Question about Valve Lash Job ?

[Dr00p]

Ok so heres the deal, I sent my heads in to be cleaned up because im droping a new block in my car. The machine shop cleaned up the heads polished them ground down the valves and cams to make everything like new, They were going to charge me $400 for the work they did but then i get a call saying they needed to adjust the valve lash. They want to charge me an extra $400 for the valve lash job and said it wont be done till late monday, and today is friday.

Does anyone know if the valve lash adjustment job should be an extra $400 and take 4 days because to me it seems like it shouldnt be all to difficult.

I see it as just measuring the gap from the lobe to the lash cap and compensating the distance between, but im no head expert so if someone could fill me in i would appreciate it.

Thanks alot
Zac

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[spoolinred]

Originally Posted by Dr00p

Ok so heres the deal, I sent my heads in to be cleaned up because im droping a new block in my car. The machine shop cleaned up the heads polished them ground down the valves and cams to make everything like new, They were going to charge me $400 for the work they did but then i get a call saying they needed to adjust the valve lash. They want to charge me an extra $400 for the valve lash job and said it wont be done till late monday, and today is friday.

Does anyone know if the valve lash adjustment job should be an extra $400 and take 4 days because to me it seems like it shouldnt be all to difficult.

I see it as just measuring the gap from the lobe to the lash cap and compensating the distance between, but im no head expert so if someone could fill me in i would appreciate it.

Thanks alot
Zac

i wouldn't pay 400 extra. do it yourself it is easy and you won't be out the money....

[Dr00p]

Thats what im thinking, but its already at the machine shop, im going through a shop and the owner wanted me to post this so he could get an idea also so please keep the responses coming

Thanks guys

[MJU1983]

Depends if that price includes the new buckets that are ~$20/each.

[S L O W W R X]

Originally Posted by MJU1983

Depends if that price includes the new buckets that are ~$20/each.

Chances are a machine shop won't use new buckets they will cut the valve stems to the right height.

[Dr00p]

I just feel like im getting stiffed on the job, like i said they already cleaned them up and pressure tester them and everything was good but i guess when they were putting them back together thats when it hit them that they would have to compensate for what they took off and thats when the extra 400 came into play so idk.
Thanks for the responses guys, i just dont want to be out an extra 900 for the project thats going on right now

thanks again everyone

[z/ssti]

considering i had to wait a month for my lash buckets, id have to agree with ^

[jays05]

Originally Posted by S L O W W R X

Chances are a machine shop won't use new buckets they will cut the valve stems to the right height.

Yep, the machine shop that did my heads cut the valve stems... and only two buckets needed to be replaced. They told me it was cheaper to do it that way.


Ask for a breakdown of parts+labor for the work that the machine shop wants to do.

[bboy]

Whether it's buckets or valves there are 16 of them to measure, record, and respond. $400 seems about right ($320 in buckets + hour labor). Quite often you cannot reuse any buckets especially with new cams.

[05_TurboxSti]

you get what you pay for IMO, It's cheap insurance. feels about right. I read this post and called a couple of boxer motor shops and the average lash job runs approx $475-$550 pending on ease of the job. they told me some are more easier than the other.

[Dr00p]

alright thanks for everyones imput

[Acostafan]

Originally Posted by Dr00p

Ok so heres the deal, I sent my heads in to be cleaned up because im droping a new block in my car. The machine shop cleaned up the heads polished them ground down the valves and cams to make everything like new, They were going to charge me $400 for the work they did but then i get a call saying they needed to adjust the valve lash. They want to charge me an extra $400 for the valve lash job and said it wont be done till late monday, and today is friday.

Does anyone know if the valve lash adjustment job should be an extra $400 and take 4 days because to me it seems like it shouldnt be all to difficult.

I see it as just measuring the gap from the lobe to the lash cap and compensating the distance between, but im no head expert so if someone could fill me in i would appreciate it.

