@@CarWizardhave you ever seen the factory videos , they put entire dash in one huge module. seems like they aught to be easier to get out - if they go in in a huge module. ....................Just to know that trick!
@@CarWizard, labor here where I live is outrageous compared to the prices I've seen you quote Hoovie to fix his stuff. If it wasn't for the travel you would have me for a customer. 👍
@@CarWizard No you are not, get over a few comments which said that. I'd much rather pay for you to fix any car of mine, knowing it gets done correctly, rather than take any chances.
@@kevinshort3943 Sure, but it's hard to do something more quickly if you're inexperienced. I deal with that in my job quite often, but we don't get to charge more because we're more efficient, we just get more work in the same pay day.
I didn't realise this was such a difficult concept to grasp? If you are good at something and therefore can do it to a high standard and quickly, more jobs can be done in the same time, equalling more money. So it isn't necessarily a "pay cut for getting better", to charge less for each job. The Wizard adds to the confusion by saying the "book hours charged", when he is really charging a flat rate (based on the book), not the amount of hours it actually takes him.
Gotcha beat $3,800 dollars for a $.12 O-ring on a skid steer loader. As far as flat rate if you want the guy who can do it in half the time he costs twice as much.
I had a mechanic that had a sign that said, I do things two of three ways. Fast cheap good. If you want it fast and cheap it's not going to be good, if you want it fast and good it's not going to be cheap, If you want it good and cheap it's not going to be fast. This is why.
i understand where you are coming from. I do computer service, and one of the most common things I do is Malware remediation. I generally try to get clients with severe issues to let me take the computer to the shop and let it run remediation software while I go other jobs. Sometimes the client wants me to remain on site. If I sit with my but planted in a chair running Malware scans, I charge for every minute I sit in front of that computer when I could be letting the scans run unattended and be doing other work. So our situations are certainly not identical but are analogous. Our training, our experience and our time is what make us valuable. Doing it right also counts.
Somewhere out there, there is an old man wearing a pair of John Lennon sunglasses making wild hand gestures while saying, "Endless......Money......Pit!!!!"
@@dmbassett And that's my point, indeed they "all" do it, but it's horrible design. There's no thought given to repair/replacement. The automotive press bears a great deal of responsibility here also, they obsess over 0-60 times and rarely call out manufacturers for poor design.
@@edstephens9235 nope, you wouldn’t pay for the engineering to make this happen, it would make the new vehicle cost go through the roof, and not every car will need the evaporator changed, it’s not even a high percentage, I would guess less than 5% of cars will need a evaporator change in their life. Cars are designed and built for ease of build and reliability at a cost point.
It's done for convenience (cost) of manufacture - but it ultimately hurts their brand when owners label their cars unreliable and expensive to maintain, even when the parts aren't expensive.
Inworked at a large equipment manufacturing plant for years. The engineer who gets their section to print first gets to keep his design , others habe to work around him most of the time. So to put in perspective. The electrical eng picks his rout first. Well now hyd has to figure how to get around him then ac eng has to work around them, then the structural eng , and all parts are designed by differ people. So ya they don't care about repair, until the repair costs are charged against the warranty.
Back when I used to listen to Car Talk on NPR, a lady called in with a leaking heater core. The way Tom and Ray described it was: "It's like this, when they built your car, they set a heater core on the production line, then built the entire car around it". That's always stuck with me!
As a semi retired mechanic who now only helps out a couple of days a week at my old place, we stopped doing Range Rovers and Discovery's ten or twelve years ago , as you have found it is a nightmare to get to components, along the way parts break snap off, and underneath simply seized solid ! air suspension pumps involve new pipes connections valves and air tanks. They simple turn to a ball of rust and crumble. Suspension bolts seize onto bushes and then you are told there is three days waiting time to get them after spending three hours cutting them off. What I learnt at BMW was that the people who buy these type of vehicles only keep them for 18 months then trade them for the newer model or a competitors similar vehicle. They have that sort of disposable income.They don't have to be reliable because they will always get a similar or upgraded loan car when theirs goes in for repair. The second and third owners start getting the big bills along with eyewatering depreciation and say " But its a Range Rover, it can go anywhere" yes , and it costs an arm and a leg to get there.! Try changing the the turbos on a 3.0 V6 TDI thats lived in a salty enviroment..........keep up the good work , I will watch your endevours from a comfortable armchair and think of simpler times.
I work at a car place and for some reason, we’re still willing to service range rovers. We’ll get maybe 1 or 2 every other day, and it’s always annoying when they come in the shop. They’re nice vehicles, but interacting with them has showed me that they’re just overpriced and unreliable vehicles that are annoying to work on for absolutely no reason. I think that servicing them is much more trouble than it’s worth, but at the end of the day they’re paying us for our services so it is what it is for now
Mr Car Wizard: You are most knowledgeable & honest car mechanic, simply the best. I wish you were my mechanic in Northern Virginia, not like a cheat who charged me $450 to change oxygen sensor which I found out in another year the car had original O2 sensor. This is almost impossible to avoid cheating car mechanics as there are so many of them out there. I can appreciate you & Magic Mike who have gone through this painful job to put this vehicle apart & assemble again to replace evaporation coil. Shame on LandRover to make these SUVs overly complicated unlike my Jeep Wrangler, made in good old USA. GOD bless America and mechanics like you are diamonds!!!
@@andrefecteau I never understood dealer fear, mine charges 10$ per hour more than canadian tire. I'd rather have someone who works in audis all the time if the difference is 10$
@@LemmingRush_ umm maybe up there it is...but typically double to triple the cost here...for example clutch for my Cobra at dealer $1000? At local shop $4-500... Now my Infiniti has to go to the dealer for some things, but you avoid it at all cost...broke my key for it? $821 for a new one??? They only ones who have the "code"...it's why many people just have new cars, they fear repairs so much...
Not necessarily so, they are and can be reliable and compatible other makes, people neglect their cars and wonder with lack of servicing, neglect and cutting corners, why they have issues 90%of the time. Ford and GM’s have a long history of common failures and in-reliability as well, a lot of these will be owner induced issues and faults.
@@jamest5149 Truth! Any time I end up talking about cars with someone one of the first questions I ask is "When was the last time you got your oil changed?" The amount of people that neglect simple preventative maintenance makes my head. And then I turn around and recommend a shop that is owned by a close family friend (great and honest mechanic 4 bays and the lot is always full) and he gives me a little discount.
@@jamest5149 Well they don't sell a lot of Landrovers. So the dealer needs to make money and will overcharge for parts labour and like to find things that are wrong with your Landrover, especially when it is out of warranty. A 5-year-old Landrover starts to become a money pit very quickly, that why they depreciate so quickly.
@@jamest5149 nothing to do with neglect. TFL guys on youtube bought a brand new land Rover and after a few days of normal driving it needed a new engine. I know someone who works at Land rover dealership. The engine check light comes on brand new cars with less than 1000 miles. He deals with many pissed off customers
When I was a tech at the Ford dealership I got soooo good at R/R heater cores on F-Series trucks Explorer's, Expedition's and Excursions I LOVED when they came in!!! But once I became a service writer I HATED selling Heater Core job's customer's just didn't understand why it was so much $$$
I like the fact that you are taking your time to thoroughly do the job verses rushing and probably end breaking some of the delicate parts. Some technicians and even shop owners don’t consider the amount of detail that is required to do that type of repair.
As a 2012 RRS owner I feel violated and sad at the same time. I have about 4 grand into mine. I hope to God, that's it! On another note if you have had timing chain or timing chain tensioners replaced on your 2012-2018 (I believe 2018), RRS, LR4 there is a class action lawsuit against JLRNA. You can be reimbursed for a certain percentage.
When I worked as a auto tech at a GM dealership, we hardly ever changed evaporator cores unless it was a warranty repair due to the high labor cost. Most customers finding out how much it was going to cost decided they really didn't need a.c. all that much. Lol
@@ericschofield3244 if the customer refuses the repair, not much we can do. Most evaporator replacements can run $1,800 to $3,000 plus parts, and if car is only valued at $5,000 -$7000, it's not worth it
Its a pain in the rear doing heater cores or evap. wizard is right, my heater core went out, i changed it, then 6 months later my evap core wentout, had to tear the dash apart again. i should have replaced both at the same time.
@@HiroNguy yeah, as long as the first 3 years servicing is reasonable to appeal to the fleet market, manufacturers don't care about making cars easier to fix in the long term :(
I changed the blower motor a few months ago in my 08 RR and did it a little at a time during the week. Saturday and Sunday made it an all day event. Not an easy task, and I don't look forward to going in there again. Blower was 85 bucks 😳. Not for the faint of heart. I have nightmares now..
