SR20S13

so what i'm wondering if what are you guys paying for machine work?
i'm getting my short block assembled and just looking around for what other people pay in the USA

The 1 quote i have right now is 1500 for a bore,hone, deck the block
balance the crank and polish it also weight match all the rods/pistons
and then put it back together checking all the clearances

I'm from connecticut

b20vtech

Block
$550
hone/bore
clean/wash
deck
clearence check
polish crank
crank/rods/pistons balance
Piston put on rods
ARP rod bolts install onto rods

Assemble $250

Head
Valve job on 3.0 Serdi or Sunnen VGS-20 $200 /16 valves
Valve job on CNC Newen Contour BB $275 /16 valves
Resurface $40

Im Located In Fresno California

Combustion Contraption

Are you looking to ship or are you just looking to get an idea of what everyone else is paying?

93egSLEEPER

You sir would be getting ripped for that price.

Last time I had work done it was $20 a hole for bore/hone ($80)
Head resurface $50
Rod bolts pressed w/ re-round $20 a rod ($80)
Micro-polish $50
Line hone/bore check $40

$300 for everyhting you listed besides the balancing.
Assembly for more than $500 is a complete rip unless it includes all bearing/gaskets/rings etc

That is Seattle WA

Dibble

Thats pretty close to what we charge in Baton Rouge at the machine shop I work at.

NAH2B

i would be more concerned w/ whos doing the work rather than the price unless its completely outrageous.

some builders take more pride in their work than others and go the extra steps to make sure the job is done to their standards. some use more precise equiptment than others and the list goes on and on...

there is no industry standard for what an engine "should" cost to assemble or for what a valvejob "should" cost. an honest machinist/builder knows the value of their work and will charge accordingly. unfortunately there are some machinists who overcharge for inferior work.

i would suggest getting a quote from ERL and RLZ, both are excellent.

the1337aaron

i got a quote today from my local shop to balance the whole bottom end is 175

SR20S13

i'm just trying to see what other people around the country are getting for machine work
the problem is i don't want to have to pay to ship
i was going to just drive to RLZ but howard never returns any of my emails and they don't anwser there phone
they are still going to do my headwork because brad will return my emails or give me a call unlike howard

SR20S13

i just got a quote from another shop in connecticut that says right around 1000 in labor since i have all the parts

SR20S13

from the first quote here is everything
POLISH CRANKSHAFT 75.00T
INSPECT PISTONS & ROD SIZES 32.00T
SQUARE DECK BLOCK ON ROTTLER F68A CNC MACHINE -
L4 IMPORT 75.00T
CNC BORE & POWER HONE L4 IMPORT BLOCK, W/
TORQUE PLATE - 81.5 mm 250.00T
BALANCE L-4 ASSEMBLY - RACE 1 250.00T
INSTALL PISTONS ON RODS 34.00T
FINAL WASH BLOCK 125.00T
INSTALL OIL GALLEY PLUGS 25.00T
FIT RING END GAPS 54.00T
CLEAN ALL PARTS 100.00T
CHECK ENGINE BEARING CLEARANCES 125.00T
ASSEMBLE SHORT BLOCK, L4 IMPORT 350.00T

93egSLEEPER

$250 for a bore and hone? Thats unreal.
$125 for a washed block? Thats complementary at most shops in my area.
$250 for a balance is TOO bad
$100 to clean parts seems like a BS extra charge
$125 to check bearing clearances...again thats rediculous.
I can't believe you dont know someone who can help you assemble for less than $350.
All this looks like to me is a bunch of BS charges and overpriced labor. Thats just my opinion.
Like I mentioned earlier I had my block cleaned, bored/honed, line bore checked, pistons/rod bolts pressed/re-rounded, deck checked and all my bearing for $400

Mr. EG

Yes I agree. Local machine shops around here range from $80- $100 for a bore/hone, $40-50 for a resurface and all the other prices are similar to what egSleeper stated. $1500 for what you mentioned is a rip off.

NAH2B

just becuase you paid 400 bucks total doesnt mean they did everything correctly or that price should be industry standard.

