to replace the oil pan gasket on my sister's 1997 Honda Accord EX 4 cyl, 4 door.

Why? I think the gasket is like $20

http://replacement.autopartswarehous...Oil+Pan+Gasket

and the labor to do it should be like 15 minutes.

Am I the idiot here or do I have some sort of communication break down b/w the dealer, my mom and myself?

 

Uh, it's an oil pan gasket. Not an air filter. Service spec on this is 1.8 hours. If you think you can do it in 15 minutes, try to do it yourself.

 

Ok so 15 minutes was an understatement, but I meant, why should it cost so much/ take so long to do?

Jacking up the car and putting on jack stands would probably be like 15 minutes, but from there the oil pan should just have like 10 bolts to remove, then scrape old gasket material away, then reinstall new gasket and sealant and reinstall oil pan. Shouldn't be too difficult to do.

UPDATE: Mom says dealership says you have to remove a crossmember and A pipe to remove the oil pan? Does the A-pipe run underneath the oil pan?

 

well, i tihnk you have to remove the down pipe also...

 

yeah, the downpipe has to come off too in order to get the oil pan off. It's not a 15 minutes job, not even a 30 minutes job.

 

Gee, here I go again...get a Chilton manual for your model and year. It will show generic removal and install for many things. Honda Dealers and good mechanics use a journal to quote jobs. Parts are always the cheap part. It is the labor rate and shop time. I wish I had the stuff the dealer has in their garage, I would be in heaven. Well, being single again would be heaven.

 

Yup, it's a pretty big pain, actually. I changed mine on my 92. Had to remove the crossmember and disconnect the downpipe from the manifold end, but I didn't bother taking it all the way off. I also took off the shift cable cover and flywheel shield to make a little more room. Personally, I would not use any additional sealer with the gasket. Frankly I find the design for the mating surfaces to be rather poor, and anything on them (eg sealer) just lets the gasket slip/squeeze out when you go to torque down the bolts. I used sealer once and ended up pulling it apart again to redo without it.

 

Better yet put that money for a Chiltons toward a Helms, you'll be glad you did.

 

dont forget to flush out the oil? :doh:

 

Flush out what oil?