"Pemaquid" <PemaquidPoint@EEEYAHOOOO.com> wrote in message
news:281120062351073268%PemaquidPoint@EEEYAHOOOO.com...[color=blue]
> In article <9794e$456cfc54$47c2b532$16313@msgid.meganewsservers.com>,
> Ray O wrote:
>[color=green]
>> "mack" <mackerel@dslextreme.com> wrote in message
>> news:12mphrdf3ohps3b@corp.supernews.com...[color=darkred]
>> >
>> > "Pemaquid" <PemaquidPoint@EEEYAHOOOO.com> wrote in message
>> > news:281120061632314319%PemaquidPoint@EEEYAHOOOO.com...
>> >>I have a trustworthy dealer here in western New York state. Today I had
>> >> the service manager offer an opinion on the source of a new throaty
>> >> sound in the engine compartment. His verdict: possibly an insulted
>> >> gasket from the recent tear-down for replacng the internal timing belt
>> >> (at a different dealer's shop), but more likely the front exhaust pipe
>> >> failing after 85K miles and eight salty winters.
>> >>
>> >> He quoted the cost of the latter replacement as $1200 - $1500 because
>> >> the front exhaust pipe includes a catalytic converter, separate from
>> >> the CC farther along in the exhaust-parts sequence.
>> >>
>> >> The rest of the the exhaust system is original and solid.
>> >>
>> >> Does anything about this narrative strike you as out of the ordinary
>> >> for a babied, rigorously serviced '98 Avalon?
>> >>> --
>> > I must admit I have no clue as to whether this is a good or bad price
>> > for
>> > the parts and labor involved, but my question to the group is, if the
>> > service manager is pretty sure about what needs to be done, why is his
>> > cost estimate so far-ranging?
>> > If the parts ($xxx) and the labor ($xxx) is known up front, I would
>> > think
>> > he'd be able to narrow it down to a fairly solid figure. If it were a
>> > transmission that may or may not need certain parts, which nobody knows
>> > up
>> > front before it's torn down, I can see that there'd be such a vague
>> > estimate, but not when the parts to be replaced are already known, and
>> > the
>> > time allowable is also known in advance.
>> >
>> > Comments?
>> >
>> > ($1200-1500 does sound a little dear to me)[/color][/color]
>
> To me too, but the car has been rock solid. Averaging this and the
> timing belt over its 8 years still leaves me satisfied with my choice.[color=green][color=darkred]
>> >[/color]
>>
>> I agree with Mack - the range sounds too wide to me.[/color]
>
> I learned after that conversation that there are two different front
> exhaust pipes possible, depending on whether the car did or didn't have
> to meet California emission standards. This dealer (but maybe not this
> service manager) knows that mine has always been a New York car.[/color]
Some east coast cars like Massachusetts have to meet California emissions
standards, I'm not sure if NY falls into the same category or not. A label
in the engine compartment would identify the emissions system the car has,
as would the original window sticker.
[color=blue][color=green]
>> Also, an exhaust leak
>> is fairly easy to pinpoint with 2 people. One person jams a rag over the
>> tailpipe, and the other listens for the source of the leak. I would want
>> a
>> more positive identification of the source of the leak before proceeding.[/color]
>
> That's a valuable suggestion.
>[color=green]
>> The good news is, if you get the exhaust at a Toyota dealer, you will
>> have a
>> lifetime guarantee on it (but not the cat).[/color]
>
> I'm 70, Ray. Everyone's happy to give me a lifetime guarantee. :)
>
> He made another comment that gnaws at me in retrospect. I mentioned
> that I could go to a muffler shop but that I'd rather saty with Toyota
> quality He replied that an independent shop might replace the pipe with
> one lacking the CC and then I'd have trouble with emissions tests.
>
> Would an independent shop really do that? I'd hope not.
>
> And wouldn't the absence of the substitute pipe's CC's impedance affect
> the behavior of the engine?
>
> I thank you both for your comments. You've helped me.
>
> --
> Paul of Pemaquid Point
> "Bounding Maine"[/color]
I doubt if an independent shop would completely eliminate the catalytic
converter since that would be an illegal modification, but it is very likely
that they would install a cheap one that would work fine for a while but
have a relatively short life.
I thought that the CC was a separate component and that it would be possible
to re-use the old one, assuming that it is still working properly. I would
ask that question of the service department as well.
--
Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)
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