LaughaC

It's time for me to shop around for the right mechanic to do my TB. Does anybody know how many shop hours this requires?

Should I order the kit from 928 Specialists, elsewhere, or have the shop take care of this? Their kit is $615 with tools and waterpump, (actually $815 minus the $200 waterpump core charge).

Once I have a clear idea of the labor hours, I want to compare that with the cost of the tools I would need to purchase to do the job myself before I decide whether or not to tackle this on my own time. However, for a few dollars more, it may be worth having an expert handle the tensioner adjustment tool, etc.

I'm an hour West of DC, and was given a few shops to call, but will appreciate any other suggestions.

Here's who I have so far:
AMG
Curry's
IMA (Int'l MotorSports)
Ultimate Automotive Group (Winchester, VA - near here)
Classic Transit (Stephens City, VA - near here)

928drvr86.5

I would plan on 6-8 hours for a first time. You will need a flywheel lock, 3/4" drive breaker bar w/3" extension and 27mm socket for the crank bolt, basic metric combination wrenches/ metric sockets, and a good torque wrench.

hinchcliffe

Tension Tool (Kempf or Porsche)
Flywheel lock, Unless it an auto

chaadster

Book time on the job was quoted to me as 10 hours by the shop that did mine.

928drvr86.5

I break the job into a two day session myself. The first day I Tear it down I.E. Cam covers, radiator hoses, accessories and belts, tensioner, tensioner arm, rollers, harmonic balancer, and waterpump. Next i clean the H20 pump mating surface on the block and then mount the new/rebuilt pump and call it a day. On the second day i clean and replace things as needed while putting it back together. I like doing it in two slow methodical days rather than one.

perrys4

We started mine at 8:00 a.m. and finsihed at 12:30 the next morning. All it takes a re couple of broken bolts to set you back hours....

928drvr86.5

Oh yeah, as Hinchcliffe mentions the Kempf or Porsche belt tensioning tool is crucial, if you are paying a shop to do it tell them you have never seen the tool and "would like to see what it looks like."

AO

He means manual. With a 5-speed you can put it in 5th gear and set teh parking break. That usually gives you enough mechanical leverage to break the crank bolt free. If it's an auto, sorry, but you need the lock.

Bill Ball

Ben is fast. If you don't have to do the cam gears, oil pump seal or front main seal, and no other obstacles pop up, 6 hours is feasible, but the shop will quote 10 or so.

LaughaC

That's a good point. Since the car has 116k miles on it, and no record of a TB change, it might be smart to let the pros take care of all those extra seals, etc.

Otherwise I might have bad luck and end up having to pay them to fix my mess anyway.

I am afraid of the local guy who quoted $900 for a tensioner, though. This smacks of inexperience since the bigger shop said they have always been able to rebuild them.

Shark Attack

yes, thats about right, last time i had mine done it cost me about 350.00 in labor

blown 87

Most shops will not let you supply your own parts, it is like trying to bring your own egg to waffle House and wanting a break on them cooking them.
If they do use your parts, my guesss is you are getting no guaranty on the work, shops make money on parts.

piccardo

In addition to all the tools mentioned above I would make sure to have a good set of Allen sockets on hand & a (tap and die) set. I think the timing belt kit comes with new water pump bolts and a small Allen head bolt that secures the timing belt tensioner system to the water pump these will inevitably break or refuse to come out so make sure they are included even if you have your mechanic do the job for you. A 4' cheater pipe is good idea so that you wont have to break a sweat taking the harmonic balancer bolt off. You can get a 4' length about 2"od from Lowes or Home Depot $5. And don’t forget good fender covers. “Anti-seize” and “lock-tight”, as well as a good liquid gasket. I like the copper based high temp stuff. I believe the tensioner requires 50 weight oil but you better check the book on that one and you will need about 3' of clear plastic tubing maybe 1/8 id to refill the tensioner. This vehicle holds lots and lots of oil and coolant too, so you will need something to hold all that liquid. And I wouldn't do all that work without changing the front main crank seal and cleaning the engine up a bit while I was in there so some engine degreaser and brake cleaner (to remove the greasy residue) is a good idea too. There is more but this is a good start. On a more personal note. Doing this job is a pain in the ***. You will suffer set backs and all will not go as planned, no matter how well you prepare, however when it is all said and done you will feel more confident and enjoy your vehicle that much more. Either way , Good Luck.

zoltan944

****, for $350 labor considering it was done right. Thats the way to go!

LaughaC

I only WISH they were quoting $350 labor. Around here they charge $85-105 per hour, which is putting this job between $1100-2300 in labor, plus parts.