"You really don't want to bring the customer in to see all of this tear down" I don't know about other people, but I personally would find this cool as hell, haha.
great to watch...I had a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee and had the AC evaporator replaced under warranty at the dealership and walked into the shop just to check on progress and found the dash remove and parts everywhere! Then the tech showed me his $100,000 computer that shows him how to do the job right with no short cuts. Was very happy with repair. Thank you for you videos!!
Basically doing dental work while going up through the ass and everything in between. I really do despise modern design choices and examples like this is why.
Bruh, it's just time intensive job. You can DIY this shit at home granted might take you the weekend but still. It's not "dental work", you take of the pieces one by one.
@@JohnDoe-zr6bk I mean for the average DIYer this is easy IMO. I don't know where I stand in DIY level but I've done everything on my BMW myself and I'm at about 4000$ in parts. Working on cars is easy, it's just having basic tools and time and a garage and you're all set.
Cars have been like this for 30 years. Try doing a heater core or evaporator in a 87-88 Tbird or Cougar. Not as nasty as this Range Rover but pretty close
@@4cammer Exactly my other thought as well. Where the fuck do you want manufacturers to put the heating and conditioning system while having place to sit in the inside? It's always gonna be under the dash. Granted on older cars might take less hours but the principles are still the same.
the evap/heater core on any car requires the same work. May not take as much time depending on how much stuff is on the interior but still have to take the dash out.
The Premier Automotive Group was formed in 1999 under then-CEO Jacques Nasser. It grew to include responsibility for the Lincoln, Mercury, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo brands. Forbes estimated that, by 2004, Ford had spent $17 billion building on acquisitions to form PAG. All involved have been in a similar mess since.
On Volvo P3 cars, you can cut the case to remove the Evaporator and Volvo supplies you with a new plastic cover that goes over the cut area. This was you don't need to remove the dash to replace the core. Google "MAH-AE85000P" for an(aftermarket) example. However on SPA cars the dash needs to come out.
My independent BMW specialist also covers Range Rover, mentioned I was considering one... After chortling for many moments, his advice was to keep the 04 plate e46, being a good one, and condemn all thoughts of RR ownership to the grave.... Average bills in the thousands apparently.
Truly awesome patience! Great video. I've been a do it yourself guy 35 years and worked in many shops. I really hope my 12 supercharged with 74k doesn't lose that part. Just did a steering rack and wheel bearings. Getting ready to do my supercharger coupling and water pump whileim in there. Dealer said my chain is fine. My guages just developed a white line of pixels straight up across the little fuel pump symbol. Suppose I will have to replace the cluster. Otherwise she's a creampuff.
For my 2012 w/ 85k miles I'm in the middle of replacing my blown blower fan... by the book it's similar to this job. Luckily there's a shortcut where you can cut some non critical parts of the inside of the dash - some of which is adjacent a large wiring loom. The fan can be swapped. Sorry to hear about your shot cluster. What brought that on?
@@davidwalker72 the guages actually are still fine. It's just a vertical white thread of pixels from bottom to top. Happened the day after my buddy noticed how cool the guages were and made the comment. Typical.just popped up. I did the steering rack for under $500 dealer wanted $7450.00. And got very familiar with complete front end assembly. This week I'm attempting to fit 275 55 20 venom Tera hunters on it. It has the lift rods so maybe need spacers. Some say it can be done. Some say no. Tip of the day...get ceramic brake pads. Let them fully bed in and you won't have the insane brake dust anymore.The dealer tried to talk me out of it. Said the truck was too heavy , live with it. Absolutely the Best thing I ever did to it. Sorry soo long but nobody else knows what I'm talking about, 😆
@@davidwalker72 that sounds scary. I can't believe soo much has to come out for that. I live near Chicago so I need my blower. Crossed fingers on that one. Going to do those tires and alignment now. Maybe I'll post some pics
As a person who had completely disassembled 2002 range rover i salute you for having the patience to carefully take apart interior, there are so many things to break and you just HAVE to know all the little tricks and places where to pull/push to get parts off.
In 2002 I had a customer bring in a 1998 dodge neon for a heater core, quoted him a price and he laughed at me and left. He came back 2 hours later and said he went to the dealer and it was almost double, I got the job. He came in the next day and looked in his car and said the manufacturers are building cars in modules and not think the repair.
Very few cars these days are easy to work on, and the list is getting shorter and shorter. Mercedes and Subaru for example used to be easy to work on 10 years ago, but even they are getting compromized by some design elements in their "modular thinking" where ease of assembly at the factory dictates the design. Certain VAG timing chains/belts I think have already been mentioned on car wizard's channel, for example, when it comes to really poor design and lack of room to work on... In so many cars nowdays there's almost 0 access to anything but scheduled maintenance parts up to 10 years / 250 000 kilometers life expectancy.
They are thinking of planned obsolescence. They want you to throw it away instead of fixing it. Manufacturers will continue to to do it as long as people keep buying them. Why do people keep rewarding them for bad engineering?
@@amazoidal I got a 3.5L V6 in my Edge, but it's still got less than 60,000 miles on it. If I have to pay for it at some point in the future, it'll be a business related write-off.
Are you ready to pay $1600-2000 in another 20k for a water pump? The water in the oil could cost you an engine as well. No warning! Sell or trade in now. If you can afford those cost, you'd be comfortable with a German car. Those repair costs are in thousand dollar increments.
The modern automobile is such a complex piece of machinery that has to meet so many demands from so many angles....This is the result. Takes a lot of work to design and package a modern vehicle, not at all like a model T Ford or Austin 7....
@@OrnumCR No it is a product of a Business model to increase profits. Many are intentionally designed to lock out easy access, deter DIY and foster reliance on stealerships.
They only do it this way because its cheaper for them to manufacture this way than to make it accessible. They know the part will last through the warranty most of the time and beyond that, they don't care.
Omg, just how can you remember where everything goes? Today's auto mechanics are like doctors!!! Simplicity is everything! Reason why I held onto my 2-71 Datsun 521 trucks and my 78 Toyota Corolla SW as they are reliable, modifiable and so easy to repair in addition to very inexpensive parts.
I have watched a lot of of your videos in the past and as always I have come to confirm that you wizard take great pride in your work along with your employee's pride of work myself even that I live far away from your shop I would be honored to my vehicles to you .thank you for all your information.
There is a story here in Italy that sounds like this: "So my engine wasn't working well, and I brought the car to a humble mech. He listened the engine, took out a hammer, used it on a specific part and the engine was running well from that point onward. Then he asked me to pay 250$ for that. And I was 'What??? 250$ for a hammer hit?? You crazy???'. And the mech replied: 'It's not for the hammer hit, it's for my knowledge about where and how to hit in order to fix your problem' ". This is similar.
@@joemilton7552 sure, but it makes no sense,there is NO part in the engine you fix with he hammer; the joke is about a WATCH , about the old pocket watches, up to 1950 or so,always in need of an adjustment,they were always running either too fast,or too slow,never right ) lol
Lest people think this is only a Range Rover thing, I have the service manual for my loaded 2004 Chrysler Pacifica. Getting at the evaporator requires very nearly as much work as this vehicle. If mine ever goes out, either I need to talk myself into doing all that work by my lonesome or replace the car. It's not worth a $3k adventure in Dashboard City at this point in its life.
At our shop, we take pictures and videos of the interior dash and components, focusing on pre-damaged trim pieces, components, etc. This is because some customers are aware of the magnitude of this job due to Customers doing their own diagnostics/Research watching youtube repair videos. We have had occasions where The customer tries to blame us for broken trim pieces or scratches that were already there before we touched the car. So in order to avoid all of that headache and problems, we take pictures and videos before just in case someone wants to pin something on us that we didn't do, and show them the evidence and continue on with our day worry-free. It's free insurance really.
People complained about Saabs but my old 1st gen 9-3 had a bad heater core and it was only about a $600 job! Saab designed the heater core to be semi-easily swapped out. Id never ever own a Rover product much less BMW or god forbid Merc.....Nice video informative, civil and most importantly honest.
Pro tip don’t buy a range Rover if you’re not mechanically minded. I have one second owner. I do all the work on and it’s just as reliable as any other vehicle on the planet. more so than most actually. people are just repeating what I’ve heard
Jay K range rover was owned by ford at one point, so depends on which rangerover. Volvos from the early 2000’s up to around 2014 are also pretty much entirely ford beyond the body, giving them the piss poor reliability you get with ford
I've seen Range Rovers on the used market going for little of nothing compared to the new price. There is a reason for this! Many times they need something like this done and would rather unload the car and let someone else deal with the expense. I have a cousin that was so excited when she found a good deal on a Mercedes. She drove it for about a year then it broke down, it's sitting in a lot on some property our family owns and has been for a few years now. These expensive cars cost a whole lot to repair and if you don't have a lot of money just to throw at the car every time something goes wrong stay away from these cars.
