I took my car to the dealer for replacement of exhaust manifold studs. After his mechanic looked at it the estimate jumped from $721 to $2100. Supposidly I needed new manifolds, y-pipe and $175 worth of gaskits and shop rags etc. When I asked whether the manifolds are cracked, he goes no, but they could be worped so the machine ship will take off upto 31/4 inch off and then the existing y-pipe (there is nothing wrong with the existing one) won't fit. I could not beleive how boldly he was trying to rip me off. I took it to another import shop and the estimate is $600. I thought let you guys know. I can't wait to get this fixed so I can start modifying it.
MSK 90SE

Where do you live, my story------>
 

I did the front and rear side manifolds at a dealer. 6 new upgraded studs on the front, 6 new upgraded studs on the back, new gaskets, full job. Let me tell you though, I got some silly estimates like you did, I shopped around, and when it finally came down to it I spent a day and a half in the dealers waiting room to make sure it was done right and no extra $ was charged. Full parts, labor, came out to be around $400 for me for the whole job, I know most of the time people pay twice that. Let me know if you live around NYC.

Re: Where do you live, my story------>
 

Which dealer? I'm in NYC.

Queens Nissan------>
 

Dont deal with Bob or Russel, ask for Amanda, if your doing the exhaust studs, just mention a teenager with a gray 94 GXE, and she'll know you mean business.

BTW, Kings Nissan is ridiculous in every way possible( $350 for one side, plus labor for each drilled out stud), Bay Ridge Nissan has its own problems( Yeah, a few hours of labor, LOL), Koeppel shouldnt even be called a dealer after telling me $1100 for the job. Queens Nissan quoted me the cheapest price by far.

WOw I am jealous. I shopped around also but everybody quoted me about $700. so I thought if any body has done this before (or screwed up before) it would be the dealer. That is why I took it there. Sorry NYC GXE I live in Kansas, too far away from NYC. I am so tempting to do it myself, but I cannot keep the car for more than one day in the garage. Anyway I will keep you posted what happens next week.

Thanks for your response
MSK 90SE

manifold job
 

MSK, I dont know about Kansas but here in Oklahoma
the dealer that I work at we can do the job in a day
drop it off in the morning pick it up that night and
we have a service driver who can take you to work and
bring you back. Shop around.

89GXE: The question is for how much? Here in Kansas What they do is look up on their rate book (now computers) and give you hourly rate. (Nissan told me this morning that it will take 10 hours to do the job). It is the same deal here too. I will drop off the car, one of the quys will give me a ride to work and they will call me when it is done (hopefully).

MSK 90SE

manifolds
 

Different dealers charge different prices.We are more
expensive than our competion but we have better techs.
We charge6 Hours for a T-Belt a crosstown competitor
charges 4 (but we don't break engines they do) All
I can tell you is shop around and remember you get what
you pay for.

where in Kansas do you live? I live in tulsa and have a friend in Kansas City that would probably be glad to earn some extra bucks.. he's currently completely rebuilding a totalled Max right now, so I know he's more than competent enough to do the job..
he'd probably do it for a couple hundred in labor, and the parts are around $100 to do both sides. lemme know..
(either that or the friend will see this and jump on the money opportunity!)

I live in Topeka, Kansas. I would like to talk to or email your friend. Sorry I did'nt see your response till now
MSK 90SE

Re: Where do you live, my story------>
 

Hey, the upgraded studs, are they the 300z studs?? can you give me a part number or something???

RE Studs
 

Sorry Knowledgeborn, i donot have the part number for it with me however, I can ask the part guys tomorrow. P.S I found an import car mechanic in Topeka and he will work on my car tomorrow. The price is reasonable. I hope nothing else goes wrong. I will ask him also to keep the part number handy and I will post it tomorrow night. I am not taking my car to dealer again.

MSK 90SE

What's up MKS...Hey did you get that part number for the 300Z studs yet....Surely would appreciate, I found a Import car mechanic, he gonna do it for me if I buy the parts he be cheaper...

I am terrably sorry, In the excitment of getting it repair I forgot all about the part number> I will call him first thing in the morning and get a part number for you.
By the way it cost me $638 with tax. $485 was labor alone.
Sorry again
MSK

I appreciate it...What all did your mechanic do?? Were the exhaust manifolds warped or anything?

Exhaust Manifold Studs for Max
 

Knowledgeborn Here are the part number for 1990 Max VG30E studs and their prices:
Item Part # price $
STUDS 14065-V5004 2.92 each
NUT 14039-W1500 0.33 each
WASHER 14037-F6610 1.65 each

Now here is the important part. The part guy said that the part numbers for Nissan 300ZX for 1994 model year is totally different from Max and it are not interchangeable. Interestingly, he said that the studs breakage is very common on max engines but hardly a problem with Z engines. Hope this helps sorry I just got back from work but I promised you that I will get these prices and part numbers today.
My mechanic took all the old studs out, and replaced with new ones. He then also replaced all gaskits (4). He had to take out the rare engine mount to do the job since I had two of the studs broken, one in front and one in back.

MSK 90 SE