TB/Water Pump Service in So Cal?

[FuryNSX]

My 94 has 82k miles on it. Still original timing belt. Am I risking it? It's fully stock and has been gently driven for all these years but I have been out of work for a while and am not sure what to do.

I emailed Ramon but the mail was bounced back. Is he still in business?

......

Thanks!

Jona

Yeah, he's still in business. But he's seems more of an old school kind of guy. He still uses a phone to talk to people. Give him a call. I think he keeps the phone in his pocket while he's working, so he'll be quick to answer.

As for the timing belt, the safe way to go for an NSX timing belt is the opposite of Indiana Jones' phrase, which would make it "it ain't the mileage, it's the years" for the NSX. With your car being 17 years old on the original belt, you're at major risk. Even without the time consideration, you're hitting 90K miles, which is the other metric for changing the belt.

 

[RYU]

Hi there. I was told by a very reliable source John now works for the Honda dealer across the street for South Coast Acura. At the next meet I plan to get there early to say hi to him.

Yes, I can confirm this. He's now with Honda across from SCA and he is indeed working on NSXs but now at Honda (not Acura) rates!

Both Jon and Ramon/Tom are excellent. I would trust them with my kids... ahem, i mean my cars. It comes down to convenience, price, and frankly, a matter of preference. Jon did my TB/WP, hoses, MC... Ramon did my headers, CV Boots and just about everything else. We're lucky to have them both in SoCal!

I'm on a solo mission to convince Ramon to open on Saturdays! Who wants to join me?

 

[coolnsx]

I'm on a solo mission to convince Ramon to open on Saturdays! Who wants to join me?[/QUOTE]
+1
at least half day :wink:

 

[bboxer]

I'm on a solo mission to convince Ramon to open on Saturdays! Who wants to join me?

+1
at least half day :wink:[/QUOTE]

I won't ; I don't want to miss talking to him and catching up on NSX stuff every Saturday morning at Cars and Coffee !:tongue:

 

[coolnsx]

+1
at least half day :wink:

I won't ; I don't want to miss talking to him and catching up on NSX stuff every Saturday morning at Cars and Coffee !:tongue:[/QUOTE]
My friend , the best of all worlds.
C&C 6 to 9am
Shop open for work/bench talk/coffee 9 to 1
Home by 1 and the honey do list starts
Perfect life.
What is wrong with this business concept? I'm going to ask him for a commission!! :biggrin:

 

[bboxer]

I won't ; I don't want to miss talking to him and catching up on NSX stuff every Saturday morning at Cars and Coffee !:tongue:

My friend , the best of all worlds.
C&C 6 to 9am
Shop open for work/bench talk/coffee 9 to 1
Home by 1 and the honey do list starts
Perfect life.
What is wrong with this business concept? I'm going to ask him for a commission!! :biggrin:[/QUOTE]

Love it !
I approve.

 

[bc777]

If it's not cars and coffee, then he's heading to Vegas to visit his grandchildren. So Saturday and Sunday is a no go. I Already tried too :biggrin:

 

[RYU]

If it's not cars and coffee, then he's heading to Vegas to visit his grandchildren. So Saturday and Sunday is a no go. I Already tried too :biggrin:

Perhaps once Pacquiao loses there will be hope for Saturday hours haha

 

[speedyizzy]

COOL NSX - What is this, High School? You called the shop, to ask him if someone has ever changed out 2 clutches for the same vehicle?!?! That is funny....real funny. My plate # is 5PQY079, maybe you can call him back so he can check his files. You are ridiculous, why would someone even lie about that!?!?!

I had one clutch changed out at 115K miles (2003) and the second about a year and a half ago at 178K (2009) miles. The car did get a 2002+ update in in 2004. Ramon's prices were VERY reasonable, he was very responsive and he did a good job on the clutch, the 2nd time I came in, it was due to clutch defect. I bought the clutches myself and paid between 550-700 to install them (A BARGAIN!).

Reason I was weary about the TB job, is because he does not drop the motor. It is my understanding there are some seals and gaskets that can not be replaced unless the motor is dropped. Autowave drops the motor, but the price of the service is significantly more expensive. Is it worth paying the premium? Is it necessary to drop it?


