it's not even a question of what they charge per hour. That all depends on what their overhead is . Up here in the north east part of the country, the cost of living and doing buisness is so much higher. Especially here in Massachusetts. Everything is expensive, including labor rates.

We charge $75 per hour to work on ourdoor power equipment. Alot of the stuff that comes in the shop i tell people to junk because they only paid 100 bucks for the weed whacker. This is the going rate around here. This is the rate my accountant says I have to charge in order to turn a minimum profit. The average rate an hour to pay technicians up here in my industry is about $14 an hour. Now, let's take Florida for example. Average shop rate is $35 per hour, and they are paying their techs in the range of $8 per hour on average. However, a House up here that sells for 400k , would sell for 180k down there. So many people up here are selling their houses and moving south. Small ranch style houses their selling on 1/2 acre lots, close to a half mill!!!! Their moving to Florida and outher southern states and buying COMPOUNDS for what they made!!!!

What gets me is it took EIGHT HOURS to get this exhaust on, that was designed to fit. Even if it didn't fit. The headers are the hardest part. First time I ever did them it took me about two hours to pull the wheels, fenderwheels, move some stuff, pull the old manifolds, and bolt up the new headers. By the third time i did them, it was just over an hour.

People hate to admit they got cheated by 8 hours to install an exhaust system is crazy.

 

There is no way to justify charging somebody over $100 an hour for an exhaust. If your overhead is so much that your labor rate is that high, you need a new business plan and a new location. -Mat-

 

I got a quote once from a guy to put in a french drain. I asked him how long it would take and did quick math in my head. French drain parts are CHEAP and he was billing me over $100 an hour for his day laborers to work a shovel. Even if they rented a trnecher it would take 1/4 the time - I dont care what his over head was - Im NOT paying $100 an hour for a guy to dig a trench in the back yard, especially since in Texas all the labor would be cash to illegals

 

I've had mine installed for a few years now. I didn't say anything when it was installed; but, he's not the only one with fitment problems. My system was too long and had to be reworked to exit out the side correctly. I got it to work and it seems like there are more people that had no problems than those that did. I didn't want to hear "Siss-Boom-Bah." That's why I just kept it to myself. I imagine there others that just sucked it up and moved on, too.

 

Well, if people are paying it. Sounds to me like he had a speed shop do the install, not just a muffler shop, so the rates would be higher.

There's a place up here called Lou's Custom exhaust. When we built our mustang last year, we need exhaust from the headers back. They fabed up two pipes, an h pipe, a set of dumps with some flow master muffs (we do run it on street night sometimes and they require mufflers). Took em about an hour, maybe a little longer. With labor and materials, it was under 300 bucks out the door. So how they justify 8 hours to fit a system that they already had the parts, even if some didn't fit is beyond me.

As far as the full JDM system fitting, the hardest part of the whole install on ANY exaust on these trucks is because of the pipes lining up in the side of the skirt. Here's the trick.

Bolt on the headers, bolt up the highflows or mid pipes. Then put everything together loosly. Start by adjusting and tightening from the front of the truck to the back. The biggest problem can be if you can't get the X pipe to slide all the way onto the midpipes, the mufflers sit back too far, and this is usually because the mid pipes were already tightened down and they won't flex when you are trying to get the mufflers on. Use a piece of wood and a big hammer to slide the mufflers onto the midpipes good. Like i said , i've done this install 4 times and never had an issue. This also can be an issue depending on how the bed is adjusted on the frame. If it's a little bit different then the next truck, they might not line up just right. in that case, a hack saw or a sawzall can easily trim off a 1/4- a half inch of the male piping from the mid pipes to make the muffler tips come forward a little more. Just remember to clean up the burs after you make the cuts.

The other issue you run into is if you removed parts of the system and try to put them back on. The connections will have a crimp in them from the clamps and are a bitch to get back together. I heated them up cherry red with the torches and put a piece of wood against the back of the mufflers and whacked them good with the hammer and they'd eventually slide up.

If you have a problem with a part, there should be no reason to hush up or keep quiet. Call the vendor up. But don't come on here whining and stirring the pot. Keep in mind that these are not factory ford parts which have been machined a bazillion times to fit a bazillion of the same vehicles. Exhausts expecially. I've installed factory exhaust components that don't fit well.

 

It is a speed shop that my truck is at and one of the most known tuners and exhaust guys in CT.. They charge over 100 dollars an hour but the truck will be mint and the tune will be perfect when I get it back.

 

That's what really matters in the end. As long as your happy

 

Tallimeca, I better be very happy with the results..I hope to see some good numbers...
Thanks for the input and opinions.

 

Not East Side is it?

 

East Side doesn't tune SCT stuff so I doubt he is talking about them.

My guess is Jannetty.

Regardless of where it is. Don't call someone your "friend" if they are charging you "$100+" an hour to work on your vehicle. -Mat-

 

Janetty Racing in Waterbury