Intake Manifold Dilemma- 2009 R350 4matic
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2024
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
From: Seattle
Intake Manifold Dilemma- 2009 R350 4matic
CE light came on recently and I took it took a nearby shop for diagnostics. Based on their OBD scan it looked like there was misfiring of cylinders 4 and 5 due to a broken piece on a flap valve (? really ignorant of automotive details and lingo) in the intake manifold that could be causing improper air fuel mixture in the said cylinders. They recommended another indy shop as their specialist for these type of repairs had recently retired.
Second shop did a more in-depth diagnostics and said they could not recreate the misfire on cylinders 4 & 5 despite the error codes. However, they found a broken lever arm on a tumble flap on the intake manifold. They recommended that I replace the whole manifold as the lever arm repair kits were found to be unreliable since they are made of plastic. They quoted $2000 plus tax for total replacement, parts and labor.
I have a couple of questions and I hope someone in the forum can answer:
1) Is the quote reasonable? I looked at the cost of a manifold and it ranges from $300-$800 and from what I gathered from online is its a 3-5 hour job. Assuming 4 hours at $150 an hour for labor and $500 for parts, it comes to about $1000 plus taxes, may be $1200 before taxes. Shop’s estimate seems a bit excessive but I am not at all knowledgeable so I don’t know if I am underestimating the cos.
2) My car is 15 years old and had 125,000 miles on it. It would be needing front and rear brake replacement and tire replacement in next 6 months. Does it make sense to pour more money into the car or just bite the bullet and look into replacing it?
Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Second shop did a more in-depth diagnostics and said they could not recreate the misfire on cylinders 4 & 5 despite the error codes. However, they found a broken lever arm on a tumble flap on the intake manifold. They recommended that I replace the whole manifold as the lever arm repair kits were found to be unreliable since they are made of plastic. They quoted $2000 plus tax for total replacement, parts and labor.
I have a couple of questions and I hope someone in the forum can answer:
1) Is the quote reasonable? I looked at the cost of a manifold and it ranges from $300-$800 and from what I gathered from online is its a 3-5 hour job. Assuming 4 hours at $150 an hour for labor and $500 for parts, it comes to about $1000 plus taxes, may be $1200 before taxes. Shop’s estimate seems a bit excessive but I am not at all knowledgeable so I don’t know if I am underestimating the cos.
2) My car is 15 years old and had 125,000 miles on it. It would be needing front and rear brake replacement and tire replacement in next 6 months. Does it make sense to pour more money into the car or just bite the bullet and look into replacing it?
Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