Thanks.

Israel

 

[audax]

That is odd. I need my TB/WP replaced and Ramon said he WOULD drop the motor. Perhaps you misheard or misunderstood him?

 

[LMR]

COOL NSX - What is this, High School? You called the shop, to ask him if someone has ever changed out 2 clutches for the same vehicle?!?! That is funny....real funny. My plate # is 5PQY079, maybe you can call him back so he can check his files. You are ridiculous, why would someone even lie about that!?!?!

I had one clutch changed out at 115K miles (2003) and the second about a year and a half ago at 178K (2009) miles. The car did get a 2002+ update in in 2004. Ramon's prices were VERY reasonable, he was very responsive and he did a good job on the clutch, the 2nd time I came in, it was due to clutch defect. I bought the clutches myself and paid between 550-700 to install them (A BARGAIN!).

Reason I was weary about the TB job, is because he does not drop the motor. It is my understanding there are some seals and gaskets that can not be replaced unless the motor is dropped. Autowave drops the motor, but the price of the service is significantly more expensive. Is it worth paying the premium? Is it necessary to drop it?


Thanks.

Israel

When he did my TB/WP and complete 60K service he did not drop the motor. The only reason for him to drop the motor is to replace certain seals but if they are okay then he will not need to drop the motor as he told me.

That is odd. I need my TB/WP replaced and Ramon said he WOULD drop the motor. Perhaps you misheard or misunderstood him?

See above. So I'm not sure why he told you that unless he has changed his procedure.

 

[audax]

See above. So I'm not sure why he told you that unless he has changed his procedure.

Could be the seals like you mentioned. I do have a small leak coming from somewhere.

 

[dynomike]

The seals we are referring to are the rear cam seals. With the engine in the car there is no way to remove the cam seals let alone get new ones in there. These seals are simply made of rubber they go bad with age and mileage. We always replace these seals whether they are leaking or not. The last thing you want to do is skimp on these seals "that have been in there for many years and miles"and have them start leaking on you down the road. If they start leaking the oil gets on your brand new timing belt ruining the belt and forcing you to do the entire job all over again.
there are a couple of more reasons that we do not like doing the t-belt in the car.

1. the car is made of aluminum which is very fragile. The last thing we want to do is to excessively lean over the fender putting pressure on it.

2. It is very hard to get all 4 cams timed correctly. The rear cams are very hard to see the timing marks on the cam gears. Over the years we have fixed very many nsx from hacks trying to do the t-belt in the car. Since we dyno a lot of nsx's we have a good idea of what the proper power these cars produce. a nsx that is not timed correctly will produce around 30-35 less whp.

3.With the engine out it allows us easy access to all the other seals and hoses that are on the engine allowing the entire power plant to be completely resealed and re hosed. The valve adjustment is a million times easier when the engine is out of the car."the rear head is very difficult to adjust the valves while the engine is in the car".

4. With the engine out of the car we always completely detail the engine bay,engine, and suspension components. So that the bottom of the car looks as good as the top.

We are definitely not the cheapest shop, but for the extra attention to detail we put into these cars we are more than fair. These cars are our passion and we only believe in giving this car the best of service. Oil leaks and lack of detail make us all cringe here at the shop. It is so surprising the cars we have seen over the years with stripped,missing,and mismatched bolts, missing brackets and just down right hacked together that have come from other shops. We believe that when a car is taken apart it should be put back together exactly as it came from the factory. If you are shopping price and not quality in a shop then I would recommend buying a old civic. This car is a piece of history and will continue to always be referred to in the car industry as one of the best.

 

[coolnsx]

The seals we are referring to are the rear cam seals. With the engine in the car there is no way to remove the cam seals let alone get new ones in there. These seals are simply made of rubber they go bad with age and mileage. We always replace these seals whether they are leaking or not. The last thing you want to do is skimp on these seals "that have been in there for many years and miles"and have them start leaking on you down the road. If they start leaking the oil gets on your brand new timing belt ruining the belt and forcing you to do the entire job all over again.
there are a couple of more reasons that we do not like doing the t-belt in the car.