The avg person just sees “ohh I’ll look like an IG influencer or celeb/ “important” driving this car” and never do their research or ask a friend or family member that knows cars, how awful Euro brands are. I never hear nor have experienced any issues like this with any Asian car that I’ve owned, outside of that damn Mitsu Diamante 🙄 !
Amazing video! Remember back in the day all the HVAC components were accessible from the engine bay (back when you could stand between the exhaust manifold and front fender). HAHAHA. I always get nervous replacing a functioning blower motor - always afraid it will fail within the first week and off comes the dashboard again. Thanks for this videos!
just gotta say... any where I've seen, the "advisor" calls you and says the part they broke was (fill in any excuse) so it has to be replaced and the additional charge will be: wow. I found out too late one day a friend of mine had his 4 cyl car in to replace the intake valve seals as it was smoking. They called him at work to say the valves were worn way more than they thought. So bad, they all fell into the cylinders when the keepers were loosed. Extra charge to remove the head and get them out. He paid up. We all know that was TOTAL NEGLIGENCE.
Their explanation was quite literally impossible. Valves don't wear. If they 'wear' its because the edges of them were burnt away and now you've lost compression on that cylinder and you have engine failure. What they're talking about would require you to lose 3/4 of the valve stem somehow. Still dead engine situation. What really happened is that you replace the intake valve seals with the cylinder at TDC (piston is at the top of its travel and physically won't allow the valve to drop). The only way could drop a valve into the cylinder is if they screwed up and didn't have the cylinder at TDC (piston is lowered so its not physically holding the valve in place). Its also possible that they were using a leak down tester to hold the valves in place and they had the pressure dialed up too high which caused the engine to turn over, thereby moving the piston out of position... Still a rookie mistake.
@@nelakendra2296 Valves do wear. Not in a way as described above, but they do wear. Burning them is also very different from them being worn. Please leave the wizardry to the wizards...
@@kealke If you want to be pedantic about it, yes they do wear but valve wear would be in the same category as piston rings, main bearings, cylinder walls and so forth. Yes they all wear - heck the engine block wears but these components are all expected to last the life of the engine/vehicle. They are not intended as regular maintenance items. No mechanic is going in there measuring valve wear the way they are measuring your brake rotors. There is no manufacturer listing "valves" in their maintenance schedule at any interval. They are replaced when they fail or as part of an overall engine rebuild. It takes serious abuse or lack of maintenance to induce enough wear that it will be a concern on most engines. Yes I'm sure there are some race engines or other specialized applications where engines are designed for only a few hundred hours of life and yes I'm sure you can point out some specific engine that had an issue with valves wearing out early but realistically the average motor's valves are designed to go well past 500,000 miles and probably past 1 million too.
@ArmchairWarrior And I bet he learned his lesson and didn't repeat that mistake again. He'll get better at his craft as time goes on. On the other hand the guy that refuses to accept responsibility for his mistakes never learns from them and as a result keeps making them. He will never improve.
One of the simplest and best explanations I have heard involved the repair of a jackhammer. A guy was using his jackhammer to break up an old driveway he was going to replace when the jackhammer stopped working. So he called the jackhammer repairman to come out to fix it. After manipulating the jackhammer to diagnose the problem the repairman got a hammer and lifted the jackhammer up and then gave it a good hit at a specific spot then hooked the air hose back up and the jackhammer started working. Happy that the jackhammer was working again the owner asked how much he owed. The repairman said the charge was $75. The owner was aghast and complained why he was being charged $75 just for hitting it with a hammer. The repairman told the owner that he was only charging $5 for hitting it with a hammer, that the other $70 was for knowing where to hit it. Long story short. If you want a job done correctly and competently, you are going to have to pay for the knowledge and experience it takes to do the job correctly and competently. That or you can pay for cheap and do the repair again and again and again. In which case you will end up paying more for cheap than you would if you had paid for knowledge and competence in the first place.
I'm literally in the middle of doing this for my heater core on my BMW e28. As a DIYer, it's been 2 months since I started and I'm still not done since I work full time.
19:20 one of my first cars was a 4th gen Maxima. Didn't know a lot about working on cars before owning that rust bucket. Afterwards, knew a bit more, and owned a lot more tools. Had to replace the blower motor on it when it got too loud to think. It was quite simple after removing the glove box. Shopping around, it was pretty cheap on fleaBay, but decided on visiting a local pull-a-part since I needed a few more things, and to get some practice on doing the job.
Oh my god....When I would be a mechanic... before start on this horrible thing... I needed a bottle of Whisky and one week vacation.... and may never came back.... Feel sorry for you Wizard... but this is what you are .... a great man !!
I gutted the interior of my wife's car and she didn't think she'd ever drive it again. Seats, plastic trim, carpet, shifter, radio, driver's airbag, etc, all trying to find a shorted wire for the marker lights. It turned out it was in front of the rear bumper, the metal bumper was rusted and she had gotten bumped at a stop light (no visible damaged) and it bent the bumper into the wire which eventually (about 2 months later) rubbed through and blew the fuse. I didn't even realize it had lights in the bumper, I thought they were reflectors.
Almost bought an HSE instead of my Jaguar xjl, really, really happy I never did that. 5.0 jags are just like most ford's. Don't really have to worry about the drivetrain. It's everything else you gotta watch out for lol.
Love your honesty. I learned in Germany at a bmw garage. Timing belt for an E30 3er is 3 1/2 hours. I had it down to 1 1/2. Why should we take a hit for getting good was right on point. Don’t know the shop time but a 4 cylinder 3er clutch was done in about 30 minutes with 2 guys. BMWs were easier back then in the 80’s 90’s.
There's an old story about a very seasoned mechanic being sent out to repair a machine that stopped running. Only required a small adjustment, a turn of a screw, to get it running again...total repair time less than 15 minutes. The mechanic submits a bill to the company for $500 and the company accountant is asking why so much? The mechanic explains his charges, "it was $25 to turn the screw and $475 for knowing which one to turn." You're not just paying for the labor, you're paying for the knowledge. Don't like it, learn how to do it yourself.
You think that's crazy, try £12,000 (about 16,000 US dollars) at a dealer to replace the turbos on a V6 or V8 turbodiesel in a Range Rover or Range Rover Sport, because the body has top come off the chassis.
Heater core for a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee takes it to nothing but firewall inside. Took me a weekend with my Dad to do. Also cleaned the carpet (waiting to dry slowed us down) and repair a rust hole in the floorboard. We also replaced blend doors, heater core, fresh air vent, ac evaporator, blower motor and control actuators. I was not going to do that again.
Heater cores, evap cores and blower motors are probably every manufacturers greatest sin. The design for them hasn't really changed since they were first really introduced. But the total PITA it is to get to them is beyond ridiculous. Everyone KNOWS that these parts are going to eventually fail, but no one has come up with a quick and easy access panel to make life easier for everyone. Instead, these companies think that they already got your money, it's not their problem anymore
I've done my own car care for 40 years, I could _probably_ do this job if I had the room to lay out all the parts in a single line as I took them off. Have to label stuff though (this bit's connected to that bit etc)
After a while you know how things are typically connected. Real problem is when you walk away for a week, or come into the middle of a job and have to go from there.
That's an awesome story! Wow! Crazy! I have a 1997 Range Rover and at the time the cost was estimated to be $1600 to remove the dash to replace the heater core. Suffice it to say, it hasn't been done yet, lol!
Absolutely! If you're going to make a part that takes 20 hours to replace it, it needs to be designed out of titanium or something and impossible to fail... OR easier design the car so all functional parts are more easily replaceable. It's not hard to build a dash with a panel that allows easy access to heater core!
Dear Wizard, my '92 Vette has a simple evaporator core box bolted right up to the firewall (engine bay side). EZ repair job that doesn't require a nightmare of labor to replace, the late '90's Nissan Maxima had a simple access panel for servicing and replacing that core! I don't understand why all or most cars can't be this serviceable!
@@tangydiesel1886 that power distribution box definitely looks Ford issue. Plausible since they are still using Ford engines in some of their products.
Well I did this job on my 2007 Prius myself and after I removed the Evaporator box, I went inside for lunch and let me tell you, when I came back I was literally scared after looking at the interior. It wasn't as bad the rangerover though but still it was a bunch of wires and the steering column out in the open. Anyways I finally managed to get myself together and finished the job just for cold air in the cabin which BTW was worth it. Saved a lot of money on labor and got the new part for around $40. All worth it in the end!
