DMC Parts Free - Pay For Shipping Follow-Up #2 (Long)

[<haneydr@xxxx>]

The emergency brake cables and rotors have been spoken for. The spings are still available.

I have had several requests asking me to share my experience and the cost of the total project, including an estimate of the labor cost. So here goes.

This was not a cheap job. It all started with a broken passenger side lower balljoint as I was backing out of the driveway. Thank goodness I wasn't on the interstate doing 70 mph (112 kph)! Although driving a car up a 3-5% incline driveway with the front right corner supported by a rolling floor jack is difficult and nerve wracking!

Since I needed to take the suspension apart anyway, this was a good time to lower the car and replace the OEM shocks. I also needed a brake job and since the car was out of action anyway. Then along the way I broke a few things taking it apart.

I DID ALL THE WORK MYSELF EXCEPT THE ITEMS BELOW THAT NEED SPECIAL TOOLS. I imagine that you could just take the parts total and estimate that as the labor cost. Or call a local mechanic or one of the DMC service centers and ask.

Parts I needed, (all are from PJ Grady unless otherwise noted) and cost are below:

Master Cylinder $175.00
Rotor Set $499.75
Front Pad Kit $55.00
Rear Pad Kit $45.00
Emergency Brake Pads $60.00
Right E-Brake Cable $54.28
Left E-Brake Cable $47.96
2 Caliper Rebuild Kits (front & rear) $73.44
Pepboys - Brake Fluid/Brake Cleaner/Grease/Anti squeal compound $20.00
DMC Houston- Upper Balljoints $109.60
DMC Houston-Lower Balljoints $171.58
Lower Balljoint reinforcement collars $23.95
High Performance Suspension Kit $680.00
DMC Houston - Wheel Bearings $92.62
DMC Houston - Dust Shield for speedometer (2) $29.38
Checker Auto - Sping Compressor - $55.00
DMC Houston - Bolt for rotor brake shield (another broken part) $.68
Labor to have balljoints pressed into the control arms $60.00 (Local Shop)
Labor to have wheel bearings pressed into the rotors $90.00 (Different Local shop)- They jacked up the price when they found out it was for a Delorean... Those B#$#$#d's! Last time I let them do any work for me.

For a grand total of (Shhhh - Don't tell my wife.): $2,346.24 not including shipping!!!

As I mentioned to somebody else. Toby? (I can see Toby-Tabs in my near future.) Money sure flys when you're having fun. But I really feel it was money well spent, other than parts ordered I didn't need. 

The job took longer than it should have from the time of the broken ball joint, about 15 months. Most of that time was waisted, fretting over the coil springs, I let them intimidate me. But my travel schedule also played a part, I am only home on the weekend. Once I got started working again, only weekends, and not more than 4-6 hours a day, with delays waiting for parts that I broke or forgot to order, it only took me about 4 weeks! Somewhere around 32-48 hours total. A proffessional would have done it in half the time or less, I'm sure. (Side note: I'm an accountant by trade and getting my hands dirty and greasy really bothers me.) Tip: Laundry detergent is hard on your skin but does a great job of cutting the grease and getting your hands clean.

I couldn't be happier with the results and boy what a feeling of satisfaction doing all the work myself! I learned a lot and understand the suspension and brakes (especially the e-brake, I took the e-brake caliper assembly(s) apart about 6 times) a lot better! I even feel more confident driving my car, knowing all those parts are brand new! 

Sorry for such a long post but that's the whole story.

Dan Haney
03254
882FUTR