While cleaning the throttle body on my '90 deville I oversprayed a little and between that and the spilt power steering fluid in addition to a little backfire I managed to start a little camp fire under the hood. Everything was ok and I got the fire out but I melted the plates ( pulleys ) for the throttle cable in front of the throttle body. I took the car to cadillac and they are telling me I need to replace the entire throttle body because of this little plastic plate. I feel the are FOS but I don't want to run my mouth until I am sure. Can't that part just be changed by pulling the rod through the throttle body and blades and replacing the plastic plates. Maybe I'm crazy but I can't see paying 1300 for a throttle body in the first place let alone when it doesn't even need to be changed.

Thanks

If your unit is shot that badly, go the the junkyard and pull one for $5.00 and call it a night.

But thats the thing it isn't that bad. The car starts and can be driven it literaly needs this damn plastic plate. Thats it. they want 832 just for the throttle body. THe throttle body is fine. Just that one little piece needs to be changed. I just don't have the time to do it right now.

I doubt the part is available seperately. Check with www.gmpartsdirect.com and see if they can get you those parts.

Everything is available at the salvage yard. It is not right to charge 832 bucks for a piece of plastic on a metal shaft I don't care what GM thinks

If something's melted, it's possible you need a new throttle body, but whether you do or not, you're right. 832 bucks for a throttle body is absurd. Feel free to tell them where to stick it on that basis alone. Even a whole new throttle body should be somewhere in the $200 range. And it's not something that typically needs replacing, so I'd follow the given advice and get one at the salvage yard. Make sure you recalibrate the minimum air/TPS, etc... as that will probably need doing.

Of course it's an absurd price! It's for a engine that hasn't been made in over 10 years, and I'm very shocked that GM still sells the throttle bodies!
Best advice is the junyard as others have said. I bought a used but complete TB on eBay for $10.

Of course it's an absurd price! It's for a engine that hasn't been made in over 10 years, and I'm very shocked that GM still sells the throttle bodies!

Hope you're not implying that they're justified in charging $800+ lol. Sure that's a valid point, but I saw it for $200-something on www.partsamerica.com for my car... GM could afford to make them cheaper in low volume if they could manage themselves, which they obviously have dug themselves a hole, but that can of worms has already been opened more than once lol.

Yes, $800 is crazy, but that is something that I would expect from a Cadillac dealership. when I called them for a price on a new wiring harness for my 1991Seville, they quoted me well over $2000! So again, $800 if a fair range for them...:rolleyes:

OK let me give you the update on this situation. I gave the service manager an ear full and basically told him that I would not pay 800 bucks for a part that I could get 3rd party for less than half. He found me a throttle body at the junk yard for 167.00 then I was charged for gaskets and labor about 390 not too bad. I was happy to say the least. I got the car back today after work. There was not even enough gas in the car to start. The sales manager got me some gas. I made about 1 mile down the road and I realized that something was terribly wrong. I pulled over popped the hood and get ready to either laugh until you pee or just be pissed. They changed the whole throttle body rather than just the plate and they left the plate that didn't melt and still changed the plate that they claimed couldn't be changed. In additon to this they did a piss poor job of tightening down the plate and they didn't hook up the cables so the car still won't down shift. I left the car blocking the gate of the delaership and gave the keys to the security gaurd I called General Motors and filed a formal complaint and I fully intend on being on the phone at 7 am with the service manager. Anyway sometimes it just pays to do it your damn self.

OK let me give you the update on this situation. I gave the service manager an ear full and basically told him that I would not pay 800 bucks for a part that I could get 3rd party for less than half. He found me a throttle body at the junk yard for 167.00 then I was charged for gaskets and labor about 390 not too bad. I was happy to say the least. I got the car back today after work. There was not even enough gas in the car to start. The sales manager got me some gas. I made about 1 mile down the road and I realized that something was terribly wrong. I pulled over popped the hood and get ready to either laugh until you pee or just be pissed. They changed the whole throttle body rather than just the plate and they left the plate that didn't melt and still changed the plate that they claimed couldn't be changed. In additon to this they did a piss poor job of tightening down the plate and they didn't hook up the cables so the car still won't down shift. I left the car blocking the gate of the delaership and gave the keys to the security gaurd I called General Motors and filed a formal complaint and I fully intend on being on the phone at 7 am with the service manager. Anyway sometimes it just pays to do it your damn self.
Replacing the throttle body can take some 30 minutes... $390 labor... crooks!

it was 390 total parts and labor they really didn't screw me on the labor... I just think if you replace a throttle body common sense says you will hook up the cables. Just finish the job I have no problem with the money.

Or option number two would have been: go find one for $5.00 yourself and put it on your self. If any questions were needed, you could have always posted here and I or someone else with some knowledge would have walked you right through it.

it was 390 total parts and labor they really didn't screw me on the labor... I just think if you replace a throttle body common sense says you will hook up the cables. Just finish the job I have no problem with the money.
Make sure all the vacuum lines are in tact and connected. Did they set the TPS, minimum air, idle speed with new throttle body? Did you check for codes after the work?

Yeah like Illumina said... A junkyard throttle body should be 5 bucks, not 167! Or at least absolutely no more than $30 or so. And what's with gasketS? There is ONE gasket for the throttle body... That should cost maybe 20 bucks at the most. So 20 + 167 = 187 for parts...and that leaves (let's round here) 200 bucks for labor... Took them 3 1/2 hours to do this?! Changing the throttle body is not wizardry. If they screwed that up, they ought to be slapped with a wet fish...

Yeah like Illumina said... A junkyard throttle body should be 5 bucks, not 167! Or at least absolutely no more than $30 or so. And what's with gasketS? There is ONE gasket for the throttle body... That should cost maybe 20 bucks at the most. So 20 + 167 = 187 for parts...and that leaves (let's round here) 200 bucks for labor... Took them 3 1/2 hours to do this?! Changing the throttle body is not wizardry. If they screwed that up, they ought to be slapped with a wet fish...
My old TB gasket was perfect to be reused. I am pretty sure yours was good as well. Besides, that gasket is something like $5 new. They definitely overcharged you and did poor job.

Well in reality I expect to be overcharged at the dealership. I just didn't have time to pull the parts and do the job. I guess since they had the car for a week I could have just taken a day off of work and been done before lunch. Now they are claiming that I need all new cables... I can't imagine what could have happened to steel cables but they claim I need them... Whatever at this point I just want the car back. Thanks for all the help

Just because it's expected doesn't mean they have a right to do it. It's fair that they make a respectable profit, by charging you some obsene amount per hour for labor, and a percentage markup on parts (not 400%...). A brand new throttle body, I would "expect" to pay up to $300 at a dealer, and that's pushing it. Any more than that is completely unreasonable. And like I said, if it took them that long to do that job, they're out to lunch and have no business charging those labor rates.

The fact that they quoted over $800 to begin with proves that they are willing to be dishonest with you. I would have taken my business elsehwere (or myself haha) right then and there.