Outrageous cost to replace such a small part
Discussion
My annual service revealed a "very minor" gearbox selector shaft oil seal leak. I'm advised that the cost of the seal is £5.03, but that it requires the gearbox to be removed in order to fit it (10 hours labour: £750+ VAT !!)
Does this seem right? Or can it be done with the gearbox in-situ? And/or is there some equivalent of plumbers' leak sealant that can pug it up from the outside, rather than properly fitting a replacement seal? Opinions welcome - thanks.
(2007 Elise 'S' with Toyota 1ZZ engine.)
Does this seem right? Or can it be done with the gearbox in-situ? And/or is there some equivalent of plumbers' leak sealant that can pug it up from the outside, rather than properly fitting a replacement seal? Opinions welcome - thanks.
(2007 Elise 'S' with Toyota 1ZZ engine.)
Well you could have bought a McLaren.
Had an oil seal go on the Graziano gearbox and although Thorney Motorsport could have done the repair, they refused to allow the gearbox to be split and quoted £18k for a new one, plus fitting.
Well done Lotus ! Compact car, slightly expensive solution.
As for the MP412C, the replacement bearing cost 15% of the price paid for the car ....
Had an oil seal go on the Graziano gearbox and although Thorney Motorsport could have done the repair, they refused to allow the gearbox to be split and quoted £18k for a new one, plus fitting.
Well done Lotus ! Compact car, slightly expensive solution.
As for the MP412C, the replacement bearing cost 15% of the price paid for the car ....
NeilGC said:
My annual service revealed a "very minor" gearbox selector shaft oil seal leak. I'm advised that the cost of the seal is £5.03, but that it requires the gearbox to be removed in order to fit it (10 hours labour: £750+ VAT !!)
Does this seem right? Or can it be done with the gearbox in-situ? And/or is there some equivalent of plumbers' leak sealant that can pug it up from the outside, rather than properly fitting a replacement seal? Opinions welcome - thanks.
(2007 Elise 'S' with Toyota 1ZZ engine.)
I’d say no, it’s a small seal but it must be replaced and it’s a gearbox off job. £75 + vat per hour is a high labour rate. Does this seem right? Or can it be done with the gearbox in-situ? And/or is there some equivalent of plumbers' leak sealant that can pug it up from the outside, rather than properly fitting a replacement seal? Opinions welcome - thanks.
(2007 Elise 'S' with Toyota 1ZZ engine.)
Next question though, how old is the clutch, and is it worth replacing while the gearbox is off?
ChrisW. said:
Well you could have bought a McLaren.
Had an oil seal go on the Graziano gearbox and although Thorney Motorsport could have done the repair, they refused to allow the gearbox to be split and quoted £18k for a new one, plus fitting.
Well done Lotus ! Compact car, slightly expensive solution.
As for the MP412C, the replacement bearing cost 15% of the price paid for the car ....
Did you get to keep the old gearbox?Had an oil seal go on the Graziano gearbox and although Thorney Motorsport could have done the repair, they refused to allow the gearbox to be split and quoted £18k for a new one, plus fitting.
Well done Lotus ! Compact car, slightly expensive solution.
As for the MP412C, the replacement bearing cost 15% of the price paid for the car ....
The toyota lump and gearbox aren't exactly exotic. I had a new clutch fitted to my Exige a few years ago after the thrust bearing handed it's notice in. I took it in to a local garage that I use for my other cars and they did the replacement at a fraction of the cost of my local Lotus Dealer.
It depends how much you trust your local independent garages really. At the end of the day the 5 quid part that needs replacing is out of a Corolla, there are plenty of places that have had old Corolla gearboxes apart for a lot less than 750 quid!
It depends how much you trust your local independent garages really. At the end of the day the 5 quid part that needs replacing is out of a Corolla, there are plenty of places that have had old Corolla gearboxes apart for a lot less than 750 quid!
RTB said:
The toyota lump and gearbox aren't exactly exotic. I had a new clutch fitted to my Exige a few years ago after the thrust bearing handed it's notice in. I took it in to a local garage that I use for my other cars and they did the replacement at a fraction of the cost of my local Lotus Dealer.
It depends how much you trust your local independent garages really. At the end of the day the 5 quid part that needs replacing is out of a Corolla, there are plenty of places that have had old Corolla gearboxes apart for a lot less than 750 quid!
Do they fit themselves then ??It depends how much you trust your local independent garages really. At the end of the day the 5 quid part that needs replacing is out of a Corolla, there are plenty of places that have had old Corolla gearboxes apart for a lot less than 750 quid!
A garage or mechanic would need experience in working with the particular car as you have to remove suspension components, drop engine down to get enough room for the transmission to come out from around the rear subframe.
Unless they had worked on the particular car before, it could take excess of 12 hrs.
I enquired the price of exchanging a gearbox on my old S2 at both a Lotus dealer and a specialist and both were £800+ plus ‘consumables’.
Any garage used to ‘working on old Corolla gearboxes’ probably won’t have experience of an Elise to do the job quickly and is unlikely to charge less than £60 per hour.
You got lucky if your garage did it easily and cheaply.
Unless they had worked on the particular car before, it could take excess of 12 hrs.
I enquired the price of exchanging a gearbox on my old S2 at both a Lotus dealer and a specialist and both were £800+ plus ‘consumables’.
Any garage used to ‘working on old Corolla gearboxes’ probably won’t have experience of an Elise to do the job quickly and is unlikely to charge less than £60 per hour.
You got lucky if your garage did it easily and cheaply.
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