$303 to replace a starter?
DemoDisk
My '93 Nissan Sentra wouldn't start so I left it with a neighborhood
garage which called me with an estimate of $303 for a new starter. Does
that seem like too much?
Replace starter (1-yr warranty) $169.73
Labor 118.00
Tax 15.28
======
303.01
Now here's the story: I called AAA Saturday evening because the car left
me stranded. It had never failed to start before. The AAA guy said the 6
yr old battery still had plenty of charge, but I might want a new one
anyway. The car required a push to start, and I went to Advance
Autoparts for a new battery.
'Clarissa' installed the new battery, and I turned the key. NOTHING!
Just then this big guy steps up and says "I've been watching, and I
think I can help." The hood is up, and he just reaches underneath the
air cleaner duct a second, takes his hand out and says, "Try it now."
The car starts beautifully! "Probably corrosion," he says.
Back home, though, the car wouldn't start. I tried getting under the air
duct, but there's hardly room for your hand, much less actual tools! So
I go to the place around the corner, which wants $300+ for a new
starter.
Question (besides the $300 one) : What did the guy in the parking lot at
Advance Auto DO to the car that helped it start?
Tnx,
Jm
willshak
A good mechanic can change a starter in less than 10 minutes. Even I, as
a shade tree mechanic, can do it in 10 to 15 minutes without power tools
or a lift.
It seems like they are charging for 2 hours of labor.
If that guy only touched something under the air cleaner to get it to
start, it has nothing to do with the starter.
Find a new mechanic.
--
Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @
Jim Yanik
QOJ_WnZ2dn...@supernews.com:
the common ground point for the electrical system is probably under the air
duct.My 2003 Sentra has a common ground point there.
you should find a screw going into the body with a lot of black wires going
to it.
you need to loosen all the screws that ground wires go to,and scrape any
corrosion off with a wire brush,then retighten the screws.
Adding star washers may help.
and maybe a spritz of WD-40 to prevent new corrosion.
--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com
Bex
> willshak <wills...@00hvc.rr.com> wrote in news:SZidndvWuN-
> QOJ_WnZ2dnUVZ_jWdn...@supernews.com:
Replace your battery cables and clean up any corrosion on your
connections. If that doesn't fix it, remove the starter yourself and
take it to get it tested (for free) before you replace it.
DemoDisk
"Bex" <be...@nicoclub.com> wrote in message
news:689910dc-765d-4d8d...@z41g2000yqz.googlegroups.com...
Thanks for the answers, folks. I went down to tell them 'Hold
everything," and found the job already half done. The problem was, I
didn't trust myself to dig into the air cleaning system, which looks
like The Tingler (old movie), if The Tingler was sixteen years old, like
my car.
Well, crap, there was the air cleaner duct and allied/associated
apparatus sitting on the garage floor in one piece. Under the hood, a
big hole where the starter USED to be, and it's a simple unbolt, rebolt
operation to give the engine a new starter.
Wish I'd known that.
Jm
NissTech
minutes on a 93 Sentra on your back with no air tools , I'll put up a grand
at 3to1 odds against that says you can't do it.
I can get a car and a starter for ya anytime you want, heck I'll even let ya
put it on a lift if ya want.
"willshak" <will...@00hvc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:SZidndvWuN-QOJ_W...@supernews.com...