1. the car is made of aluminum which is very fragile. The last thing we want to do is to excessively lean over the fender putting pressure on it.

2. It is very hard to get all 4 cams timed correctly. The rear cams are very hard to see the timing marks on the cam gears. Over the years we have fixed very many nsx from hacks trying to do the t-belt in the car. Since we dyno a lot of nsx's we have a good idea of what the proper power these cars produce. a nsx that is not timed correctly will produce around 30-35 less whp.

3.With the engine out it allows us easy access to all the other seals and hoses that are on the engine allowing the entire power plant to be completely resealed and re hosed. The valve adjustment is a million times easier when the engine is out of the car."the rear head is very difficult to adjust the valves while the engine is in the car".

4. With the engine out of the car we always completely detail the engine bay,engine, and suspension components. So that the bottom of the car looks as good as the top.

We are definitely not the cheapest shop, but for the extra attention to detail we put into these cars we are more than fair. These cars are our passion and we only believe in giving this car the best of service. Oil leaks and lack of detail make us all cringe here at the shop. It is so surprising the cars we have seen over the years with stripped,missing,and mismatched bolts, missing brackets and just down right hacked together that have come from other shops. We believe that when a car is taken apart it should be put back together exactly as it came from the factory. If you are shopping price and not quality in a shop then I would recommend buying a old civic. This car is a piece of history and will continue to always be referred to in the car industry as one of the best.

Well put.

 

[mlambert890]

Everyone being mentioned on this thread is great. Shane and the Autowave crew maintained my car when Peter owned it, Jon Martin did the PPI for me (cant trust Peter! hahaha... jk) and Ramon has a fantastic rep.

You really cant go wrong here. Pick the place you like the most, stop thinking, and do it. You wont find a *consistent* "bad word" about any of these guys - trust the forum.

I had Bernie at Davis (one of the other elites, but part of the "east coast crew") do my TB/WP/valve adjust/oil/SC service/tune up/gaskets and it came to $2500 also. Not an unusual price - the major service is $, but it needs doing.

There are about a dozen (at MOST) NSX mechanics who you will be advised to go to to get that major done. THREE of them were mentioned on this thread

 

[coolnsx]

Everyone being mentioned on this thread is great. Shane and the Autowave crew maintained my car when Peter owned it, Jon Martin did the PPI for me (cant trust Peter! hahaha... jk) and Ramon has a fantastic rep.

You really cant go wrong here. Pick the place you like the most, stop thinking, and do it. You wont find a *consistent* "bad word" about any of these guys - trust the forum.

I had Bernie at Davis (one of the other elites, but part of the "east coast crew") do my TB/WP/valve adjust/oil/SC service/tune up/gaskets and it came to $2500 also. Not an unusual price - the major service is $, but it needs doing.

There are about a dozen (at MOST) NSX mechanics who you will be advised to go to to get that major done. THREE of them were mentioned on this thread

agreed

 

[nis350]

That is odd. I need my TB/WP replaced and Ramon said he WOULD drop the motor. Perhaps you misheard or misunderstood him?

Just curious what the additional cost is for just dropping the motor? I would think there should be some money saving from the other jobs as it would take less time with the motor dropped.

 

[lazynok]

+1 for ramon and tom

He just put a new clutch, timing belt, etc etc, all the bells and whistles for less than another popular NSX mechanic quoted me for just a timing belt.

And that other popular mechanic tried overcharging me for what they defined as the cost of the "parts only" for all new hoses.

Go with ramon and get it done right ;D

Although the drive to Laguna does suck from LA

 

[bc777]

Perhaps once Pacquiao loses there will be hope for Saturday hours haha

:biggrin:

 

[bc777]

I am the member you are referring to. What you state is exactly correct. Ramon and Tom took care of everything for me. They are without a doubt the best and most honest car people I deal with. I'm very lucky to have them as friends.

Glad you are ok. I had a chance to "peak" inside your car. Looks great.

 

[speedyizzy]

Thanks for all the insight gentlemen.