dealership repair estimate

[mjeff87]

Awhile ago, the rear exhaust stud sheared off the head on my 2.5 TJ. The brainiac Jeep engineers decided that these model year 2.5 don't use a manifold gasket for some ridiculous reason, so I've just been driving it around with a loud exhaust tap/leak until the manifold heats up and the surfaces seal. Was planning on repairing it myself once we got into the new house with the garage (pull the head, clean the top end all up, have a shop drill the stud remains and retap, etc....) but today was driving past the dealership and thought I'd stop by to get a rough estimate on repair....you know, just for shiats and giggles.

 

IF they DON'T have to pull the head and can drill it out with success........$440. I didn't even bother to ask them the cost if they had to pull the head.

 

Guess this will be the first official repair done in the new garage :yes:

 

Jeff

[Blue XJ]

I'd say if you were closer, bring it buy and we'll do it on a Saturday for a 12 pack of beer. Shouldn't be too bad to get to it, once the head is slightly warmed up, it should come out fairly easy too, once you get an asy out in it.

 

Its amazing what the dealerships charge isn't it? I just took my new car in for a broken cruise control switch, they replaced the air bag, engine controller and cruise switch. Turns out it was just the cruise switch that was bad, imagine the bill they sent to Chrysler for all the parts. WTF would the airbag keep cruise control from working? :mad:

[garmj]

Keep in mind the 2.5 (and for that matter the 4.0) is famous for cracking the exhaust manifold.So don't be surprized. Good news is they sell them real cheap brand new on Ebay. Good Luck

[mjeff87]

the manifold is good (from what I can tell), it's just the stud that's sheared off. Same thing happened on my MJ when it had the 2.5 (both front and rears broke off). I was able to get the front one out and replace it w/o pulling the head on it, but the back on I couldn't. I just torqued the other bolts down and ran some JB weld around the rear exhaust port and ran it, thanks to the gasket.

 

If the estimate would have come in around $200 or less, I was seriously gonna think about letting them do the work just to save the time and the hassle right now. It took all I had to maintain my composure when they told me what it was.