Hello, I own a Ford Focus 2003 with 117000 miles on it. About two week ago the engine light came on. I took my car to an auto mechanic and after spending $60.00, the mechanic said to me that I need to replace intake manifold. He said the part is $700 and labor $200. A few days later I called Pepboys and get an estimate.They said it would cost me about $2,700.00 to fix it.
Now, please tell me: 1) if I don’t fix the problem will I cause me damage and harm the engine? 2) Do you think Will I be able to find a shop that fix it for a lower rate?
Thank you,
Andy
If the mechanic quoted $900, won’t he do it for that?
You may want to find out exactly what is wrong with the manifold and why it needs to be replaced. If you live in a state that does not have emission testing, and if the manifold problem is minor, you could skip it or wait for it to get worse. On the other hand, a badly cracked manifold can lead to rough running, stalling, coolant leaks, and other bad things.
IF the manifold problem is being referred to as a breached lower manifold gasket then the $900 cost is in line with that across the country.
Reason being, there is a lot of labor involved here and if the problem is one of coolant leaking into the engine, the damage done to bearings and crankshaft journals will hoist the price considerably upwards.
That said, you MAY be able to find a backyard mechanic to do the job for a bit less, depending on the amount of damage.
Have a coolant pressure test done to verify where the leak is.
[i] the engine light came on[/i]
That CEL (check engine light) is just a kid in class waving her hand trying to get you attention because she has the answer. You need to have the codes read. Some places will read them for FREE. Try Autozone or Advanced Auto Parts. Get the exact code (like P0123) not just their translation into English and post it back here.