bgrabner

Hello all...

Just bought my dream car - Guards Red '87 928 S4 - only 64K miles on it as well . I plan to have this car a long time, so I want to do things right. After spending a lot of time on Rennlist (and wisely becoming a member) it seems like I am at risk since the timing belt is the original one. Called my local dealership in Sacramento, and they said around $2K for timing belt and water pump replacement. Is that reasonable? I like the idea of using the dealership for something this major, but I don't want to pay more than is reasonable. I wouldn't mind giving it a whirl myself, I just don't have the time right now and I am a little paranoid about driving it too much without doing the T-belt. Anyone have any thoughts as to whether that cost is reasonable or not?

Thanks in advance - I look forward to spending a lot of time here!

Bill
1987 928 S4, Guards Red

Gretch

Well for starters, I wouldn't drive the car another foot until you replace the belt. You can do it yourself for prolly $400 in parts, providing you use a rebuilt water pump and you don't need rollers. this includes rebuilding the tensioner, replacing the belt and water pump. If you break the belt it will cost you ten times that..................

Red UFO

Bill,

I was quoted at one shop in Phx area of $800 for the job including the cost for water pump.

Another place wanted $1,000.

Now at $70 per hour they claimed about 7-8 hours of labor. What about bunch of BS. I could do the job in 8 hours, take video and digital pics and drink a few beers at the sametime and I'm a rookie while reading the manuals. No excuse for a professionel mechanic to charge those rates and take longer than a rookie to do the job.

Because of me getting PO after that I decided to do it myself and help educate other shark owners on any knowledge I learn that I can pass along. I'd like to see my fellow brothers save some $$$ and not put the money into the pocket of idiot mechanics ripping you off.

Welcome to the club.

Big Dave

You should consider doing it yourself. There are fantastic step-by-step procedures complete with pictures available if you decide to do so. You'll spend about 10 hours doing it the first time (assuming no complications from things like seized bolts), but you'll learn a lot about your car while you're doing it.

Investing the time to learn it yourself will save you about $1,500 each time...money you can spend on other things.

Joel928s4

Here in Denver a local mechanic told the PO of my car that it would run around $700. Once the work was done (rebuilt roller, new water pump) the total for parts and labor was $1280! I'm glad he paid it since I bought it 300 miles later but OUCH!

Garth S

For DIY, water pump ~$125, TB ~$45, tensioner R&R parts ~$30, tensioner roller ~$55, idler roller ~$75, guide rollers 2@ $20 (or for ~$20, press in new bearings in these three), plus install a fresh thermostat with O-ring and REAR SEAL! ,~$40.
Sum is max. $400 in parts. Coolant & oil you'll do anyway.
If you have the tools, space, and ambition, you can do this! With $1600 still in your pocket, you will be better informed & confident as to understanding and servicing YOUR car. When stuck, ask the right question(s): the brief time I've been 'on-line', know there's a ton of good advice/experience here.
-or, for $1600, you may get a flood of offers ?
Don't know your area; however, I suspect ~$2K is normal for an authorized dealer or reputable Porsche shop.

Chucker

I paid $1300.00 for the job and that was with all of the parts and the mechanic rebuilt the tensioner. I'm glad that he did it cause, he noted that the bolts on the water pump would have been broken by most other people. He has more patience than I.

Red UFO

For those of you that have done your TB.

How long did it take you the 1st time ?
How long did it take you the 2nd time? (if you done it twice).

Including the water pump.

MikeN

$2000 seems a bit much.......and unless you are really fond of the dealership, there are usually much better places to get the job done.

Most dealers are not in the business to service 928's anymore and they would rather see new 911's and Boxsters. Hence most of the good 928 talent has left dealerships and found their way to good independant shops.......you might want to check out a few in your area.

Ed Taylor

Bill, You don't say where you are located, but I would agree with the sentiment that if you are not going to DIY then an independent shop would be the best bet. You can check here to see if a good mechanic is located in your area.
http://www.eatel.net/~dslabat/mech.htm

Susan K Thomas

If the timing belt has never been replaced on this car, PARK IT NOW. We just had a beautiful, impeccably maintained '87 928 S4 with 50K original miles in here. The owner, who is selling the car, decided to go ahead and do the job prior to selling just so he would not have any problems and could sell the car knowing that the job had been done. We found a belt with quite a few teeth missing, even more 1/2 missing, and the ones that were left there about to go. The back side of the belt was cracked completely through lengthwise in one spot about 4" long, and had cracks about every 1/2 inch going the other direction. I will try to upload some pictures of the belt - we saved it for "educational purposes".

Also, if interested, I believe the car is still available. It is a red/black 5 speed, cosmetically very good-to-excellent condition. I have some pictures available of the car also.

Good luck Bill and congratulations!

Susan Thomas
DEVEK

Bill Ball

Figure 10-12 hours labor. As much as $700 in parts if they really do a thorough job - tensioner rebuild kit, all seals, bearings, rollers, maybe cam gears, all coolant hoses, all accessory belts. If they just replace the T-belt and WP, this is too high and I wouldn't let them touch it anyway. Dealers rarely work on 928s as they were not big sellers and have been out of production for 8 years. It would be good to talk with the mechanic who would be doing this to see what experience they have with these cars. If they get snooty about you questioning their expertise, find a known good 928 shop. At least they seem to know to change the WP, which is SOP with the 928.

Shmurzik

Bill,

Using the occasion, I would like to express my gratitude to you for the talk on Friday. Same subject too! Once again – thank you for your time and patience

Bill Ball

Hard to figure the actual shop time the first time. I broke a WP bolt then broke a tap in drilled out hole. Spent a few days trying to get a consensus on the best way to get the tap out. When I got down to it, it was only an hour with a Dremel diamond-tipped bit. Total was maybe 20 hours due to other mishaps along the way, but the job ended up OK as the car has been 20K miles since at speeds up to 158. If you are thorough, replacing all seals (oil pump, main) and rollers and rebuilding the tensioner, maybe slapping on new cam gears and all coolant hoses and belts, barring mishaps this is a 10 hour job. First time expect double if you do not have an experienced guide helping you.

bgrabner

Thanks everyone for all the great replies!

I am really torn about the DIY vs. having it done...certainly want to save the money, and more importantly want to really better understand the engine, but I am most likely moving across the country in the next several months and will be traveling extensively until then. I definitely don't want to move it that far without the timing belt done, but I suppose I could trailer it and then do it at my leisure...this is not a daily driver at all. With something as important as the timing belt, I just don't want to screw it up. The belt seems to be in good condition...the PPI I had didn't have any warnings about the belt per se, just that it should be replaced soon as per Porsche recommendations.

To your question Ed - I am located in Roseville, CA, just outside of Sacramento. Niello Porsche is the local dealer, and there are a couple of shops that do Porsche work, but as a new owner and new to the Porsche scene, I don't know anyone yet who could give recommendations as to where to go in the Delta or even the Bay Area. Any Norcal 928'ers out there? I just joined PCA as well, but it takes a few weeks to get processed I guess, so I haven't signed up at Norcal928 yet.

Again, thanks to all of you...I hope to be able to provide the same guidance to new owners in the future as well