head with his hand while both of yours are swinging at him, etc..

Call around.

[str8chillng]

I think it’s highly ridiculous for what you paid for the engine let alone a mechanic who is ripping you off to install the engine. For those prices, I can get a remanufactured engine straight from ford for that price along with a transmission and a rebuild kit for the differential if I wanted to go that route. I think you need to reconsider who is going to work on your car because a lot of people when they hear mustang, they think you’re going to pay a premium to have your work done. When I originally took my car to national tire & battery they quoted me to work on the steering for 1200.00 alone and I didn’t want to pay the devil that money when I can simply go to the salvage yard and pick up an entire steering rack for about 30.00.
You can check out rockauto for some of these parts, or even the official fordparts website. I feel like this he’s really stiffing you bigtime on the work.
OP you’re better off taking a few paid days off doing this yourself, I know you’re busy but you should find someone in this forum who is willing to help you with all this; because with the way the economy is no one shouldn’t lose that much money over their car and for the price you’re paying to get the work done, you’re better off picking up another SN95 and taking the parts you put on this one on the new one. But that’s just me.

Here’s some numbers if you’re interested
FEL-PRO Part # OS30625R (Oil pan gasket $5)
Engine Oil Pan (FORDPARTS.COM)
3.8L ``BEFORE 1/12/98''; Incl. F5RZ-6730-B plug-17 or 18 bolt hole pan repl by 15 bolt hole. $134.83

Engine Timing Cover
3.8L $333.25
FEL-PRO Part # VS50441R $16.92
GATES Part # 43067 $39.79
FEL-PRO Part # MS95731 $32.79
SPECTRA PREMIUM Part # 0658141 $155.99

Oil pan, valve cover, and A/C compressor you can find at your local auto salvage yard for cheap. If the A/C Compressor don’t work or it leaks you can always swap for another one or rebuild it yourself.

Official Ford Parts Site | Buy Motorcraft & OEM Ford Parts Online | FordParts.com
or
RockAuto Auto Parts

This all shouldn't take a long time either, I did an engine swap on a 90' lincoln towncar with a 302 in it. Took me only 2 days. I pulled the entire engine with the transmission on it. Then I swapped the new engine with the transmission on it, But I'd have breaks in between though. But I hate to say the process is basically the same and it's not really that hard.

I can't believe I read such blasphemy this morning.

[stephen]

You guys need to ease up and show some respect or at least common sense. This guy is not a mechanic and is not equipped to do this work himself.

$2K is about what it costs to rebuild one of these engines and ~$1300 to install it is not all that unreasonable. Keep in mind this is in Calif. and labor rates are higher here due to the high cost of living.

If you could get a rebuilt engine from Ford just the short block when it was available was more than $3K.

[Loki]

Wow, 4k .. I'm not going to sit here & bash, just gonna say this ..

I spent about 1/4 or 1/5 of that on my split port swap INCLUDING a jy 99 3.8l, cai, tuner, the tune itself, new fuel lines, a couple new vaccuums lines, a new crank position sensor, and fluids.

Just saying. You are not just getting ripped on the labor, but also the engine itself. IMO

[03_StangGuy]

Originally Posted by stephen They should have expected to swap over all those parts from the old engine. There's no need to buy any of those parts new other than the gaskets, which should have come with the rebuilt engine. (The rebuilder had to buy a complete gasket set anyway.) I guess the $835 plus $500 is reasonable for the labor for the whole engine swap. They also need to replace the oil and coolant and should replace various parts like the hoses, serpentine belt etc. for which $200 might be reasonable. Keep in mind that cleaning up all the parts is a time consuming operation. I would ignore comments on here about putting in a different engine etc. You decided to put in a rebuilt engine, which was a reasonable choice, so go with it.

Like he said the shop should have know if it was gonna be a long block, short block or what ever before quoting you a price. If they misquoted you thats their fault not yours and you should fight it.

[xtreme 2]

Originally Posted by stephen You guys need to ease up and show some respect or at least common sense. This guy is not a mechanic and is not equipped to do this work himself. $2K is about what it costs to rebuild one of these engines and ~$1300 to install it is not all that unreasonable. Keep in mind this is in Calif. and labor rates are higher here due to the high cost of living. If you could get a rebuilt engine from Ford just the short block when it was available was more than $3K.

Who is showing disrespect? Those labor prices are extremely high, no matter where you are located.

[SALEEN961]

Originally Posted by stephen If you could get a rebuilt engine from Ford just the short block when it was available was more than $3K.

Fordparts.com lists a complete engine for under $2700 from my dealer and a short block for just over $800, standard retail prices are $2,866.67 for a complete engine and $1,084.23 for a short block.

[ESG-642T]

Originally Posted by stephen You guys need to ease up and show some respect or at least common sense. This guy is not a mechanic and is not equipped to do this work himself. $2K is about what it costs to rebuild one of these engines and ~$1300 to install it is not all that unreasonable. Keep in mind this is in Calif. and labor rates are higher here due to the high cost of living. If you could get a rebuilt engine from Ford just the short block when it was available was more than $3K.

