incessant

Well.. I just got a call from my dealer. I dropped my car off yesterday for the mandatory timing belt re-tensioning. They informed me that I have a crankshaft seal leak, and that they have to take all the belts/water pump off to get it. $450.

Now, I thought this was something they change when they do belts and water pump! Am I wrong? In June they just did that, and the 60K mi servicing. When I asked them, they said they didn't replace it (obviously) but were they suppose to?

To make matters worse, they informed me that I am leaking coolant from my radiator. $850.

This would be all well and good if I hadn't dropped 5K on service 3 months ago.

How bad I wish I could work on cars.. I am sure the Crankshaft seal is pretty cheap.

User 462021

wow, its time you get your own hands dirty

Perry 951

I agree... head down to your local parts store and pick up a Haynes manual. Read the procedure to replace the seal, and if you think you can do it, go for it.

The seal is a couple bucks, and you can get the radiator fixed for a hundo. Take the rest of the money you would spend at the dealer and buy some good tools and start saving money.

As long as you can follow instructions and can use your head, you can work on any car.

Peckster

In my experience, only a good mechanic will recommend replacing parts that aren't required but are likely to fail. It saves you a lot of money in the long term, but many people think they are being ripped off if it's suggested.

Predator

If working on cars is'brain surgery', then why aren't all of us MD's? Man...go for it and save the $$$. Take your time, ask questions, read as much as possible, take 'before' pics, lable everything, don't force anything, use common sense, be safe, and take it slow and meticulous. It'll be alright!

89magic98

Changing the radiator isn't the worst job to start with. I see new replacements on e-bay for around $200, and you should be able to replace it with hand tools. And you'll change the antifreeze at the same time.

Once they take all the belts off to change that seal, won't you have to go back _again_ to do the re-tension? The other question would be, how serious is the leak?

-Kevin

RF951

I know what you mean about working on your own car. I have always wanted to learn to do my own work. And not just on my Porsche. Every time I decide to do it I wind up running into a road block. I wind up towing the beast to a mechanic who just laughs.

The problem is that you need help (at least I do) and not just from these manuals. I've bought the manuals. They are written with the left side of the brain. I must be missing that side. At some point it boils down to the fact that some people can't make sense of some types of learning and logic. Believe me I've tried and I wish it weren't so.

IceShark

Naw, I don't think he will need to retension the belt again. The retension is for a new belt which will stretch a bit when it gets first used. Once that initial stretch is worked out it doesn't move much more.

I agree Perry951 on the radiator. It probably has a cracked plastic end tank. If you can pull the radiator out yourself, you can get that fixed at a radiator shop for around $100. Some radiator shops may even be able to pull the radiator, fix it and put it back in for way less than $850.

89magic98

The dealer doesn't see too many of these cars anymore. I wonder if he would allow you to skip the re-tension step. I agree with you that it's probably unnecessary, though.

Don't you think that a new radiator like this one for $175...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2430411241

...would be better than repairing a 10+ year old one? Especially if you are not the original owner, don't know if the coolant was changed religiously.

I wouldn't throw out the old radiator, just in case the new one was no good.

-Kevin

W88951

It is a given that when belts / rollers / water pump is done that you replace all of the front seals! Since they did not do that and or did not ask you if you wanted it done then I would ask them to do it for the cost of parts. Because I would think that if they just did the service in June then the front seal was probably leaking then and did not start since it was serviced last.

By the way, here is the cost of those parts:

Entire front seal kit: http://www.944racing.com/Search/View...earchType=Main

Just the crank seal: http://www.944racing.com/Search/View...earchType=Main

As far as the radiator is concerned. Have you hit something with the car or overheated it? Have you noticed coolant on your floor or your car running hot? Do you still have your engine covers on the bottom of the car? All things that may cause a leak in the actual radiator. Otherwise, it may just be a hose or sensor in the radiator that they say is the radiator. A novice should be able the change the radiator on these cars in about 3-4 hours. A good mechanic that has done at least one of these before should take no more than 1-2hours. The radiator should not cost more than $250 for a genunie OE raplacement radiator. But, Porsche will charge you $525 for the same radiator.

Anyway, good luck with your woes.

TaboII

I may be able to help you out with the radiator leak If you want to try and drive it down to Ma. As for the front main seal your correct in thinking that it is inexpencive but getting to it is a PITA. Yes all belts have to be removed. It should have been done when the belts where done if there was any question that it needed to be done at all. Sorry.

TaboII

Jonathan Martini

I can totally respect the fact not everybody is comfortable working on their car.

Assuming you won't be doing the work yourself, have you considered not going to the dealer? There has got to be a professional shop somewhere around there that would be cheaper.

The thing about dealers that you have to keep in mind is that the labor is more expensive and they almost never use aftermarket parts. I can understand that they are supposed to be better trained, and may well be. But is it worth it to pay extra for someone who is up to date on the Cayenne when there are some really good independent 944 wrenches out there?

As far parts go, you pay a lot of markup for authentic porsche parts from the dealer. The same exact part might cost much less elsewhere, and may in fact be from the same factory as the authentic part. Some people bring their own parts, but often the dealer won't touch them or won't warranty the job if outside parts are used. Kind of defeats the confidence in workmanship you are paying a premium for at the dealer.

It can be hard to find a wrench you trust, but the cost savings over the dealer is bound to be worth the search.

That said, I know that to some buyers having all the service documented and done at the dealer can be a big selling point if you decide to sell. I'm not one of those people, and from an economics perspective I don't think the selling difference could ever make up for years of markup at the dealer. But, if the car has been to the same dealer for all these years it might be a reason to keep going there.

Good luck,
Jonathan

IceShark

Kevin, yes, if you can get a new one for $175 that would be the way to go rather than having the old one rehabed. No acid baths to remove deposits/corrosion, brand new clean fins, etc.

The only question would be how old is this new one? The plastic end tanks are the weak link and plastic deteriorates with age.

Red1

A good mechanic would have done that, or at least made you understand the idea of it, back when they did the waterpump/belt job in June. Time to find another mechanic. This dealer is fleecing you.

incessant

Thank you all very much for your input.. took a while to clear the dark repair cloud from over my head today.. (The dealer woke me up with the info). I didn't get any service documentation when I purschased the car.. I had it inspected by a certified Porsche mechanic, but as far as I know, just one of the control arms was replaced.. otherwise just belts and hoses. Therefore, I have to assume it is the orinigal Radiator.

I get upset everytime I think of the dealer not replacing this earlier.. since I was sparing no expense at the time and they knew it.. I assume it must not have been leaking.

They said "It isn't gushing., but it is leaking". I was down 1 qt of oil after 3 months and 2K mi. The radiator leak I see everytime I park for a few hours. They say it is small and I have to watch it. They said when warm it expands and dosen't leak? And when cool, it will. It is always a rather small, consistant amount.
I have thought about different alternate specialist shops... but usually weigh savings vs. potential mess-ups and lack of warranty. I would love to have everything done at the dealer, but this is a ridiculous price for such a cheap part.


I don't know how if this seal is an immediate concern? How dangerous? The coolant leak seems controllable.

Thanks TaboII.. thats a good option. Where in Mass are you?

I guess if the Seal is not a huge problem, I may be able to put it off until I pull it out of storage next year? I will probably only put a max 3K more miles on it this year, if I am lucky.

What do you think?