On the plus side, you can do the pollen filter!! I've a 1990 3.9 efi vogue! It's scary how much wires are behind the dash! The real magic is putting it all back without the owner knowing you've had to strip it to the bulk!! Rangies are a pig to work on now adays! You did a really brilliant job!
@@Juan_T1 he just dumped a range rover because of a consistent misfire on 2, 4 and 6 all after fixing exhaust leaks. Think he dumped like 12k or something. Chickens and cars are so different. 🤔
I’m retired from the car business after a 30 year career - and I’ve definitely seen my share of nightmare repairs that require major car disassembly. Most owners have no idea and think they are being overcharged.
car owners are just upset that they have to spend a whack of money on something that was working last week especially when it's a hundred dollar part that fails. Doesn't make a difference if its a car, a boiler, the ac in your home people hate spending large sums of money on something they didn't plan on that doesn't provide "Fun". 40k on a new car sure, 3k to fix ac in old car, I'd be driving the car without AC it's an 8 year old land rover the bills are just starting to pile up.
After seeing the refrigerant leak was in the evaporator core, I would have taken a $60 gamble on trying Nu-Calgon EasySeal sold on Amazon, which can seal these small cracks and holes to stop the refrigerant leak.
Tom Schmidt you know that the car wizard also has to eat right? Also those things are mostly temporarily, so next year the customer comes back and he is like I still have a warranty so you fix it without cost......
Not to mention then that crap has run through the entire rest of the system potentially damaging it. On a car that’s headed to a junkyard sure, but not a $60,000 car
Reassembly is a reverse of disassembly. Apart from the HVAC ducting which needs you to be an octopus. What most folks won't realise it that on the assembly line, each fitter fits maybe 4, 5, 6 parts.
My moms 1989 Camry has the original AC...and original R12 refrigerant! Makes me sad that she has to scrap that car because of some damage to the fender and wheel. (I’m a little pissed off at the insurance agency right now.)
Holy Cow!! Haha! I just did one of these last week. I also replaced the heater core while I was there because they have a tendency clog. Cheers from Rhode Island Wizard and Mrs. Wizard.
Wizard your the best!! It makes me super glad i own and drive old Toyota 1985 Celica Supra and my 1969 RT43 Corona 1900 deluxe , In the old days deluxe features were a heater and AM radio, No AC, no power steering or brakes, and NO problems.
$2600 for evaporator replacement on 2011 F350.
But Im a rip off....
@@CarWizardhave you ever seen the factory videos , they put entire dash in one huge module. seems like they aught to be easier to get out - if they go in in a huge module. ....................Just to know that trick!
@@CarWizard, labor here where I live is outrageous compared to the prices I've seen you quote Hoovie to fix his stuff. If it wasn't for the travel you would have me for a customer. 👍
@@CarWizard No you are not, get over a few comments which said that. I'd much rather pay for you to fix any car of mine, knowing it gets done correctly, rather than take any chances.
Paul Schless thats how they assemble cars. Not how one takes them apart.
And this is why a good and honest mechanic is worth his/her weight in gold.
aint no mechanic worth 5 million bucks
Problem is trusting someone too find that good mechanic
At almost 2grand an ounce?! 😂
I have never found a honest mechanic, ever. They are more scarce than unicorns.
Finding them though is the issue.
That's an awesome way of putting it, "we don't get a paycut because we get better".
It's not necessarily true though ........ Doing it quickly allows another job to be done = more money.
@@kevinshort3943 Sure, but it's hard to do something more quickly if you're inexperienced. I deal with that in my job quite often, but we don't get to charge more because we're more efficient, we just get more work in the same pay day.
@@kevinshort3943 IF corners are not cut. Customer won't be happy as like what happened to this customer with the last job done by someone else.
I didn't realise this was such a difficult concept to grasp?
If you are good at something and therefore can do it to a high standard and quickly, more jobs can be done in the same time, equalling more money.
So it isn't necessarily a "pay cut for getting better", to charge less for each job.
The Wizard adds to the confusion by saying the "book hours charged", when he is really charging a flat rate (based on the book), not the amount of hours it actually takes him.
@@kevinshort3943 ok, so we're saying the same thing.
Gotcha beat $3,800 dollars for a $.12 O-ring on a skid steer loader. As far as flat rate if you want the guy who can do it in half the time he costs twice as much.
Mostly for all the stuff he breaks in the process.
I had a mechanic that had a sign that said, I do things two of three ways. Fast cheap good. If you want it fast and cheap it's not going to be good, if you want it fast and good it's not going to be cheap, If you want it good and cheap it's not going to be fast. This is why.
Everything adds up, and most times people write of vehicles from it and make it the next persons issue.
@LLC 5016 NASA
Need Another Seven Astronauts.
Need Another Shuttle Also...
Too Soon?
@@networkservices3121 Your reply blew me away :)
When i was a mechanic many years ago, i dreaded when a land rover came in. The first 2 made me decide i will never touch another one.
It’s so funny how the wizard loves range rovers yet hates bmws
Your attitude toward customers is priceless. You will always always do well.
i understand where you are coming from. I do computer service, and one of the most common things I do is Malware remediation. I generally try to get clients with severe issues to let me take the computer to the shop and let it run remediation software while I go other jobs. Sometimes the client wants me to remain on site. If I sit with my but planted in a chair running Malware scans, I charge for every minute I sit in front of that computer when I could be letting the scans run unattended and be doing other work.
So our situations are certainly not identical but are analogous. Our training, our experience and our time is what make us valuable. Doing it right also counts.
Sad to think that such a basic principle eludes some folks.
Somewhere out there, there is an old man wearing a pair of John Lennon sunglasses making wild hand gestures while saying, "Endless......Money......Pit!!!!"
"You know how many heaters cores I have done in lexus/toyota NONE!!" after the money pit line xD
Truly a endless money pit!!
@@nostickpeople gotta love the cat pillows.
@@bawoodp "Before we rip this thing apart, let me check this car with my fancy $5000 scan tool."
@@aabidamn ahahahhahahahahahhahahha yeah but first get rid off the beauty cover !!!!
I feel sorry for the lady. She’s lucky to have found a shop like yours 👍
The engineers that designed this should have to perform this kind of repair. Maybe they'd come up with better designs.
Ed Stephens modern car manufacture - they all do this it’s not a Land Rover deign.
@@dmbassett And that's my point, indeed they "all" do it, but it's horrible design. There's no thought given to repair/replacement. The automotive press bears a great deal of responsibility here also, they obsess over 0-60 times and rarely call out manufacturers for poor design.
@@edstephens9235 nope, you wouldn’t pay for the engineering to make this happen, it would make the new vehicle cost go through the roof, and not every car will need the evaporator changed, it’s not even a high percentage, I would guess less than 5% of cars will need a evaporator change in their life. Cars are designed and built for ease of build and reliability at a cost point.
It's done for convenience (cost) of manufacture - but it ultimately hurts their brand when owners label their cars unreliable and expensive to maintain, even when the parts aren't expensive.
Inworked at a large equipment manufacturing plant for years. The engineer who gets their section to print first gets to keep his design , others habe to work around him most of the time. So to put in perspective. The electrical eng picks his rout first. Well now hyd has to figure how to get around him then ac eng has to work around them, then the structural eng , and all parts are designed by differ people. So ya they don't care about repair, until the repair costs are charged against the warranty.
Back when I used to listen to Car Talk on NPR, a lady called in with a leaking heater core. The way Tom and Ray described it was: "It's like this, when they built your car, they set a heater core on the production line, then built the entire car around it". That's always stuck with me!
I’ve always heard that when they started the design of the range rover, they put a heater core on the table and said “Design an SUV around this”
Same goes for a ford f150
Hahahaha dude 😂
The Mercedes W140 is worse. I think that joke was originally coined for the W140
ALL cars are like that.
@@skyartrc8286 Same for an '01 Passat wagon.
As a semi retired mechanic who now only helps out a couple of days a week at my old place, we stopped doing Range Rovers and Discovery's ten or twelve years ago , as you have found it is a nightmare to get to components, along the way parts break snap off, and underneath simply seized solid ! air suspension pumps involve new pipes connections valves and air tanks. They simple turn to a ball of rust and crumble. Suspension bolts seize onto bushes and then you are told there is three days waiting time to get them after spending three hours cutting them off. What I learnt at BMW was that the people who buy these type of vehicles only keep them for 18 months then trade them for the newer model or a competitors similar vehicle. They have that sort of disposable income.They don't have to be reliable because they will always get a similar or upgraded loan car when theirs goes in for repair. The second and third owners start getting the big bills along with eyewatering depreciation and say " But its a Range Rover, it can go anywhere" yes , and it costs an arm and a leg to get there.!
