I talked to a shop on Friday and got a quote for the machine work on my block and head. I'm looking to get the deck/head resurfaced, alignhone, crank polished and balanced and possibly an overbore depending if it needs it or not. I was quoted $550 for the head work including reassembly (not including parts) and about $1000 for all the machine work on the block (if overbore is needed). The place I was looking at was Justice Racing so I know the work will be good just wanted to know if that sounds steep to anyone and maybe compare what you may have paid. Thanks!
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Average cost of machine work?
- Thread starter JaLMP5
- Start date
- :
- 2003 Mazdaspeed Protege 1660, 2004 Winning Blue RX8, 2005 Mazda6
I talked to a shop on Friday and got a quote for the machine work on my block and head. I'm looking to get the deck/head resurfaced, alignhone, crank polished and balanced and possibly an overbore depending if it needs it or not. I was quoted $550 for the head work including reassembly (not including parts) and about $1000 for all the machine work on the block (if overbore is needed). The place I was looking at was Justice Racing so I know the work will be good just wanted to know if that sounds steep to anyone and maybe compare what you may have paid. Thanks!
What are they doing to the cylinder head for $550??? Although I didn't pay for my machine work because I use the shop that did mine exclusively for all my machine work at my shop, but they normally charge about $150 for an FS head.
Installshield 2
Gothenburg Superiority
That seems insanely high to me...
Local automotive machine shops for my area charge anywhere from $25 to $50 a cylinder for 'within spec' over-boring...meaning nothing more than .050" over...Which includes a finishing hone...wall treatments will add to that, but it would take a crap ton of work to get anything close to $1000 on a 4 cylinder block...crank work and stuff like that ranged from $100 for arm refinishing, to around $250 for balancing and edging...
the quotes i was getting were for factory spec work...so no performance oriented material removal or anything to the crank or cylinders...just basic 'blue printing' or specific parts...I'm guessing your quote has to do some more exotic work like you mentioned, but that still seems awfully high if you mean only block and crank work...rods and pistons will obviously add a lot to that work, but its so easy to buy forged internals for these engines to begin with...i wouldn't even consider having any work done on the stock parts if overhauling...
your head work is within limits of my area, though...lots of little parts and everything, so labor is usually high on a 16v head...
Local automotive machine shops for my area charge anywhere from $25 to $50 a cylinder for 'within spec' over-boring...meaning nothing more than .050" over...Which includes a finishing hone...wall treatments will add to that, but it would take a crap ton of work to get anything close to $1000 on a 4 cylinder block...crank work and stuff like that ranged from $100 for arm refinishing, to around $250 for balancing and edging...
the quotes i was getting were for factory spec work...so no performance oriented material removal or anything to the crank or cylinders...just basic 'blue printing' or specific parts...I'm guessing your quote has to do some more exotic work like you mentioned, but that still seems awfully high if you mean only block and crank work...rods and pistons will obviously add a lot to that work, but its so easy to buy forged internals for these engines to begin with...i wouldn't even consider having any work done on the stock parts if overhauling...
your head work is within limits of my area, though...lots of little parts and everything, so labor is usually high on a 16v head...
I was expecting to spend about $800-$1000 for the entire thing. Including the machine work and the head assembly so that's why I decided to make this thread to see if that was an accurate quote. The shop I'm looking into does great work and they have been in business for over 40 years but i think that's also the reason it's so high is because they do work on all types of racing vehicles and high end vehicles. Pretty much paying for the name just as much as quality
Installshield 2
Gothenburg Superiority
Well yeah, i can't really vouch for the work the shop i quoted does...never used them yet...but they advertise overhauling to factory specs...its not a performance shop in any way...
So that makes the difference...what exactly are you doing, though? Building an FS for normal use? Or getting ready for a massive turbo build or something? If you're after reliability, you literally need none of the complex and expensive work a performance shop will sell...you just need a few critical parts reground to proper tolerances, and adjusted parts to compensate for their new size...lightening of the crank, port and polishing the head, etc...is VERY complex work that can in a lot of cases do a lot more harm than good...
I'm just saying...you can quickly get wrapped up in some procedures that aren't really helping your goals if you're not very careful...A factory spec FS engine, with the right tuning, can easily hold over 250whp...so if you're not looking for much more than that, i'd say keep it simple...and if you are looking for more than that...start with aftermarket forged parts, which will still keep machining costs low any way...thats just less stuff they have to refinish and balance...
So that makes the difference...what exactly are you doing, though? Building an FS for normal use? Or getting ready for a massive turbo build or something? If you're after reliability, you literally need none of the complex and expensive work a performance shop will sell...you just need a few critical parts reground to proper tolerances, and adjusted parts to compensate for their new size...lightening of the crank, port and polishing the head, etc...is VERY complex work that can in a lot of cases do a lot more harm than good...
I'm just saying...you can quickly get wrapped up in some procedures that aren't really helping your goals if you're not very careful...A factory spec FS engine, with the right tuning, can easily hold over 250whp...so if you're not looking for much more than that, i'd say keep it simple...and if you are looking for more than that...start with aftermarket forged parts, which will still keep machining costs low any way...thats just less stuff they have to refinish and balance...
That does seem pretty high to me. How much do they charge per hour?
