g/f's car overheated last night and she had it towed to a dealership to get it checked out.. it's a 1998 V6 camaro.. dealership said the heater hoses blew off the heater core and need to be replaced b4 they can check out the rest of the coolant system.. they want 215 for parts and 425 total parts and labor.. how much do these parts really cost and how hard is it to do yourself for a novice..

thank you..

mike

If the heater hose just rotted the hose and clamps around $10 just a guess and is easy to do but if you have another problem who knows. Do you have any mechanical friends near you if so have them take a look. Maybe only cost parts and a:beers:

Car over heated because the hoses blew

Just replace hoses...so long as as soon as the Redc idiot light came on She closed the engine down...If she didnt 'stop on the red light' there could be expensive head/gasket damage, now or in a few 1000 miles
OR
The hoses blew because the engine over heated.....
Replacing hoses doesnt fix the root problem

she had it towed to a dealership to get it checked out

It is std procebure (well is nin NZ) a HC check is done on the radiator to check for damage,

The heater hoses on that car are specific to that model. They are molded and have crimped fittings on the engine ends.

Unfortunately, bulk heater hose and clamps like we use on our 1st gens won't work.

The quoted price does seem high. I would try to find the hoses aftermarket (if they are even available), and do them yourself, or like mentioned above, find a friend to help.

The dealer might be the only place to buy the hoses though.

It's possible there is more damage as well.

I've replaced the upper radiator hose on my girlfriend's 3rd gen, and it was pretty easy, all I needed was a screwdriver to loosen and retighten the hose clamps. I've never done anything to a 4th gen, but I'd imagine that most cars are probably pretty similar when it comes to removing and installing hoses.

I'm not positive though, so I agree with everyone else, do you have a mechanical friend or know anyone who can recommend a good mechanic who won't charge you a ton? The mechanic that we take all 3 of our cars to is great, he does top notch work and will install customer bought parts and he charges a reasonable amount and we found him through a friend of the family. So ask around, see if anyone you know can recommend someone. (I'd recommend our mechanic, but since I don't know where you live, for all I know it might be across the country lol.)

thank you everyone for your help.. unfortunately i don't have a mechanic friend to do the work.. going to have to start looking for one at this rate though so she doesn't keep getting reamed by the dealerships..

mike

not hard at all for a novice to replace...gotta start somewhere. it all goes in one place and has one place to go.

Nothing like OJT, right?