Try changing the the turbos on a 3.0 V6 TDI thats lived in a salty enviroment..........keep up the good work , I will watch your endevours from a comfortable armchair and think of simpler times.
I work at a car place and for some reason, we’re still willing to service range rovers. We’ll get maybe 1 or 2 every other day, and it’s always annoying when they come in the shop. They’re nice vehicles, but interacting with them has showed me that they’re just overpriced and unreliable vehicles that are annoying to work on for absolutely no reason. I think that servicing them is much more trouble than it’s worth, but at the end of the day they’re paying us for our services so it is what it is for now
I have a 98 disco 1.. Back when they were still a British design before they were molested by BMW.. Simple and easy to work on.
@@ronnytotten9292 exactly, when BMW owned range rover the cars were terrible
The world is a better place because of open and honest mechanics like you. Thank you Wizard!
Mr Car Wizard: You are most knowledgeable & honest car mechanic, simply the best. I wish you were my mechanic in Northern Virginia, not like a cheat who charged me $450 to change oxygen sensor which I found out in another year the car had original O2 sensor. This is almost impossible to avoid cheating car mechanics as there are so many of them out there. I can appreciate you & Magic Mike who have gone through this painful job to put this vehicle apart & assemble again to replace evaporation coil. Shame on LandRover to make these SUVs overly complicated unlike my Jeep Wrangler, made in good old USA. GOD bless America and mechanics like you are diamonds!!!
One of the scariest phrases in the car modding world; "While we're at it."
no it isn't it's " it has to go to the dealer"
@@andrefecteau I never understood dealer fear, mine charges 10$ per hour more than canadian tire. I'd rather have someone who works in audis all the time if the difference is 10$
@@LemmingRush_ umm maybe up there it is...but typically double to triple the cost here...for example clutch for my Cobra at dealer $1000? At local shop $4-500...
Now my Infiniti has to go to the dealer for some things, but you avoid it at all cost...broke my key for it? $821 for a new one??? They only ones who have the "code"...it's why many people just have new cars, they fear repairs so much...
"The engine has to come out"
Life of a Audi owner. Always cheaper while they're in there...
8 year old range rover. This is just the beginning 🤣
Not necessarily so, they are and can be reliable and compatible other makes, people neglect their cars and wonder with lack of servicing, neglect and cutting corners, why they have issues 90%of the time. Ford and GM’s have a long history of common failures and in-reliability as well, a lot of these will be owner induced issues and faults.
@@jamest5149 Truth! Any time I end up talking about cars with someone one of the first questions I ask is "When was the last time you got your oil changed?" The amount of people that neglect simple preventative maintenance makes my head. And then I turn around and recommend a shop that is owned by a close family friend (great and honest mechanic 4 bays and the lot is always full) and he gives me a little discount.
Aw man
@@jamest5149 Well they don't sell a lot of Landrovers. So the dealer needs to make money and will overcharge for parts labour and like to find things that are wrong with your Landrover, especially when it is out of warranty. A 5-year-old Landrover starts to become a money pit very quickly, that why they depreciate so quickly.
@@jamest5149 nothing to do with neglect. TFL guys on youtube bought a brand new land Rover and after a few days of normal driving it needed a new engine. I know someone who works at Land rover dealership. The engine check light comes on brand new cars with less than 1000 miles. He deals with many pissed off customers
This is why I love my 1977 chevy pickup. Still going strong.
Same here. 1990 chevy pickup. Easy and cheap to fix. Hasnt stranded me.
Just engine swapped my 97 k1500, only money spent was parts.
I'm with ya, its why I still have my 1989 F150 4.9l with the 5-speed manual trans, bought it new BTW in 89.
Samcrac is watching & taking notes!..
You hadn't heard? Samcrac drove it three miles before the engine failed so he took it back to the salvage yard.
Man samcrac is gonna shut his channel down 😂
Samcrac called quits on his range rover, definitely the right choice after seeing this
I thought that was Samcrac’s car at first. 🤣
Oh man! Samcrac must be saying damn!
When I was a tech at the Ford dealership I got soooo good at R/R heater cores on F-Series trucks Explorer's, Expedition's and Excursions I LOVED when they came in!!! But once I became a service writer I HATED selling Heater Core job's customer's just didn't understand why it was so much $$$
I like the fact that you are taking your time to thoroughly do the job verses rushing and probably end breaking some of the delicate parts. Some technicians and even shop owners don’t consider the amount of detail that is required to do that type of repair.
An expensive repair on what? Oh a Range Rover... Ok that makes total sense!
Land rover and jaguars are a piece of junk
The Shield Fitted with a Ford engine.....
Car Wizard: "I love delivering shockers!"
Mrs. Wizard: 😐
I was just about to post the same thing. Mrs. Wizard was probably thinking, "you're not giving ME a shocker."
😭😂😂😭😭😂
giggity
"Wow car wizard! I've got some crazy amount of leg room back here in the back seat!" - her words, not mine
"Mrs Wizard had to stand on a stool so she could take this all in" Sorry after reading your comment and watching the video I can't help but giggle
I had a 67 Land Rover 109, you could put an adjustable wrench on every nut. my how things change
Not even 10 years old. Welcome to Land Rover ownership! ❤️
As a 2012 RRS owner I feel violated and sad at the same time. I have about 4 grand into mine. I hope to God, that's it! On another note if you have had timing chain or timing chain tensioners replaced on your 2012-2018 (I believe 2018), RRS, LR4 there is a class action lawsuit against JLRNA. You can be reimbursed for a certain percentage.
When I worked as a auto tech at a GM dealership, we hardly ever changed evaporator cores unless it was a warranty repair due to the high labor cost. Most customers finding out how much it was going to cost decided they really didn't need a.c. all that much. Lol
The off-warranty customers probably went indy.
@@nsbioy Or put it up for sale during the Winter or charged it up just before some poor sucker did a test drive.
It also means the defroster won't work and that's unacceptable
@@ericschofield3244 if the customer refuses the repair, not much we can do. Most evaporator replacements can run $1,800 to $3,000 plus parts, and if car is only valued at $5,000 -$7000, it's not worth it
@@dave1135 Well, you can refuse to do the job based on the fact it's going to break again and then they'll blame you all over social media.
Wizard: Do you watch RUclips?
Owner of Range Rover: What's a RUclips?
Wizard: Good.
Its a pain in the rear doing heater cores or evap. wizard is right, my heater core went out, i changed it, then 6 months later my evap core wentout, had to tear the dash apart again. i should have replaced both at the same time.
10 minute job on my old Rover 75, luckily.
@@unclefista They don't make them to maintain anymore, just to trade in.
@@HiroNguy yeah, as long as the first 3 years servicing is reasonable to appeal to the fleet market, manufacturers don't care about making cars easier to fix in the long term :(
I changed the blower motor a few months ago in my 08 RR and did it a little at a time during the week. Saturday and Sunday made it an all day event. Not an easy task, and I don't look forward to going in there again. Blower was 85 bucks 😳. Not for the faint of heart. I have nightmares now..
@The worxbench garage how long did it take to do the heater core or evaporator from start to finish?
"You really don't want to bring the customer in to see all of this tear down"
I don't know about other people, but I personally would find this cool as hell, haha.
absentmindedjwc Yeah cool to see but at the same time hurt my heart a little. :)
If they complain a lot about the cost you call them in when it's all town apart to show them what they're paying for.
great to watch...I had a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee and had the AC evaporator replaced under warranty at the dealership and walked into the shop just to check on progress and found the dash remove and parts everywhere! Then the tech showed me his $100,000 computer that shows him how to do the job right with no short cuts. Was very happy with repair. Thank you for you videos!!
Basically doing dental work while going up through the ass and everything in between. I really do despise modern design choices and examples like this is why.
Bruh, it's just time intensive job. You can DIY this shit at home granted might take you the weekend but still. It's not "dental work", you take of the pieces one by one.
@@JackRR15 For someone inexperienced with limited space and equipment? Way more than a weekend job....
@@JohnDoe-zr6bk I mean for the average DIYer this is easy IMO. I don't know where I stand in DIY level but I've done everything on my BMW myself and I'm at about 4000$ in parts. Working on cars is easy, it's just having basic tools and time and a garage and you're all set.
Cars have been like this for 30 years. Try doing a heater core or evaporator in a 87-88 Tbird or Cougar. Not as nasty as this Range Rover but pretty close
@@4cammer Exactly my other thought as well. Where the fuck do you want manufacturers to put the heating and conditioning system while having place to sit in the inside? It's always gonna be under the dash. Granted on older cars might take less hours but the principles are still the same.
