desmomini

After a year and a half, I've been greatly enjoying my 911 experience. In February of '85, I purchased an '85 Cabriolet with 31,000 miles from the original owner, who had purchased it new as a retirement present to himself when he turned 60. Then in '08, he plunked $4K+ into doing what it needed to freshen it. It breezed through the PPI I had done at Rennsport in NY, and I had it trucked to South Carolina, where I've been enjoying it since, putting another 4,000 trouble free miles on it. Changing the oil to Brad Penn took care of a few oil drips, and other little tweaks I've done DIY based on this great forum (new steering column bushing, etc.)

My first Porsche was bought after I had already been a Ferrari owner for several years....a 1986 328 GTS. Now, Ferrari owners always talk about the "major service," and cluck and fret about belts and tensioners. Doing it yourself can make it more difficult to resell down the line, but a documented service from an independent shop can set you back $5-$7K, depending largely on geography. The general rule of thumb is to do this every 5 years, regardless of mileage. The obsessives do a major every three years, and those who let it stretch to 7 are chastised for driving "ticking time bombs," due to the interference engine design.

Now, I know that 911's major service is considerably less, but using the "search" function still leaves me with three basic questions:

1.) what is generally accepted as the complete list of items for a "major"?
2.) how often is the norm for performing this?
3.) what is the expected independent shop cost?

Many thanks for the info.

Edgy01

A major service on a 911 from those days would include adjusting the valves, replacing the plugs, and fluids (to include brakes, but no pads). Porsche requested a minor service at 15,000 miles, and a major at 30,000 miles. The major was roughly $675. (Minor was $630). The difference between a dealership and an independent becomes more important as the car gets older. Dealerships are far more skilled with fixing the current cars, and less capable on the older as they frankly just don't see them that often. Just look at the hourly rates on the independent and compare it to the dealerships.

aualexa2

Just had a major service done at a local well-respected Indy shop. Here's the list on the receipt: oil and filter, valve adjustement, change spark plugs, replace air filter and fuel filter, transmission fluid service, flush brake lines, lubricate door hinges ad seals, adjust parking brake, check all belts/hoses/pads and rotor/steering gear and fluid/ball joints/drive shafts/exhaust sysem...the list of things "checked" goes on and on. Total with labor was around 1k.

x038F

At 32742 miles my '88 had a major performed last July @ Squire's Autowerke in Bellevue, WA.

• Major (30K) service - Labor $660.00
• Air Filter $25.00
• Oil $18.00
• Fuel filter $42.00
• 6 Spark Plugs $35.00
• Dist cap $68.00
• Rotor $21.00
• V/C Gasket kit $32.00
• Alt V Belt $16.00
• AC V Belt $24.00
• LMA Brake Fluid $40.00
• Bleed/Flush brakes $120.00

Total - $1,101.00

FWIW, Squire is a class act and does great work.

dshepp806

I'd include fresh dist cap and rotor, with those plugs, on a major. Make damned sure the proper oil is being used (see the dreaded oil thread)

FOR SURE, use a noted indie shop who's familiar with these "eras" of cars....will make a world of difference.

Best of luck,.....Doyle

race911

Another thing I was paranoid about in checking on really every 915 box car that came through the shop was the clutch adjustment. Also the axle boots. I'd always pull the bypass plug on the cat and check the mixture, too. Check fuel pressure too. Little things like that may add 1/2 hour to the job, but you generally save time elsewhere, like on the valve adjustment, when you've got repeat customers.

dshepp806

VERY, VERY COOL!!!!!!!!!!! I've often wondered what it would cost you (thru an indy) to hit a customer provided list that would include those types of specifics (dependent, of course, upon the model/year)..YES!

Fuel pressure (all of 'em)
Fuel pump current draw
AFM cleaning of resistive tracks and resistance data.
Electrical waveforms (all kinds)
Battery drain current
Alt load testing
Batt. load testing
Spec measurements of all sensing devices (broad, I know) CHT, O2, etc.
Coil resistance measurements
Alignment checks...just "shoot" it and tell me what I got.
One could go on and on and on,..with this....$$$$$$$$$======TIME.

Good reason to do your own stuff.

Good to read your post!

Best,

Doyle

Marlon Targa 86

Funny this thread came up now. My Pcar is having a major service done. Mechanic quoted me for $800.

race911

Well, let's not get overboard there! (I did forget the battery check, which was important even on newish cars in Phoenix.)

And now that I think about it, I'd usually check refrigerant level in the A/C. But that problem usually was the one that got the car in the shop in the first place. The general service would often come on the follow-up call to let the customer know it was time.

I had the only 4 wheel alignment machine for a Porsche specialist, and the old Hunter machines took a little while to jig up. So that wasn't a freebie.

Ed Hughes

Of course, learning to do even a couple of these tasks yourself may add to your experience.

User 4221

Call it "bonding".

My last major service cost me about $250 in parts. I count my labor as free since my wife does, too.

RSWiser

Indy Shop has been mentioned a couple times. Not sure what an Indy Shop is. Could someone please enlighten me.

Thanks

RSWiser
1980 911 SC

Ed Hughes

Independent service shop. Non-dealer.

rusnak

The more you learn, the better the experience. I don't regard the above as major at all. In fact, I recharged my ac in the 911 this morning before work, and I noticed a worn fan belt. I changed the fan belt during lunch. I have spare ignition parts including the cap, rotor, plugs, etc. and I wouldn't hesitate to spend a lunch hour changing those either.

theiceman

from looking at the list my car gets a major tune up every year ..