Brad-Vette

a local shop that seems pretty reputable here in Dothan, AL says i need a tune up (he says the spark plugs are original on my 1995 vette) and he says there is a vette kit that includes the plugs, wires, and distributor cap and with labor its $800, does that sound about right?

i thought i had a optispark and didnt use a distributor.

any ideas what kit he is referring to?

c4cruiser

The "Optispark" is a distributor as such. The cap can be replaced if needed. How many miles on the car? I would think that 100K or more would be time for a tune-up.

Don't know about a "kit. but you can get plugs at any parts store and also wires. The cap for the Opti can be anywhere from $100 to $150 depending on brand. Plugs can be $2 to $3 each for platinum, $5 to $7 for Iridium. Lots of options there. Figure on $50 or so for OEM-style AC Delco wires.

Labor will be the highest cost but I would expect that it will take a good tech no more than 2-3 hours if that to do everything

$800 is pretty high; 60-70% of that would be more reasonable even using quality parts.

Brad-Vette

thanks for the reply. Yes the car has 121k miles.

He did say it would take about 2 to 3 hours for labor.
he then said the distrib cap was about $200

is this what i would need:


im coming up with:

labor x 3 hours = $225
distrib cap = $200 (his price)
wire set = $ 50
plugs x 8 = 24
total without the cap = 499

so where could the other $300 be? anything else that a tune-up would possibly include parts wise?

vader86

Fuel filter, coolant flush, oil change, thats about all i'd ever let anyone lump into "tuneup" costs.

Nothing to explain the $300 extra expense. I wouldnt think they'd charge $300 for getting the opti out of the engine bay.

Corvettewaldon

do it yourself, you can put the best parts in and it will cost you half that much. I just did mine, it took me 2 hours maybe...good luck! I'm sure they will have more "THINGS" you should change/fix while their already working on it! Good Luck

Silver96ce

In order to get to the Opti he is going to be draining the coolant, pulling the water pump, and removing the harmonic damper off the crank pulley (it's two pieces). If the damper hasn't been pulled in the past and anti-seize applied to the mating surfaces - it could be a real bear to get off. Do a search - most people take a long piece of wood, go underneath the car and whack it with a hammer against the inner ring (don't want to hit the outer ring as you can damage the rubber sandwich between the rings). Sometimes it is really stubborn so I would not be so quick to criticize his fees. BTW, I do all my own work so I know how hard or easy it can be.

Old Ben

Check with the members of the Corvette club there. The ones that I have met are really nice guys and they can advise you about the cost. They can also recommend shops that they use.

65Z01

My feeling is that is she is running/starting fine then don't f--k with the electrical system, i.e. if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Now when it comes to fluids that's a whole 'nother story:
-coolant flush, refresh
-tranny flush & filter
-motor oil change & filter
-even diff fluid & posi additive change

Paul Workman

Helz-belz...I've spent almost an hour getting the #8 plug out of my (former) 95 LT1! Tossing in the Opti's distributor cap (and I'd replace the water pump too while I had it off, BTW), for 3 hrs work for someone reputable to do that work, $800 doesn't seem too far out of line. And, your alternator too, if it has never been replaced, I'll bet is at the end of it's life expectancy too. (From experience, I give the GM alternators about 120K miles before needing to be replaced or R&R'ed).

Of course you could hire yourself to do the work and save the labor costs AND the parts mark-up too, which is what I do on all my Vettes. However, the price they quoted you is about what I would expect to hear for similar work on my work vehicle - or somewhere near that. I don't think that is too far out of line, actually.

wydopnthrtl

If he is servicing the opti.. then that is a reasonable amount.

IMO, change the plugs and wires. Flush all the fluids and don't touch the opti until you have to.

N227GB

I've been talking with the folks in the clubs here for recommendations on shops. There's a lot of tribal knowledge.

SnAkeDr

I did my own also. The only real benefit of doing it yourself is taking the time of REALLY cleaning the engine bay up, especially in front of the engine. Price is not to far off. Not a easy job.

Brad-Vette

Thanks for the info guys. I opted to just change the spark plugs. They started that project but stopped when they said they looked brand new. Seems like honest people to me.

Now off to find an electrician, im having alot of weird electrical problems with the coolant fans, radio and PKE working 10% of the time.