Proud to say that my home town assembles these magestic vehicles, my dad stopped buying them when l322 came out. They have a Kia now..
I miss the old ones!
VDPEFi I miss my L322. Glad this never happened
sorry to hear that...
Where are they assembled, Solihull? I've driven past JLR in Halewood. Most people here are driving newer Hyundai and Kia though...
Note to self: don't buy a Range Rover
the evap/heater core on any car requires the same work. May not take as much time depending on how much stuff is on the interior but still have to take the dash out.
money pit and worse reliability. even brits don't respect this brand.
The Premier Automotive Group was formed in 1999 under then-CEO Jacques Nasser. It grew to include responsibility for the Lincoln, Mercury, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo brands. Forbes estimated that, by 2004, Ford had spent $17 billion building on acquisitions to form PAG.
All involved have been in a similar mess since.
On Volvo P3 cars, you can cut the case to remove the Evaporator and Volvo supplies you with a new plastic cover that goes over the cut area. This was you don't need to remove the dash to replace the core. Google "MAH-AE85000P" for an(aftermarket) example.
However on SPA cars the dash needs to come out.
My independent BMW specialist also covers Range Rover, mentioned I was considering one... After chortling for many moments, his advice was to keep the 04 plate e46, being a good one, and condemn all thoughts of RR ownership to the grave.... Average bills in the thousands apparently.
Truly awesome patience! Great video. I've been a do it yourself guy 35 years and worked in many shops. I really hope my 12 supercharged with 74k doesn't lose that part. Just did a steering rack and wheel bearings. Getting ready to do my supercharger coupling and water pump whileim in there. Dealer said my chain is fine. My guages just developed a white line of pixels straight up across the little fuel pump symbol. Suppose I will have to replace the cluster. Otherwise she's a creampuff.
For my 2012 w/ 85k miles I'm in the middle of replacing my blown blower fan... by the book it's similar to this job. Luckily there's a shortcut where you can cut some non critical parts of the inside of the dash - some of which is adjacent a large wiring loom. The fan can be swapped. Sorry to hear about your shot cluster. What brought that on?
@@davidwalker72 the guages actually are still fine. It's just a vertical white thread of pixels from bottom to top. Happened the day after my buddy noticed how cool the guages were and made the comment. Typical.just popped up.
I did the steering rack for under $500 dealer wanted $7450.00. And got very familiar with complete front end assembly. This week I'm attempting to fit 275 55 20 venom Tera hunters on it. It has the lift rods so maybe need spacers. Some say it can be done. Some say no. Tip of the day...get ceramic brake pads. Let them fully bed in and you won't have the insane brake dust anymore.The dealer tried to talk me out of it. Said the truck was too heavy , live with it. Absolutely the Best thing I ever did to it.
Sorry soo long but nobody else knows what I'm talking about, 😆
@@davidwalker72 that sounds scary. I can't believe soo much has to come out for that. I live near Chicago so I need my blower. Crossed fingers on that one. Going to do those tires and alignment now. Maybe I'll post some pics
As a person who had completely disassembled 2002 range rover i salute you for having the patience to carefully take apart interior, there are so many things to break and you just HAVE to know all the little tricks and places where to pull/push to get parts off.
In 2002 I had a customer bring in a 1998 dodge neon for a heater core, quoted him a price and he laughed at me and left. He came back 2 hours later and said he went to the dealer and it was almost double, I got the job. He came in the next day and looked in his car and said the manufacturers are building cars in modules and not think the repair.
Very few cars these days are easy to work on, and the list is getting shorter and shorter. Mercedes and Subaru for example used to be easy to work on 10 years ago, but even they are getting compromized by some design elements in their "modular thinking" where ease of assembly at the factory dictates the design. Certain VAG timing chains/belts I think have already been mentioned on car wizard's channel, for example, when it comes to really poor design and lack of room to work on... In so many cars nowdays there's almost 0 access to anything but scheduled maintenance parts up to 10 years / 250 000 kilometers life expectancy.
Ford 3.5 - 3.7 is $1600-2000 for a water pump.
They are thinking of planned obsolescence. They want you to throw it away instead of fixing it. Manufacturers will continue to to do it as long as people keep buying them. Why do people keep rewarding them for bad engineering?
@@amazoidal I got a 3.5L V6 in my Edge, but it's still got less than 60,000 miles on it. If I have to pay for it at some point in the future, it'll be a business related write-off.
Are you ready to pay $1600-2000 in another 20k for a water pump? The water in the oil could cost you an engine as well. No warning! Sell or trade in now. If you can afford those cost, you'd be comfortable with a German car. Those repair costs are in thousand dollar increments.
Hats off to Mike for not breaking anything. I can hear plastic snapping just thinking about trying this job myself.
Criminal that they make these things so hard to get to.
The modern automobile is such a complex piece of machinery that has to meet so many demands from so many angles....This is the result. Takes a lot of work to design and package a modern vehicle, not at all like a model T Ford or Austin 7....
@@OrnumCR No it is a product of a Business model to increase profits. Many are intentionally designed to lock out easy access, deter DIY and foster reliance on stealerships.
@@crxdelsolsir Well excuse my 30 years working in the automotive industry because you obviously know everything about it...
They only do it this way because its cheaper for them to manufacture this way than to make it accessible. They know the part will last through the warranty most of the time and beyond that, they don't care.
Omg, just how can you remember where everything goes? Today's auto mechanics are like doctors!!!
Simplicity is everything! Reason why I held onto my 2-71 Datsun 521 trucks and my 78 Toyota Corolla SW as they are reliable, modifiable and so easy to repair in addition to very inexpensive parts.
I have watched a lot of of your videos in the past and as always I have come to confirm that you wizard take great pride in your work along with your employee's pride of work myself even that I live far away from your shop I would be honored to my vehicles to you .thank you for all your information.
I'm glad good mechanic like the Car wizard still exist. I really appreciate his honesty.
There is a story here in Italy that sounds like this: "So my engine wasn't working well, and I brought the car to a humble mech. He listened the engine, took out a hammer, used it on a specific part and the engine was running well from that point onward. Then he asked me to pay 250$ for that. And I was 'What??? 250$ for a hammer hit?? You crazy???'. And the mech replied: 'It's not for the hammer hit, it's for my knowledge about where and how to hit in order to fix your problem' ". This is similar.
eh eh eh what part did he hit with the hammer?
@@josepeixoto3384 the part that needed to be adjusted
I've heard that one too, but it was a cruise ship engine and the price was much higher in this version! Good anecdote though!
@@joemilton7552 sure, but it makes no sense,there is NO part in the engine you fix with he hammer; the joke is about a WATCH , about the old pocket watches, up to 1950 or so,always in need of an adjustment,they were always running either too fast,or too slow,never right ) lol
@@josepeixoto3384 you could free a stuck iac valve or starter motor with a hammer
Lest people think this is only a Range Rover thing, I have the service manual for my loaded 2004 Chrysler Pacifica. Getting at the evaporator requires very nearly as much work as this vehicle. If mine ever goes out, either I need to talk myself into doing all that work by my lonesome or replace the car. It's not worth a $3k adventure in Dashboard City at this point in its life.
First car I had fun driving with the tiptronic. not sure why to be honest.
My heater core died in my F150 10 years ago. Luckily I live in Florida, just disconnected it and use the seat heaters if it's a nippy day!
Pretty common design for many years now.
It's a result of designing a car to be built quickly with no thought of disassembly or repair.
At our shop, we take pictures and videos of the interior dash and components, focusing on pre-damaged trim pieces, components, etc. This is because some customers are aware of the magnitude of this job due to Customers doing their own diagnostics/Research watching youtube repair videos. We have had occasions where The customer tries to blame us for broken trim pieces or scratches that were already there before we touched the car. So in order to avoid all of that headache and problems, we take pictures and videos before just in case someone wants to pin something on us that we didn't do, and show them the evidence and continue on with our day worry-free. It's free insurance really.
People complained about Saabs but my old 1st gen 9-3 had a bad heater core and it was only about a $600 job! Saab designed the heater core to be semi-easily swapped out. Id never ever own a Rover product much less BMW or god forbid Merc.....Nice video informative, civil and most importantly honest.
Pro tip: Never ever buy a Range Rover
Ironic considering never buy a Saab too lol
And Cadillac cts
Worst cars on the road!
..or an Audi
Pro tip don’t buy a range Rover if you’re not mechanically minded.
I have one second owner.
