$560 in just labor cost to replace a water pump, thermostat, and the upper and lower radiator hoses. I brought the parts to the shop.

The shop is already replacing the radiator and repairing the radiator support on a separate quote. I thought it would be easy for them to replace the water pump, thermostat, and hoses since they have to drain and replace the coolant anyway. 5.6 labor hours seems high, but they said it came from the Honda book.

 

I would have to agree- for a seasoned mechanic 5.5 hours to do this seems high. It took me an hour to change out the hoses on my AP1 when I was doing a coolant change. maybe another hour to get at the thermostat. Water pump I've never done. but then, they also need to replace the coolant, maybe 30 mins. at $100/hr, that is a job I'd just tackle myself and seems expensive.
That being said, I'm not a real mechanic, I just play one on TV.
good luck!
darcy

 

Thanks Darcy. I took my car to a shop to replace the radiator support and headlight bracket. Since the radiator is bent, they have to replace that too. The radiator replacement labor was included in the quote to fix the damage, so it wasn't part of the $560. The $560 is just for the additional labor to replace the upper and lower hose, water pump, and thermostat. There's no way it takes 5.6 hours of extra labor to replace those parts. This shop works almost exclusively on S2000s.

 

Why do they have to replace the thermostat, water pump, and hoses? Those items are built to last a long time, particularly the water pump. In my 5 years with s2ks, I think I've seen 1 water pump weep coolant and that's it.

 

I wanted to replace the parts because they were already going to be draining the coolant and the car has 95k miles.

 

It's a "reasonable" estimate for not DIY -- I know my Bay Area dealer would charge 2-3x that because they're a complete ripoff.

But those parts, like Slowcrash said, would have lasted you much much longer. Like 100-200k more miles, regardless of age.

 

that sounds like a rip off. I know people need to get paid but seriously this is a very very easy job on a s2000. cant be more than 1-2 hours max with a experience mechanic on s2000's.

second i dont think the water pump ever need to be changed on this car. My brother is at 200k on the origional radiator hoses and water pump. My 2002 s2000 is at 130k and its still on the original hoses and water pump. And the houses look to be in great condition still.

 

Thanks. I feel more comfortable putting off the replacment.

 

Dont bother with the pump, 95k is nothing. It will probably outlast the engine. Seriously! Do the coolant and hoses if they are old 8+ years and depending on your climate. Save your money and put it in other areas of the car that may be more beneficial. Especially since your mechanic isn't doing you any labor favors.

 

Agree with above - water pump is bulletproof on the S2k. I'd sooner leave it factory sealed.