Hey all,

How many hours of labor of labor is for the following parts to get replaced?

- Front Compression Rod Bushings
- Front Inner Control Arm Bushings
- Front Lower Shock Bushings

I spoke to my mechanic over the phone and he said it could be a possible 2 day job, but I think he is wrong.

Also, out of a rough estimate, how much should I be expecting in labor charges? I already bought the parts, just gonna pay for labor. Just wanna make sure I am not being ripped off. Thanks!

 

It takes a lot more time than you'd think. He has to remove the lower front body brace and then remove most of the major suspension components. Then he has to remove bushings and put new ones in. This takes lots of time.

 

Yeah, probably about $800-1000. One of the many benefits to doing your own work.

 

Oh wow, makes a lot more sense now. This job is no joke. I can see why my mechanic said it'll probably take two days.

 

Yeah, you just gotta know that they have a book and the books rates are based on basic experience of a suspension vs an extreme amount of experience for one single vehicle (every car is different). I could rip out my entire front end and put it back together in a couple hours now (I've done it many many times), vs the first time I got to "know" it which took me all day.

Honestly, this suspension is weird af. It's like there's no real foundation, it's just a bunch of floating parts supporting each other with geometry. I have a friend who owns a complete custom/rebuild/fabrication shop, so I have access to a lift and i took it in to do my own work (cuz he let's me use the lift); he took one look at this setup (he works on many different types of cars) and just said, "this suspension is stupid".

It's more of a test of patience than anything else.

 

It was built to save money, one component at a time. After all, that is the Nissan way. Build it for the cheap.

 

I'm going to pass on replacing the suspension parts for another month. Not mandatory.

But I do need to address is a oil leak in my engine. Looks like it's the valve cover gasket. Just the gasket needs to be changed it looks like. How much am I looking at for that? One of my college buddies whom works at Goodyear said I'm probably looking at around $330

 

Well you have to modify the OEM gasket, otherwise it'll leak again right after you change it. There are some DIYs on here showing you how.

 

Car sounds fun so far, huh? Lol

 

Welcome to owning a G and not a Civic. It stinks sometimes.

But, you drive and remember why you bought this car.

 

I replaced all those parts in my garage, on a jack stand in about a day, and that was because I had to drive to a friend's house to use his father's press to replace the bushings. Then about 2 years later I bought all new suspension arms and ball joints and end links, was able to remove and replace the entire front suspension in about 5 hours, again in my garage.

 

They replaced ALL my front end bushing in a day.

 

They must be good at Infiniti's then haha. It's tough even with the service manual the first time.

 

So I dropped off my car at the shop this morning and just got a call that my whole valve cover needs to be replaced! Fml lol. Had oil leaking into the spark plugs apparently.

 

Had the same problem (very common) with mine. Mechanic pulled it off, cleaned it and applied silicone seal and reinstalled. Three years, no problems, no leaks.