1999 Ford Escort

1999 FORD ESCORT
92,000 MILES • 4 CYL • FWD • AUTOMATIC
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ALCIBIADES
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  • 1 POST
Gentlemen, I live in Brazil and my son is in San Diego, CA. He bought a car recently and now had some mechanical problem. The mechanic sent the following message to him:

Hi Ricardo, Here is the estimate for repairs that need to be done on your car.
Head gasket replacement- $800 parts and labor Battery Replacement- $60 parts and labor
AC compressor replacement- $300 parts and labor Water pump, timing belt and timing belt tensioner replacement- $122.29 only charging for parts, labor is free!!!
New serpentine belt- $15, only charging for parts, labor is free!!!
Total cost for you is $1297.29
You will get 12 months/12,000 miles warranty for the parts and labor.

My question is just about the first item, the gasket replacement. I agree with the $120 per hour labor cost, but not with the time estimative for changing the gasket, that seems to me to be too high, some like 7 hours. I would like very much to have your oppinion about that. Thank you very much and please excuse my English, Alcibiades
Nov 5, 2010 at 9:16 PM
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MERLIN2021
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  • 17,250 POSTS
The estimating guide calls for 8.0 hours for a dual overhead cam engine and 6.3 hours for a single overhead cam engine. Just for the head gasket replacement. The head then needs to be sent out for machine shop service, so the price is good!
Nov 6, 2010 at 10:16 AM