I did some work for a neighbor and it turned into a much bigger project than expected. I dont have know what to charge him so I thought that some of you could give me your opinions.

He bought a 94 F350 with a Dump body at a state auction. The truck was running really hot so he wanted me to try to figure out what was wrong. Turns out just about everything with the cooling system had issues. Heres the work I did.

Removed radiator and had it rodded out. Even after that I still had to flush the system 5 times because of the buildup in the block.
The water pump was leaking so I replaced it.
The Thermostat was not the correct one so I replaced it.
I replaced all hoses including the tranny cooler lines and heater core hoses.
The tranny lines were stopped up so I dropped the pan and blew the lines out then put in a new filter and fliud.
The oil cooler was pouring oil so I took it out and replaced the orings
Changed the oil and filter
I spent 2 hours of driving time taking the radiator to the nearest shop.

The good news is that now the truck runs great and no more overheating. I dont want to screw myself and I really want to be fair to him also. I dont expect to make $60.00 an hour but I had alot of time in this. On one hand he could have gone to the ford dealership and they could have done the work much faster but charged a much higher rate. Im not even sure how much time I have in this project but its probably a conservative 15 to 20 hours. Please give me your honest thoughts and opinons so I can make a fair decsion. Thanks for the help! BTW, I am just trying to figure out labor cost.

 

If it was me, I'd look for something solid to base it on, like the mechanics' book rate. Charge him a percentage of that, like maybe 50 percent, plus parts and radiator shop fees. That way you're not just pulling an arbitrary "trust-me number" out of the air. Since the extent of the problem is a surprise to you I'm sure it's a surprise to him as well, you want something solid to base it on so there is absolutely, positively no chance for suspicion to creep into his mind. And if it was me, I'd eat the diagnostic time in the name of the friendship, or round it off to a case of your favorite brew.

Cheers!

--Finn John (90 "Fordbinder" F250xlt/l std cab, 4x4, 5sp, 4.10s, 444 "IH Inside"
Corvallis/Albany, Ore.

 

at our shop that would be a 700-1000 dollar job thats counting parts and what not. maybe more

 

I asked for $300 and he gave me $360 so we were both happy. Thanks for the input.

 

Mozz: Where do you live, I ought to have you work on my truck! 360 will hardly get a water pump changed around here.

Wayne

 

yea but there is something to beeing a good neighbor everybodys happy that what makes life good.

 

Took the words right out of my mouth.

 

I believe that the satisfaction people get from helping others is the main reason this board is so popular.

The posters here are are like an extended family that is trying to help each other through problems.
We are the Ford family.

There is more to life than money, family is one thing that is much more important.

 

See previous responce.

 

Well said, Dave!