I do all the work on and it’s just as reliable as any other vehicle on the planet. more so than most actually.
people are just repeating what I’ve heard
This video makes me appreciate my Honda even more don't have to remove the dash just the glove box that's it ez
For an evap core? On mine i have to. I have 92 accord. I have to pull the whole dash.....(still not as bad as this though)
Rumor has it 90% of Range Rovers are still on the road.
The other 10% actually made it to their destination....
Jay K range rover was owned by ford at one point, so depends on which rangerover. Volvos from the early 2000’s up to around 2014 are also pretty much entirely ford beyond the body, giving them the piss poor reliability you get with ford
I've seen Range Rovers on the used market going for little of nothing compared to the new price. There is a reason for this! Many times they need something like this done and would rather unload the car and let someone else deal with the expense. I have a cousin that was so excited when she found a good deal on a Mercedes. She drove it for about a year then it broke down, it's sitting in a lot on some property our family owns and has been for a few years now. These expensive cars cost a whole lot to repair and if you don't have a lot of money just to throw at the car every time something goes wrong stay away from these cars.
The avg person just sees “ohh I’ll look like an IG influencer or celeb/ “important” driving this car” and never do their research or ask a friend or family member that knows cars, how awful Euro brands are.
I never hear nor have experienced any issues like this with any Asian car that I’ve owned, outside of that damn Mitsu Diamante 🙄 !
Amazing video! Remember back in the day all the HVAC components were accessible from the engine bay (back when you could stand between the exhaust manifold and front fender). HAHAHA. I always get nervous replacing a functioning blower motor - always afraid it will fail within the first week and off comes the dashboard again. Thanks for this videos!
just gotta say... any where I've seen, the "advisor" calls you and says the part they broke was (fill in any excuse) so it has to be replaced and the additional charge will be: wow. I found out too late one day a friend of mine had his 4 cyl car in to replace the intake valve seals as it was smoking. They called him at work to say the valves were worn way more than they thought. So bad, they all fell into the cylinders when the keepers were loosed. Extra charge to remove the head and get them out. He paid up. We all know that was TOTAL NEGLIGENCE.
Their explanation was quite literally impossible. Valves don't wear. If they 'wear' its because the edges of them were burnt away and now you've lost compression on that cylinder and you have engine failure. What they're talking about would require you to lose 3/4 of the valve stem somehow. Still dead engine situation.
What really happened is that you replace the intake valve seals with the cylinder at TDC (piston is at the top of its travel and physically won't allow the valve to drop). The only way could drop a valve into the cylinder is if they screwed up and didn't have the cylinder at TDC (piston is lowered so its not physically holding the valve in place). Its also possible that they were using a leak down tester to hold the valves in place and they had the pressure dialed up too high which caused the engine to turn over, thereby moving the piston out of position... Still a rookie mistake.
@@nelakendra2296 Valves do wear. Not in a way as described above, but they do wear. Burning them is also very different from them being worn. Please leave the wizardry to the wizards...
@@kealke If you want to be pedantic about it, yes they do wear but valve wear would be in the same category as piston rings, main bearings, cylinder walls and so forth. Yes they all wear - heck the engine block wears but these components are all expected to last the life of the engine/vehicle. They are not intended as regular maintenance items. No mechanic is going in there measuring valve wear the way they are measuring your brake rotors. There is no manufacturer listing "valves" in their maintenance schedule at any interval. They are replaced when they fail or as part of an overall engine rebuild.
It takes serious abuse or lack of maintenance to induce enough wear that it will be a concern on most engines. Yes I'm sure there are some race engines or other specialized applications where engines are designed for only a few hundred hours of life and yes I'm sure you can point out some specific engine that had an issue with valves wearing out early but realistically the average motor's valves are designed to go well past 500,000 miles and probably past 1 million too.
@ArmchairWarrior And I bet he learned his lesson and didn't repeat that mistake again. He'll get better at his craft as time goes on. On the other hand the guy that refuses to accept responsibility for his mistakes never learns from them and as a result keeps making them. He will never improve.
I just love the Wizard...And I'm a man!
This has become the greatest car mechanics channel without question for me.
Martin D A nothing wrong with loving the Car Wizard, it just shows you have smarts and taste, and are willing to learn stuff.
Me too
@@eriknobles3946 Good man Eric. 😸
I freaking love this guy man. Such a genius and old school common sense.
Im thinking of shipping my car from the UK just so that I can get the Car Wizard to service it.
I'm right behind you and I am in the Caribbean.
One of the simplest and best explanations I have heard involved the repair of a jackhammer.
A guy was using his jackhammer to break up an old driveway he was going to replace when the jackhammer stopped working. So he called the jackhammer repairman to come out to fix it.
After manipulating the jackhammer to diagnose the problem the repairman got a hammer and lifted the jackhammer up and then gave it a good hit at a specific spot then hooked the air hose back up and the jackhammer started working.
Happy that the jackhammer was working again the owner asked how much he owed. The repairman said the charge was $75. The owner was aghast and complained why he was being charged $75 just for hitting it with a hammer. The repairman told the owner that he was only charging $5 for hitting it with a hammer, that the other $70 was for knowing where to hit it.
Long story short. If you want a job done correctly and competently, you are going to have to pay for the knowledge and experience it takes to do the job correctly and competently. That or you can pay for cheap and do the repair again and again and again. In which case you will end up paying more for cheap than you would if you had paid for knowledge and competence in the first place.
I'm literally in the middle of doing this for my heater core on my BMW e28. As a DIYer, it's been 2 months since I started and I'm still not done since I work full time.
Took 2 days for AUDI 80 inc refoaming the flaps in the core. Work a weekend and done man ;)
E28. Wonderful. Any pictures of your car to see?
19:20 one of my first cars was a 4th gen Maxima. Didn't know a lot about working on cars before owning that rust bucket. Afterwards, knew a bit more, and owned a lot more tools. Had to replace the blower motor on it when it got too loud to think. It was quite simple after removing the glove box. Shopping around, it was pretty cheap on fleaBay, but decided on visiting a local pull-a-part since I needed a few more things, and to get some practice on doing the job.
$100 part in a $3000 location.
Fantastic explanation to the Lay Person to see what’s really entailed....Great Job!
Oh my god....When I would be a mechanic... before start on this horrible thing... I needed a bottle of Whisky and one week vacation.... and may never came back.... Feel sorry for you Wizard... but this is what you are .... a great man !!
At 10:30 “Is magic mike making bread” I thought mrs wizard was talking about money not actual loafs
That's my reaction when my cat stands on my abdomen and starts kneading.
@@angelsriverajr5663 Ha, ha, ha 😸😼😻😾🐈cats...
I thought that too, immediately confused me.
Oh he is with a 3grand job
Hoovie looking at the leaking die: ITS GREEN!
More like IIIIIIITTTSSSSSSS
GRRRRREEEEEEENNNNN!
I’m not sorry for the owner, everybody knows how much costs maintenance owning a Land Rover - Range Rover!
I wish we had a mechanic like the car wizard in my area. Great job fixing this vehicle.
I gutted the interior of my wife's car and she didn't think she'd ever drive it again. Seats, plastic trim, carpet, shifter, radio, driver's airbag, etc, all trying to find a shorted wire for the marker lights. It turned out it was in front of the rear bumper, the metal bumper was rusted and she had gotten bumped at a stop light (no visible damaged) and it bent the bumper into the wire which eventually (about 2 months later) rubbed through and blew the fuse. I didn't even realize it had lights in the bumper, I thought they were reflectors.
F
What was the year make and model of the vehicle?
@@MP-vd1ck - 2006 Chevy HHR.
Almost bought an HSE instead of my Jaguar xjl, really, really happy I never did that. 5.0 jags are just like most ford's. Don't really have to worry about the drivetrain. It's everything else you gotta watch out for lol.
Love your honesty. I learned in Germany at a bmw garage. Timing belt for an E30 3er is 3 1/2 hours. I had it down to 1 1/2. Why should we take a hit for getting good was right on point. Don’t know the shop time but a 4 cylinder 3er clutch was done in about 30 minutes with 2 guys. BMWs were easier back then in the 80’s 90’s.
Most people who complain of this are not going to afford the repair, even at half price. So what does it matter?
@@CarWizard Surprising the Owner of Rover did not trade it in at this point. WOuld likely be better off getting a Lexus or Infinity.
There's an old story about a very seasoned mechanic being sent out to repair a machine that stopped running. Only required a small adjustment, a turn of a screw, to get it running again...total repair time less than 15 minutes. The mechanic submits a bill to the company for $500 and the company accountant is asking why so much? The mechanic explains his charges, "it was $25 to turn the screw and $475 for knowing which one to turn."
You're not just paying for the labor, you're paying for the knowledge. Don't like it, learn how to do it yourself.
