Hey guys. I just posted that I had one of my throttle body heater hoses explode the other day and now it is in a shop an hour and a half away from my house. Anyway, the guy called me and said that it is going to be roughly 2.5 hours or 250 dollars in labor to fix because he has to take the intake plenum off in order to get to the hose (its the rubber one that goes into the top of the engine, not the plastic one that returns to the expansion tank. I didnt think this was true but I wanted to check in with you guys. To me, it seems like you might have to remove the alternator and you would be right there. I'm thinking about just having it towed back home. On a side note, he said that he would replace all of the hoses (just the labor) for 500. All these prices do not include parts or coolant. I think I am getting screwed ..... any thoughts

 

More than likely not the alternator, probably the a/c compressor. The mechanic should be able to reach it without removing the IM (I did).

I would tow it home and do it yourself if you can.

 

Replacing all the hoses isn't all that tough to do. A complete D2 cooling system hose kit from Atlantic British (http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/9370D2.cfm) is only $185 + s/h, plus a couple gallons of coolant and distilled water.

$500 for just the labor is obscene...

 

Hey thanks for the quick replies. Yea I figured that it was a bit expensive. I like to do the work on my Rover its just I was so far away from home that I didn't want to pay for the towing cost. I found a tow truck company that will bring me home for under a hundred so I am probably going to do that. Hey willrok, my brain got jumbled as to the AC compressor location versus the alternator. Maybe this is the first signs of dyslexia . I'm not too familiar with the AC system so I wouldnt want to touch that, but if I did is it difficult to do? Would I be dealing with freon? Also, do you know if there is a chance of changing it without moving either the alternator or the A/C compressor. Thanks a lot

 

I would never use that shop again, the hose can be replaced in 5 minutes with a $1 piece of hose, or for $30 and maybe $50 plus in labor if you install a hole ne up-graded assembly.

 

Unless you have giant paws like me, you should be able to reach everything w/o removing the a/c compressor or alternator. Save yourself some time and cut the old hose off -- its a pain to try to pull straight out. If you are having trouble, all you have to do is remove the serp belt, then remove the top four bolts from the compressor. This will free the compressor so you can (carefully) rotate it, with a/c lines still connected, into the air filter box (remove the MAF and cover). From there you will get a clean view of the coolant hose. Again, you don't have to disconnect the a/c hoses -- just the bolts mounting the compressor and set it where the air filter would be.

Also, download a copy of the Rave manual from DiscoMike's signature, if you haven't already, and follow the procedure for draining/refilling/bleeding the coolant. This is probably a good time to flush and switch to green coolant if you have been running DexCool. Good luck.

 

Thanks willrok. I was wondering if I could move the A/C compressor out of the way without disconnecting the lines and that answered my question. I'm going to pick the truck up today and fix it myself. I just wanted to ask you guys something before I go though. If all of the coolant did leak out of the engine ... or close to it ... would the truck be able to be drivin for a very short time to move it into the shop. I ask because, I told them that I didnt have any coolant when I brought it in, and the next day the guy said well when I pulled it into the shop it was running fine .... meaning that he moved it from the parking lot into the shop by turning it on rather then pushing it. I was kind of caught off guard and I didnt say anything but now its got me wondering ... can you move the truck if its on for only give or take 30 seconds without coolant. I dont want to get my truck home only to find that they blew my head gaskets or cracked my block because they were to lazy to push. Thanks

 

That's a great observation. Probably the best you can do at this point is ask them and get it in writing. At least the shop is on the hook for that much. The truck can run for a couple minutes at most at idle without coolant, but I certainly wouldn't drive it in that condition. I doubt all of the coolant drained out. One method of locating unusual noises is to remove the serp belt and idle the truck to isolate the pulleys in front.

In writing, or not, it would cost an arm and a leg to litigate a case like that. You can probably replace that hose in their parking lot if it's not a problem and save the tow expense.

 

Hey well I got back from the shop just now and I have a bit of a story to tell. Anyway, I arrived at the lot right after the tow truck had already put the truck up on the flatbed (an independent towing company not the in house one at the shop). The towing guy said that they told him he can't leave because there is an outstanding bill. In turn, I told the towing guy to leave because he needed to get back for another appointment and I went into the shop to see what the bill was about. The guy told me that they did a compression test on the engine to see if the heads were leaking and also they pressurized the cooling system to see if there was any external coolant leaks (keep in mind that I did not authorize them to do this and when I took the truck in I not only told them which hose was broken, but I opened the hood an actually pointed at the broken hose). After he said this, I interjected and said how did you pressurize the system if one of the hoses was blown .... you would have needed to fix the hose to pressurize the system. He then told me that they pressuized the cooling system of just the block itself to check the heads and nothing else. I let it go for the time being because I really didnt know if this was possible or not. At that point, I didnt what to do because I needed to leave shortly in order to catch up to the tow truck, so I paid the guy for the bill......... 1.5 hours at $100 an hour so $150. Rediculous, I know, but I had no other choice at the time. Anyway, when I got back to the house and met the tow truck guy, I asked him if it was a trouble getting the truck on the bed at the shop. He told me that it was no trouble at all because the shop DROVE it onto the bed. Now remember, most of the coolant had leaked out of the truck when the hose blew so it should have definately been pushed. Now, I was really pissed and I called the shop back up and said why would you drive my truck without coolant. At this point he said no no no there was coolant in there because I put a gallon and a half in when I pressurized the block. To this I asked well what type of coolant did you put it ........... he told me ohh standard GREEN coolant. I almost blew my top because I have Dexcool in there right now and I had let them know that when I brought it in. In order to get my wits about me and not yell at him like a lunatic I simply told him I am going to call him back. So this is where I am at and I I dont know what to do. I am looking for any and all suggestions.
Sorry for the long post.

 

You need to repair your busted hose and drain/flush your coolant asap. If you look to the bottom left side of the radiator (facing the car and inside the engine bay) you need to remove the hose clamp off of the lower hose (the one that connects to the radiator) and drain the system.

Try to collect as much of the coolant as possible unless you hate your neighbors dog -- in that case leave it (j/k!). Refill with water following the instructions Spike has listed in the sticky on the top of the forum thread page. Run the motor and repeat the process until clean water runs out when you drain the system. Then refill with coolant and youre finished. That has to be the worst shop in America! Don't go back.