Can anyone recommend a independent Porsche shop that can rebuild a 87 944 NA transaxle in Wisconsin. The synchros are bad. The closest shop recommended by the PCA won’t do it. The shop they recommended won’t do it. The transaxle is out of the car and on a stand just waiting for a rebuild.

 

The only one I know that rebuilds these transaxles is Kevin Gross (Catellus Engineering) in Massachusetts. He rebuilt one of mine a few years back and it's still going...

 

A few years ago I pulled my transaxle, put it on a pallet, and truck freighted it to Kevin for a few hundred dollars. He did an exemplary job and had it back to me all ready to install (less fluids).
I suspect that local shops probably can count on one hand how many transaxles they rebuild in a year and thus don't want the liability if they screw something up. Kevin also seems to have a lot of good sources for parts. For instance, we put a "short 5th" gear into mine and he had a new old stock case that I purchased, due to a bearing shell cutout that was worn too large on my original case. You can't go wrong with Kevin.

 

+1 for Catellus Engineering.

 

Simple shop economics.
Unless they do them regularly, it won't be profitable for the shop from a time perspective.
Could I do it? Sure, no problem.
But the extra (unpaid...) time I'd need Vs. someone proficient would be better spent on a job with a higher return.

 

Unless it's a gearbox with LSD and you want to keep the original transmission , reach out to Dimi on these forums , he usually has a bunch of good used transmissions on hand, it'll save you hundreds of dollars as compared to a rebuild ...

Cheers
Phil

 

Call KellyMoss in Madison and see if they rebuild them or who they farm them out to.

 

Kevin rebuilt an S2 transmission I put in my 924S and it's been working fine. I got another S2 trans from Dimi and had it rebuilt through a company he works with (Flying Horse Motorsports or something...). I have not installed that one yet. It's for an '84 944 which has been languishing...

 

Joe's Garage in Glendale. Excellent work. Be prepared for the price of some of the replacement parts.

 

Prices are shocking, but bigger issue may be availability of parts. I've been buying up factory and NOS service parts to keep the shelves stocked. Good luck finding some of them!

 

At what point is it worth contracting with an independent shop to make duplicates?

 

Depends on the part. But if it's for example a gear, ring-and-pinion set, or bearing, not practical.

 

Dimi is a good option (Built one for me that I just recently sold). Charlie Murphy at Intersport is another excellent option.

https://www.intersportperformance.com/