Did I get ripped off?

[sweatyspartan]

I took my 25 horse Johnson in to a local shop and was charged $270 for a carb rebuild and a tune up.

Any input on this?

[William H Bonney]

Did they give you an estimate,, before you dropped it off??? IMO,, yes it's outta line,,, but I also think you'd be hard pressed to find a shop that would do it for less. I have mine in the shop as we speak,, I took it in because of some broken bushings and maybe a tune up. The girl called the next day and said,, the bushings just needed to be adjusted and the timing was perfect, no tune up needed(no charge). But,,,,,,,,,, they did find an exhaust leak that needed to be fixed,,,, parts are basically nothing, but the labor is costly.

[Hotwired]

I took my 25 horse Johnson in to a local shop and was charged $270 for a carb rebuild and a tune up.

Any input on this?

Went to Carl's ...eh?

[Fishcapades]

Scott you should of contacted tonga from this website.

[double trouble]

i can remove a carb and "rebuild " it in about 2 hours . i am far from a pro.even at $80 per hour thats $160 . 2 new spark plugs at even $5 each and turning 2 or 3 adjustment screws on the carb you just rebuilt.electronic ignition .check. starter. check. did they even bother to change your impeller? thats the most important item in the whole motor.
I would say you paid the higher end of a normal professional tune-up.the problem is that unless your carb was leaking or wouldn't run right at all , a good dose of sea-foam and 2 spark plugs would have solved your problem. most carb rebuilds are really either clogged jets or faulty fuel pumps. very easy fixes if the engine is still running reasonably well.
i had an old time Johnson parts counter guy clue me in many years ago. he taught me that 3/4 of all service he would see in their shop was gas tank/ line /primer bulb /fuel pump/filter/ clogged jets. all very preventable with proper winterization and twice yearly inspections. I have followed his recommendations and never had to take a motor in to a shop since.
the other 25% was overheated motors causing major damage from failed impellers / thermostat/ carbon fouling not being handled right. people would cause their own problems by not keeping their engines out of the mud and trying to just get home instead of shutting down and getting a tow or idling in.same problems by not using good oil. carbon buildup = blown powerhead.
simple rules to keep your motor out of the shops.

[sweatyspartan]

Went to Carl's ...eh?

yup:lol:

I guess you live and learn. I'm not going to go on some rant, but I've found those people to be the complete opposite of helpful and kind. They also weren't very good at calling when they said they would.

oh well....I guess I need to learn how to do this stuff by myself.

[Hotwired]

yup:lol:

I guess you live and learn. I'm not going to go on some rant, but I've found those people to be the complete opposite of helpful and kind. They also weren't very good at calling when they said they would.

oh well....I guess I need to learn how to do this stuff by myself.

Don't feel bad I just bought my new 50 E-tec from him...OUCH!

[waterfoul]

Outboard carbs are very simple to work on. I can take on off, take it apart, clean it, put it back together, put it back on the boat in about 2 hours. There are very few parts to an outboard carb. Clean the bowl, clean the jets, make sure the float moves freely, and that's about it really.

[huntingmaniac45]

An easy DIY project.;)

[sullyxlh]

I took my 25 horse Johnson in to a local shop and was charged $270 for a carb rebuild and a tune up.

Any input on this?
Well considering a shop manual is around $40 I'd say so,Like Wf said there's not much too em
but on the other hand that's about what it's going to be taking it in to a shop and they'll have a backlog come springtime too.
FWIW,
Did you address your water pump impeller yet?
If your rebuliding the carbs & a tune up your way overdue to have the watre pump impeller replaced,
It's a high wear part that most over look and just wait till they crap out thus cookin your motor.

[sweatyspartan]

Well considering a shop manual is around $40 I'd say so,Like Wf said there's not much too em
but on the other hand that's about what it's going to be taking it in to a shop and they'll have a backlog come springtime too.
FWIW,
Did you address your water pump impeller yet?
If your rebuliding the carbs & a tune up your way overdue to have the watre pump impeller replaced,
It's a high wear part that most over look and just wait till they crap out thus cookin your motor.

I personally have not. I'll have to see if they took care of that as part of the tune up (which I doubt). Any input on cost and is it something I could do myself (I'm relatively handy with that stuff)?

[kbkrause]

Scott you should of contacted tonga from this website.

:yeahthat:

[Sportfishermans SVC]

he taught me that 3/4 of all service he would see in their shop was gas tank/ line /primer bulb /fuel pump/filter/ clogged jets. all very preventable with proper winterization and twice yearly inspections. I have followed his recommendations and never had to take a motor in to a shop since.
the other 25% was overheated motors causing major damage from failed impellers / thermostat/ carbon fouling not being handled right. people would cause their own problems by not keeping their engines out of the mud and trying to just get home instead of shutting down and getting a tow or idling in.same problems by not using good oil. carbon buildup = blown powerhead.
simple rules to keep your motor out of the shops.

Very good lessons :) I can't count the number of times we fix something that would have been prevented through basic care of the motor, or are really something simple.

That price does seem high, some of the 25 electrics have some extra labor because the starter has to be removed but that still seems high.