how much would all of this cost canadian?

two 1985 Camaro doors, a drivers side manifold, steering box, heatercore, front shocks, balljoints, and tie rod ends, brakes, new oil pan?

Thats what I neeed to get done to my camaro and I was wondering how much it would cost to get all of those done...

 

Are you doing the work yourself?

 

cahnces are no,

 

If a shop does it, I'd estimate about 2500 US so probably around 3700 CND.

 

hmmm.... thats bad...

 

Looking at everything you listed, all of them could be done by yourself except for the oil pan (and if you are persistent enough -- it could).

What I gave you is a ballpark figure and worst case scenario. Labor in my area is generally $65/hour. That works out to about 98 CND.

Each job you listed takes about a day to do (for the DIYer). Granted the shop time is probably less but you never know.

After I finish a big job, I look at what I could have paid if I paid another and usually feel good about accomplishing it myself.

 

I totally agree with MD... if neither of us did our own work, we'd be broke and lonely guys, living in our cars

Two doors: Can be 82-92, not just '85. 'Fact, they can come off of a Firebird, too! They bolt right on. If you buy a door without power windows, and you want to put your power windows in, it's a bit of a headache, but not impossible. (I've done it, my doors rusted out.)

Driver's side manifold: Biggest btch will be loosening the y-pipe-to-manifold bolts. This might be a job for a shop if you don't have a good tool set. Stripped bolts are no fun, and if you don't have the tools to remove them (like an air powered cut off wheel), you'll have a hell of a time.

Steering box: Just replacing it? What's wrong with it? Replacing it is an "unbolt old, bolt in new" operation. Don't bother paying a shop.

Brakes: The Haynes 82-92 Camaro book shows a picture-by-picture replacement of the front and rear brakes. But if you're a little worried about doing it, go to a shop. I'd recommend buying the 82-92 Haynes manual, reading thru the pictures, and then decide if you'll try it yourself or not. It's not a hard job; in fact, the front brakes are easier compared to the rear drums.

Heater core: A few hours under the dash will get it replaced. Tools are a lot of patience, some aspirin for any back/neck aches, and a 9/32" or 7mm socket driver. You can bypass your heater core so you can drive around, if you haven't bypassed it yet. It means no heat for you, but it also means no leaks inside the car! The procedure is covered in the Haynes book.

Front shocks: Technically they're struts. The Haynes book shows how to replace them. Two dangers: 1, Removing the strut lets the control arm flop down and that highly compressed front spring could fly at you and KILL YOU (it's that strong!!)!! You'd have to buy/rent a spring compressor. 2, Front strut-to-knuckle bolts are on with 180 ft/lbs of torque. If you've never torqued anything down with a torque wrench before, 180 ft/lbs is incredibly tight- most torque wrenches only go up to 150 ft/lbs- so how will you know that what you think is tight is actuallly 180 ft/lbs? You'd be surprised at how tight that is! The procedure is covered in the Haynes book.

Tie rod ends: Unbolt old, bolt in new. Need to remove the tie rod adjustment sleeve, and have a hammer nearby. Covered in the Haynes book. Remember you'll need to limp to an alignment shop to get an alignment after this!!!!! (Very important unless you want to ruin your tires)

Balljoints: Need to rent a balljoint press ($150 to buy), need to remove the front strut and front spring so you'll need a spring compressor. Covered in the Haynes book. Are they really shot, or are you just replacing them "just because"?

New oil pan: Is the old one leaking? Not sure of what's involved, only time I did one was with the 2.8 out of the car.

So if I were broke and didn't know much about how to do things (no offense meant, we all were this way once!!), I'd definately attempt the following: Doors, heatercore, steering box, brakes, tie rod ends. A shop could take care of the rest (manifold, front struts & balljoints, new oil pan).

And buy a $12 lube gun and $3 grease cartridge to lube your suspension whenever you change your oil!!! Go to http://www.sears.com and type "grease gun" into the search box and click "go".

 

I still feel like I'm broke and living in mine....

 

ummm...i can give you a few pointers on some stuff...the doors are easy to do...but if you have to swap glass and all...it becomes tricky...i just pulled my old glass out of the old doors by sliding it off the track and just sliding it on into the new doors...you'll need a couple people helping you to hold the doors up while you bolt them in...also important...first bolt to put is the one on the top that only goes in one way and can't be adjusted...doing the struts is easy...in fact...jack the car up on the control arm and you won't have to worry about the spring...i did it and its no problem...bolts are on tight though...big ratchet and pipe is how i did it...no alignment necesary for just that because they aren't adjustable...they have permanent holes...tie rods easy like tom p said...ball joints easy...the spring can be scary though....two jacks or stands needed at this point...plus rental of press tool...but all can be done over a few days with alot of cussing...hey tom...when i did my balljoints i didn't remove the strut or spring...and they pressed in fine...maybe you could shed some light on why to remove them...me and my dad did them right outside using a jack to hold up the control arm...

 

hmm i need a new oil pan because myne is bashed in the old owner must have hit a huge piece of ice and smashed in the pan, the doors I might be able to do myself, but the steering box, how do I re attach that to my frame?

 

LOL, Mark! I'm not living in mine, but it's slowly falling apart around me... Gotta replace that passenger door soon, the fiance has to slam her shoulder into it to get the door to open. Combine that with all the frickin' rattles and the leaking injectors... and the time I don't have... (sigh)

JP, thanks for the info! Did you just pop the spindle free and let it hang from the strut? I figured all that would get in the way of the balljoint. And yeah, I guess spring removal isn't necessary, for some reason I was thinking he wanted to replace the lower control arm bushings too How was it to work the press?

Steering box should just unbolt, and a new one bolts in. Oh, wait, aren't you the guy whose frame ripped at the box area? And are you sure you need to replace the balljoints?

 

Tom...a little story about working the press...it was a pita...because we had to keep jacking up the control arm...and that was getting dangerous for a while because the jack was moving and all...just to get enough clearance for the press...i'd say we were pretty high up in the air...but all in all it worked out good...now that you mention bushings...i've done them in a lincoln before...but no need to worry about springs in those...they have air springs...much easier to do...but yea...thats how i did the ball joints...but i would say maybe removing the spring is easier if you cherish your life...which apparently me and my father never really thought about...we just prayed the spring wouldn't hit pop...by the way...good luck supersport...

 

I am totally sure that the frame is cracked, i don't think it is after all, the bolt snapped so i might need to bash it out with a hammer or something, oh well, Um where can I get this new bolt and how many bolts are holding it onto the frame? :lala: :lala: :lala:


btw any ideas on how to remove the old bolt... and how hard is it to put a new one in?

 

There are three bolts holding it to the frame. Replacements (IMO) could be of the junkyard variety.

The best way to get it out (if it broke flush w/the frame) would be to extract it using a screw extractor kit. I would leane that to the pros as my attempts in extracting have always made things worse. If there is part of the bolt sticking out, slap some vise grips on it and start turning!

 

hmmm, well it isnt in the frame it is stuck in the steering box itself..