Powerflex @ Pumaspeed

[e3silversurfer]

HI there, just want to do a budget planning, how much is the entire powerflex bush replacement inclusive of parts and labour cost at Pumaspeed. Has anyone recently done theirs??

 

[red]

Dal had his done there i think? He should be along shortly to put me right

 

[Dal]

Why not phone Tony and ask him?

Probably about £130 including roll bar mountings (the ones that are usually forgotten about) and an hours fitting if they are not that bad to remove (rear ones can be a pig)

 

[e3silversurfer]

hmmm ok I will reserve £200 for the job then, seeing Tony's labour fee has shot up from £40 per hr to £50 per hr

 

[Cherie]

I wouldn't say the labour has 'shot up', it's still pretty reasonable. Especially when Tony has a habit of only charging for half an hour when he's actually spend more than that working on the car.

 

[Dal]

Plus Vat remember

 

[Cherie]

VAT can't be helped. Unfortunately, most businesses work on net values. They buy at net, and will sell at it if they can. VAT is just a figure that they have to give to the Inland Revenue every quarter.

 

[Dal]

No! You don't say! Always wondered what VAT was....

(It's HM Revenue and Customs now anyway, not the Inland Revenue )

 

[e3silversurfer]

I think £200 should be enough for the parts and labour . Oh Tony tend to work "at ease" dont see him rushing in the garage at all so i think the actual work done is only about 30mins and time taken might be 1hr I wouldnt mind helping but karen doesnt like customers to be in the work area due to insurance reasons.

I am planning to get gtn suspensions, full powerflex bushes and a full service done. wondering how much is parts labour and vat going to cost...

 

[Dal]

Well a full service is £130 (including labour) so some of that time can be absorbed in the suspension fitting. I'd guess you won't get much change from £650 at least.

 

[e3silversurfer]

its fine I will change the alloys next year and do the rear brakes next year as well then

 

[Dal]

Get some alloys that hide the rear drums, that way you'll not need to change them to discs. They don't make you brake any better after all :lol:

 

[e3silversurfer]

Well the main reason for changing to calipers is I have much more confidence in change pads and discs compared to shoes... the springs in there are a nightmare...

 

[e3silversurfer]

also it will look "empty" at the rear when alloys are added and you can see the ground through the alloys...

 

[Pumadaddy]

Think hard about replacing the rear drums with discs/calipers, as the hand brake is not as good and the braking isn't that much better. The Focus has all round discs and if I leave it on anything like an incline it needs to be in gear.

The only time I ever left it out of gear was when I left it on the drive and an hour later when the discs had cooled and contracted the handbrake gave and stopped gripping the discs and the car rolled down the drive and into the garden wall and gate.

Cost me a new front bumper(£200+) and repairs to gate and wall. It could have been worse, if the gate was not shut it would have rolled down the hill

 

[Dal]

inkeye: bugger that PD ! Not exactly a gentle hill either.

Don't forget all those fun and games you'll have getting the ABS to work properly with discs on the back.

Drums are fine k:

 

[e3silversurfer]

dont intend to have abs on the rear. going for advance driving course next year.

 

[Dal]

Selective ABS just on the front? Or removing altogether?

That'll be fun!

 

[e3silversurfer]

abs in front only. I want to learn how to countersteer a skid and stuff at a course next year. and if possible learn some driving techniques at the same time

 

[Peter]

FFS. THE ABS IS ALL OR NOTHING, YOU CANNOT JUST HAVE IT ON THE FRONT

And for good reason, ABS only working on the front wheels would be extremely dangerous to say the least.

You will also find that any decent garage will also refuse to MOT a car with a disabled ABS system.

Plus, brake shoes need changing about once in every five years. And once you've had those springs apart two or three times you can get it down to about fifteen minutes either side, including jacking the car and resetting the handbrake once you've finished.

Also, considering that you're talking about removing the hub nuts on your rear wheels, I hope for your own sake as well as anyone driving anywhere near you that you've bought yourself a torque wrench so you can make sure you're bolting your back wheels back on well enough. I don't really want to know what happens when a wheel makes a break for freedom...