I say that because in the refinery the contractor companies I work around get paid around 5,000$ for machining huge 5,000+ HP pumps and it takes them multiple people over a week. 1500$ (or is it 1000 total?) seems crazy high for a little 4 cylinder to be honest.
*I just looked around locally at prices. They range from 350-650$ for full head and block work. This is for the greater Seattle area.
I say that because in the refinery the contractor companies I work around get paid around 5,000$ for machining huge 5,000+ HP pumps and it takes them multiple people over a week. 1500$ (or is it 1000 total?) seems crazy high for a little 4 cylinder to be honest.
*I just looked around locally at prices. They range from 350-650$ for full head and block work. This is for the greater Seattle area.
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I know a lot of people will give me s*** for saying this but I am aiming for a reliable 400hp setup. The work I'm having the shop conduct on the head will be resurfacing the head, valve re-surfacing and valve seat machining . Then assembly of my 1mm oversized intake & exhaust valves, new valve guides, titanium retainers, valve springs, valve seals. The block is getting aligned honed/align bore then over bore if necessary with a machined deck surface. I already have a set of pauter rods and am waiting to see the condition of the block before ordering my pistons. I've been doing a lot of research and I feel like all these steps are necessary in order to reach my goal.
Installshield 2
Gothenburg Superiority
no problem man, i didn't mean you were doing anything wrong...just didn't know your power goals...
If all that work is included in the head price...that seems perfectly legitimate...It was the block work that i found surprisingly high, especially considering you'll be using 'your own' rods and pistons...
For a safe 400whp, if anyone else is interested...I would NEVER have the crank lightened for that...edging and removing mass from the crank will reduce parasitic power loss...but a general rule of thumb is that the more power a particular engine makes, the more mass it needs internally to handle it...the torsional resonance created out of ~430bhp distributed among a relatively small and lightweight crank...will be very high...and the more mass you have, the better the longevity will be...
So i would strongly suggest not having any material removed from the crank shaft...other than the obvious grind and polish of the crank arms and cradle journals, and what is absolutely necessary for balance purposes...Also, keep the factory harmonic balancer (we actually do have one) on there instead of a udp with that amount of power...
with an upgraded oil system (doc b's offering can handle that), and a true tune with a REAL standalone (a piggy back isn't going to get you safe 400whp)...you'll be fine...
If all that work is included in the head price...that seems perfectly legitimate...It was the block work that i found surprisingly high, especially considering you'll be using 'your own' rods and pistons...
For a safe 400whp, if anyone else is interested...I would NEVER have the crank lightened for that...edging and removing mass from the crank will reduce parasitic power loss...but a general rule of thumb is that the more power a particular engine makes, the more mass it needs internally to handle it...the torsional resonance created out of ~430bhp distributed among a relatively small and lightweight crank...will be very high...and the more mass you have, the better the longevity will be...
So i would strongly suggest not having any material removed from the crank shaft...other than the obvious grind and polish of the crank arms and cradle journals, and what is absolutely necessary for balance purposes...Also, keep the factory harmonic balancer (we actually do have one) on there instead of a udp with that amount of power...
with an upgraded oil system (doc b's offering can handle that), and a true tune with a REAL standalone (a piggy back isn't going to get you safe 400whp)...you'll be fine...
Thanks for the info, that's the reason i decided on Pauter over the other rods out there. I have a Haltech Sprint 500 and am planning on purchasing a Doc B setup with a AWR oil pan. I feel like the block is quoted very high as well and that was the point of this thread. I want quality work done but don't want to overspend trying to get it.
ccrunner2011
Member
- :
- 2002 Protege5, Classic Red
I was quoted 700 for all of the work including parts except for the crank....
Guy did fantastic work but that's in the NC area...
Guy did fantastic work but that's in the NC area...
I was quoted 700 for all of the work including parts except for the crank....
Guy did fantastic work but that's in the NC area...
Well the parts for the head alone are $900-$1000 that's not including the machine work and assembly. What exactly did you get done and what parts did you use? I'm trying to get a feel for what everyone has done and how much it cost so I can compare to what I'm doing
tweety2300
Member
- :
- 2001 mazda protege mp3
What are you doing with the trans? It won't be reliable with 400 hp on stock trans
Just curious about the $1000 quote, what's the line item detail for each piece of work? What is cost for deck resurface only, align honing only, crank polish and balance only, and first overbore for four cylinder engine. Is there some other service involved, block cleaning, or disassembly, testing for micro-cracks?I talked to a shop on Friday and got a quote for the machine work on my block and head. I'm looking to get the deck/head resurfaced, alignhone, crank polished and balanced and possibly an overbore depending if it needs it or not. I was quoted $550 for the head work including reassembly (not including parts) and about $1000 for all the machine work on the block (if overbore is needed). The place I was looking at was Justice Racing so I know the work will be good just wanted to know if that sounds steep to anyone and maybe compare what you may have paid. Thanks!
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I didn't get individual prices for each service, I gave him a a list of things that I wanted to get done and those were the estimates that I got. I probably should get set prices for each service though, it would've been easier to see if it was comparable to other shops. The price does inlcude cleaning, disassembley, testing and inspection prior to any serivce to see if the engine is usable.
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- Banned For Being A Troll
Too High.
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