You think that's crazy, try £12,000 (about 16,000 US dollars) at a dealer to replace the turbos on a V6 or V8 turbodiesel in a Range Rover or Range Rover Sport, because the body has top come off the chassis.
“We don’t get a pay cut because we get better at our job” ❤
As ever......you are the most honest straight talking shop owner I’ve seen.....👍💪🇮🇲
I really like this channel. When it comes to honesty from your mechanic, that is invaluable!
First big mistake was buying a Range Rover, those things are money pits....
Every part of this range is actually Ford Motor Company... don't buy either
any new Land Rover is not worth it outside of warranty. We run the old stuff, 1961 till 1993 in various models. way better.
@@XiamaraLaurensWifeyMu Yep once the warranty runs out... those new ones are basically junk and will bleed you dry.
@@XiamaraLaurensWifeyMu Never buy a Land Rover product where you cannot change the points and condenser (capacitor) yourself!
We do every job together, from rewires to engine / gearbox rebuilds. we now have chassis repairs and a rebuild of a 2.25 diesel to do.
Heater core for a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee takes it to nothing but firewall inside. Took me a weekend with my Dad to do. Also cleaned the carpet (waiting to dry slowed us down) and repair a rust hole in the floorboard. We also replaced blend doors, heater core, fresh air vent, ac evaporator, blower motor and control actuators. I was not going to do that again.
That Range Rover driver should have a '63 Chevy. Remove and replace heater core 45 min.
The irony is if Range Rover had made it a $200 part you never would needed to have replaced it...
Probably even a $120 part would have done it. Cars designed by accountants and sold to bankers.
leased to bankers. Even if I made a million dollars every day, I would never buy any car.
Sataharu leasing only makes sense in very specific circumstances
Heater cores, evap cores and blower motors are probably every manufacturers greatest sin. The design for them hasn't really changed since they were first really introduced. But the total PITA it is to get to them is beyond ridiculous. Everyone KNOWS that these parts are going to eventually fail, but no one has come up with a quick and easy access panel to make life easier for everyone. Instead, these companies think that they already got your money, it's not their problem anymore
@@Chavagnatze doesn’t matter if you lease buy beg or steal, you would still go bankrupt with cheaply made hard to reach parts
This is as close to a diss track I've ever seen from wizard
No lithium grease. LOL
He's done similar before. It's accurate but kinda meh, I'm divided.
It always amazes me in these jobs, how you remember where and how everything goes back
I've done my own car care for 40 years, I could _probably_ do this job if I had the room to lay out all the parts in a single line as I took them off. Have to label stuff though (this bit's connected to that bit etc)
After a while you know how things are typically connected.
Real problem is when you walk away for a week, or come into the middle of a job and have to go from there.
It helps greatly when others have done it and documented every step or taking video while tearing it down.
He makes a youtube video and then he watches it backwards.
That's an awesome story! Wow! Crazy! I have a 1997 Range Rover and at the time the cost was estimated to be $1600 to remove the dash to replace the heater core. Suffice it to say, it hasn't been done yet, lol!
Good point there wizard: "we don't take pay cut for getting good at our jobs."
Wizard: "There is a shocker!"
me: "Nothing shocks me"
Wizard: "This job has already been done!"
me: :O
surprised pikachu face
thats noise sound s expense
5 stars for Magic Mike!
Evaporator replacement is a nightmare in most cars. Disassembling an old plastic dashboard is not fun.
Absolutely! If you're going to make a part that takes 20 hours to replace it, it needs to be designed out of titanium or something and impossible to fail... OR easier design the car so all functional parts are more easily replaceable. It's not hard to build a dash with a panel that allows easy access to heater core!
Dear Wizard, my '92 Vette has a simple evaporator core box bolted right up to the firewall (engine bay side). EZ repair job that doesn't require a nightmare of labor to replace, the late '90's Nissan Maxima had a simple access panel for servicing and replacing that core! I don't understand why all or most cars can't be this serviceable!
I'm surprised the evap core was only $ 100.00.
Stupidity of cars manufacturers,, putting evaporators inside the dash while moving the ECU into engine bay
BrewBlaster thats bait to get customers to say yes, replace it, then the bill...lol
May be the same as one from a Ford or something, making it cost less.
@@tangydiesel1886 that power distribution box definitely looks Ford issue. Plausible since they are still using Ford engines in some of their products.
It's only $100 because, nobody buys one. When you find out how much to replace it.
As my coworker says when he sees a Range Rover on the road... "Hey, Look! Another Range Rover fell off its tow truck."
Car Wizard,, I absolutely LOVE your work ethic and business ethic, you do things right! Thank you!!
Well I did this job on my 2007 Prius myself and after I removed the Evaporator box, I went inside for lunch and let me tell you, when I came back I was literally scared after looking at the interior. It wasn't as bad the rangerover though but still it was a bunch of wires and the steering column out in the open. Anyways I finally managed to get myself together and finished the job just for cold air in the cabin which BTW was worth it. Saved a lot of money on labor and got the new part for around $40. All worth it in the end!
On the plus side, you can do the pollen filter!! I've a 1990 3.9 efi vogue! It's scary how much wires are behind the dash! The real magic is putting it all back without the owner knowing you've had to strip it to the bulk!! Rangies are a pig to work on now adays! You did a really brilliant job!
Samcrac: If you repair a Range Rover it will just break again..
Car Wizard: Hold my beard..
Well a sam crac repair is no car wizard repair. Ones a pro wizard the other is a chicken farmer
Don’t recall Sam doing any of the work 😀
From what I remember he had only finish 2 projects 😂😂
And he’s ass spend over 7k on a DIY job which came out like crap lol
@@Juan_T1 he just dumped a range rover because of a consistent misfire on 2, 4 and 6 all after fixing exhaust leaks.
Think he dumped like 12k or something.
Chickens and cars are so different. 🤔
Saab_lyfe190 totally agree
But like someone mention “everything for the content”
I’m retired from the car business after a 30 year career - and I’ve definitely seen my share of nightmare repairs that require major car disassembly. Most owners have no idea and think they are being overcharged.
car owners are just upset that they have to spend a whack of money on something that was working last week especially when it's a hundred dollar part that fails. Doesn't make a difference if its a car, a boiler, the ac in your home people hate spending large sums of money on something they didn't plan on that doesn't provide "Fun". 40k on a new car sure, 3k to fix ac in old car, I'd be driving the car without AC it's an 8 year old land rover the bills are just starting to pile up.
After seeing the refrigerant leak was in the evaporator core, I would have taken a $60 gamble on trying Nu-Calgon EasySeal sold on Amazon, which can seal these small cracks and holes to stop the refrigerant leak.
Tom Schmidt you know that the car wizard also has to eat right? Also those things are mostly temporarily, so next year the customer comes back and he is like I still have a warranty so you fix it without cost......
Did you find that Snake Oil on sale in the Half Ass dept at Amazon?
I have done HVAC for 30 years, that stuff very rarely does any good even for a patch job
Not to mention then that crap has run through the entire rest of the system potentially damaging it. On a car that’s headed to a junkyard sure, but not a $60,000 car
Reassembly is a reverse of disassembly. Apart from the HVAC ducting which needs you to be an octopus. What most folks won't realise it that on the assembly line, each fitter fits maybe 4, 5, 6 parts.
Ha! Remember the PCV valve on early 90s Altimas $3.00 for the part, $300.00 labor. Had to remove the manifolds to access the PCV.
Damn... failed evap core on such a young vehicle?! My ‘94 Miata’s AC still has all its original parts - and still blows ICE COLD!!
BBISHOPPCM's World different generation of cars......cars that never break don’t earn you money, that’s what the manufactures found out eventually
My moms 1989 Camry has the original AC...and original R12 refrigerant!
Makes me sad that she has to scrap that car because of some damage to the fender and wheel. (I’m a little pissed off at the insurance agency right now.)
Modern engineering hurt the reliability on almost every car company.
Wow, that’s a crazy amount of work. So Wizard, a future video idea: Easiest and most difficult cars to work on.
Holy Cow!! Haha! I just did one of these last week. I also replaced the heater core while I was there because they have a tendency clog. Cheers from Rhode Island Wizard and Mrs. Wizard.
The fun starts after everything is put back together... Recalibrating and relearning all the actuator doors and head unit...
Wizard your the best!! It makes me super glad i own and drive old Toyota 1985 Celica Supra and my 1969 RT43 Corona 1900 deluxe , In the old days deluxe features were a heater and AM radio, No AC, no power steering or brakes, and NO problems.
Been there done that except it was a Chevrolet Equinox heater core but basically the same exact job.