And I'm a computer science major who didn't know how to change spark plugs....
And MustangMike is a redneck EMT/nurse or whatever
And Southfour is a Canadian

And we've all done motor work that we "never" did before, none of us were/are mechanics, unless by saying he isn't equipped to do this work himself your saying he is too stupid to figure it out? And even if you tried to argue he didn't have the tools I've pulled my motor out in my apartment parking lot with a craftsman 256pc tool set , jacks, jackstands, and had a friend with a truck bring me a 119$ harbor freight hoist. And he would come out a shit ton better going that way because he would spend less and then have his own tools for the future.

[southfour!]

wow i feel bad for you, your getting ripped off hard

[stephen]

Originally Posted by SALEEN961 Fordparts.com lists a complete engine for under $2700 from my dealer and a short block for just over $800, standard retail prices are $2,866.67 for a complete engine and $1,084.23 for a short block.

I just checked and yes the prices have come down a lot. A few years ago the price for a remanufactured short block from Ford was around $3K.

He's paying about $2K for a remanufactured long block, if it's a quality engine
that seems pretty reasonable.

To all of you. If it were me I would have removed the existing engine and rebuilt it, but a lot of people wouldn't want to do that, and if they don't have the knowledge or mechanical aptitude or tools or a place to work (he lives in an apartment) it may be just as well to let a shop do it.

[goren813]

As if it hasn't been said enough, they got you bro. Now they're trying to keep getting you cuz it was so easy the first time.

Rip off. You couldv'e had a brand new Stang with 80k on it for that price.

[Puffy93]

That is not an unreasonable price for a complete engine replacement at all. as for the rebuilt engine cost first they have to get a core to rebuild which is usually around $400-450 as a core, then they completely tear the motor down and have it all checked out hopefully the blocks and heads are good and they reuse them but then they usually replace most of the other parts. It is not like a normal rebuild most of the time they will replace the crank and rods as well so they prolly spend $800-900 on all that. then you have the labor to rebuild the motor which prolly takes them 2.5-3.5 hours. so thats where the cost of your motor comes from.
As for the shops labor that is also about right, removing and replacing a modern fuel injected engine is much more in depth then an old carbureted engine. ive never counted but there are prolly 40+ wiring connections to remove and tag, along with fuel lines, throttle cables, exhaust connections,(which tend to break if not done perfectly) transmission crossmember if pulling as a whole(which most shops would do, tranny lines,driveshaft and tranny wiring also have to be disconnected as well) and then you can finally pull the motor and put the new one in and then hook everything back up.\

i hope this answered your concern and by the way shop fluids and gasket sealer are usually an extra charge so i wouldn't be too worried about that but i would make sure that included small things like new plugs and wires, you wouldn't want to put the old ones back on.

btw im a mechanic by trade and work in a shop every day and i know most shops wont try to rip you off like you think there doing,but like i said most not all

[GreenMustang00]

Esg, dont forget I work in a grocery store

Not that you knew that though

[MustangV6Man?]

I don't think any of us are disrespecting him, trying to save him a huge chunk of change. I mean that cash could be spent so much more wisely on alot of other stuff that really means alot more.

[ESG-642T]

Originally Posted by Puffy93 That is not an unreasonable price for a complete engine replacement at all. as for the rebuilt engine cost first they have to get a core to rebuild which is usually around $400-450 as a core, then they completely tear the motor down and have it all checked out hopefully the blocks and heads are good and they reuse them but then they usually replace most of the other parts. It is not like a normal rebuild most of the time they will replace the crank and rods as well so they prolly spend $800-900 on all that. then you have the labor to rebuild the motor which prolly takes them 2.5-3.5 hours. so thats where the cost of your motor comes from. As for the shops labor that is also about right, removing and replacing a modern fuel injected engine is much more in depth then an old carbureted engine. ive never counted but there are prolly 40+ wiring connections to remove and tag, along with fuel lines, throttle cables, exhaust connections,(which tend to break if not done perfectly) transmission crossmember if pulling as a whole(which most shops would do, tranny lines,driveshaft and tranny wiring also have to be disconnected as well) and then you can finally pull the motor and put the new one in and then hook everything back up.\ i hope this answered your concern and by the way shop fluids and gasket sealer are usually an extra charge so i wouldn't be too worried about that but i would make sure that included small things like new plugs and wires, you wouldn't want to put the old ones back on. btw im a mechanic by trade and work in a shop every day and i know most shops wont try to rip you off like you think there doing,but like i said most not all

40+ wiring connections to remove...
good lord I don't think I've ever disconnected that many taking this motor out of the car.

[Froush]

^haha. I've taken 2 motors and transmissions out and put one back in over the past 2 weeks and I don't think I've came close to disconnecting or reconnecting 40 wiring connections combined. Lol

[GreenMustang00]

I don't disconnect... I cut