Jim Justice charged me 450. just to bore and hone my block from 89mm to 90mm on my last build. yes that is ridiculous but i paid it because he has always been known to do excellent work, unfortunately i found that to nolonger be the case

why is 125. to much to check bearing claerances? do you have any idea how much the proper tools cost to do it correctly?


again, what is so bad about spending 100. to have all the old parts cleaned? do you have a parts washer and are you gonna clean them all yourself and send the builder fresh clean parts or are you gonn put everything in a box and send it out dirty? do you want all the old dirty parts installed on your fresh new engine or do you want someone to take the time to properly clean everything before assembly?

most of the time you get what you pay for and when you go to the cheapest place possible you will most likely get sub par work.


heres an example. most local shops around here will use a belt sander to resurface your block and head as this is the norm in the domestic world. they are the ones charging 40 bucks for resurfacing. and most of you would never think twice about it until or klnow the difference until after your build is finished and your headgasket is leaking because the surface is to rough. a good machine shop uses cnc equiptment to resurface and they charge more to do it. someone like you would most likely overlook this machine shop because they charge more for what seems like the same.

the same thing goes for other sevices as well. do you know what a tq plate is and why its used during boring and honing? you wont find a honda tq plate at your local machine shop especially if your looking for the shops that charge "less" for boring and honing.

does your local machine shop check specs such as bend/twist on a new set of rods or do they just measure big and small end bores? do they use mock up bearings when they set up your clearances or do they just save some money and go out of the bearing manufacturers catalogue and take an educated guess at the "crush"?

my point is the "cheap" work you are describing is cheap for a reason and doesnt mean that is the price everyone should be paying for work. there is no one way to resurface a block or bore and hone or check clearances, etc. there are several ways to do each and the list goes on... i would rather have someone using the more expensive methods of doing these things so they are done correctly. im not saying to spend outrageous amounts but shop around and dont go for the cheapest prices because they are cheap for a reason. and definately dont tell someone they are getting ripped off when they are using a completely different shop who is most likely using different methods of doing the work.

NAH2B

again, read the above post. your local machine shops quoting you those prices are most likely not doing the work properly and it shows in their prices.

i used to use a local shop and they charged similar prices to what you mentioned. i paid the price w/ issues arrising from their subpar work. your not gonna get a bore and hone w/ a deckplate for 100. keep that in mind when dealing w/ local shops.

SR20S13

I've called around to a bunch of machine shops and they all charge from 1k to 1.5k so that's is about normal for what I want done
But I live in connecticut where the cost of living is pretty high and the demand is not as high as other places

SR20S13

http://www.larryspower.com/ this is the 1500dollar shop


http://www.eastwoodsautomachine.com/ this is the 1000 dollar shop

both come with pretty good track records from my local honda forum

DDTECH

I charge 850-900. This is if you're including all parts.

This includes a rehone or bore if you need it.
Balancing, specing and rechecking specs, cleaning and assemblely.
shipping of course, not included.


For head work i charge around 400.
Valvejob, clean, disassembled and reassemble, resurface.


Down in the south, its pretty cheap around here... some shops are a 100 or so lower then me too.

NAH2B

doesnt Don F build your engines? im not trying to be a dick but if you would rather have Don build your engines than do it yourself, why would anyone want you to build their engine?

also i could list my own prices as you did but i have recently learned we are not allowed to do so since we are not sponsors. just t=giving you a heads up as someone else did to me recently

SR20S13

were just haters so were going to hate

DDTECH

I co-work with donf. SAS and DFE do business together, i listed prices because thats what he seemed to be asking for. Donf has a bore / hone machine which SAS can't afford right now, so in turn we've worked out a good business deal... As for headwork, we do all our own headwork,tuning, and installation and custom things in house. If i had a bore/hone machine in house, i'd do my own builds. We do installations and head swaps and all that other stuff in house, i'm just limited to what i can do with w/o a bore/hone machine.

If a customer came in and asked for new rod bolts or what not to be installed, we can do that. Its just boring and honing that is a problem, if its something we can do in house, we do it. I've had motors come in that have just been rehone or bored out somewhere else and we've assembled and installed them.

So no, you're not being a dick, just inquiring. I dont assume anyone's coming off as a toolbag to me unless its just constantly happening. No worries.
I try to offer the best to my customers, donf isn't the best at communicating, but i have no problem getting in touch with him and his work is spoke for by personal experince.

But like i said before, i use don for mostly boring / honing / balacing other then that.. we pretty much do everything else in house.. hope this clears it up.

DDTECH

there's a song out there, called..they hate my by nussie. lol..

95 Integra gsr

so you and donf are scamming kids from h-t you bait them donf **** them? lol the new donf = ALL MOTOR ... no wonder donf is no where to be found on h-t .. your doing his dirty work

DDTECH

Yep, You got it. Can't pull nothing on these honda-tech OGs anymore.

NAH2B

i remember you asking about which bearing clearances to run and how to tell if your oil pump is bad, etc...

i wouldnt want someone assembling my enigne who needs to ask these types of questions. and i understand you may work w/ Don and are quoting prices for him but your not allowed to do that. i dont care if you do but h-t cares, just a heads up as i was told the same recently. personally i think its a bunch of crap but its all about the $$$

DDTECH

Thx for looking out Randy. I always like to double check myself, some threads I make may seem dumb but oh well... Sometimes I like others opinions. I don't think that should take credibility away from as a tuner or engine builder.