Thanks alot
Zac

$800 bucks total to have that stuff done is a rip off. I had my heads cleaned, milled, and lash set(they cut the valve stems) for $120. Take your business elsewhere.

[S L O W W R X]

Originally Posted by Acostafan

$800 bucks total to have that stuff done is a rip off. I had my heads cleaned, milled, and lash set(they cut the valve stems) for $120. Take your business elsewhere.

A real machine shop wouldn't mill youre heads for $120 bucks. They might have cleaned youre heads and checked everything else for that.

[Acostafan]

Originally Posted by S L O W W R X

A real machine shop wouldn't mill youre heads for $120 bucks. They might have cleaned youre heads and checked everything else for that.

Hate to break it to ya, but they did.

[S L O W W R X]

....you get what you pay for.

[Acostafan]

^^^and I got a top notch job. Great work really. Sorry you don't have someone in your area you can rely on for that.

[MY99 2.5GT]

I'm really surprised no one has asked what heads this person is using.

If the heads use shimless buckets (The shim is built into the underside of the bucket) like the 04 and up WRX then $400 is a great deal if all 16 buckets need to be replaced.

If the heads are shim over bucket like the 03 WRX and the older Phase I DOHC EJ25 heads then $400 is a complete rip off because it would cost under $60 in lash tokens to bring things into spec.

All in all if the heads are out of the car you should easily be able to do this job yourself with a 10mm socket and a decent feeler gauge.

Another question is did the first $400 include assembly of the valve oil seals as well as valve/spring/keeper installation?

[MY99 2.5GT]

All you would need to do is put the cams in place with some assembly lube or good ol 10w30 on the cam bearing surfaces. Tighten down the cam caps moderately then position the lowest side of the two cam lobes to be directly facing the bucket. The cam lobe should be as perpendicular to the bucket as possible when you go to stick the feeler gauge in there.

As well make sure that the buckets have a little bit of oil around the outer skirt so they don't bind when you install them if they aren't already installed. You will need to make sure as well the bucket is fully seated against the valve stem and not bound up so you don't get a true lash measurement.

Find out what is within spec for lash and measure out what your current lash is. Crunch the number and find out what shims you need.

Thats about it.

[jblaine]

Originally Posted by Acostafan

$800 bucks total to have that stuff done is a rip off. I had my heads cleaned, milled, and lash set(they cut the valve stems) for $120. Take your business elsewhere.

I think it's great that you got a deal like that, but it's completely unreasonable to expect that other people can get anywhere near that kind of a deal in most locations.

Most shops won't CLEAN your heads for less than $60.

What determines a "rip off" is based on far more than what some person got lucky with in some corner of the world.

[nsucdm_wrx]

I paid 250 (125 ea) to have my heads cleaned and a 3 angle valve job. Then I paid Tristan at The King of Parts ~$17ea for new shimless buckets (MY02 has a shim over bucket design).

$900

[foolio]

Thats what I was going to ask. Did they do anything to the valve seats? Or just "clean up the heads". If they touched the valve seats then ya the clearances should be adjusted with new buckets as need be. But even still thats really expensive.

[MY99 2.5GT]

You don't need new buckets if your setup is shim over bucket!! You just need new shims that cost pennies.

[2milehi]

Originally Posted by Dr00p

I just feel like im getting stiffed on the job, like i said they already cleaned them up and pressure tester them and everything was good but i guess when they were putting them back together thats when it hit them that they would have to compensate for what they took off and thats when the extra 400 came into play so idk.
Thanks for the responses guys, i just dont want to be out an extra 900 for the project thats going on right now

thanks again everyone

So the machine shop realized that they were not doing the job right and want to pass the expense along to you?

You were quoted $400 to do the heads and they also reground the lobes on the cam?!?!

Now if they reground the valves and seats (basically rebuild the heads) then they should have known that they would need to adjust lash on an OHC cylinder head(s).

[2milehi]

Any new info?

[IllNastyImpreza]

my shop originaly quoted me 500 for a 3 angle valve job, and mild port an polish, all installed on my new block