3000teeth

Ok, I'm in it to win it now! Just got the car smogged and committed to a bunch of repairs from Bauer in Oakland, who are awesome, btw. And, when I was there yesterday, they had 4 928s in the garage including mine.

Here's the list:

New oil-pan gasket.
New motor mounts/brackets.
New shift linkage ball-cup.
New muffler, hangers, etc.

It all comes out to more than I paid for the car when I bought it. I'm a certified nut job now, and I can't wait until it comes out of the shop next week!

Lizard928

Instead of having them install a new ball cup bushing return the new one and get a Stage III shifter from Roger.

It eliminates the ball cup bushing problem entirely!

3000teeth

I forgot to mention that they are happy to do the work with my own parts, they combined hours for the various jobs, and threw in the muffler labor for free!

3000teeth

Stage III shifter? What's the cost, and how big of a labor job is it? I have the ball-cup already, unfortunately. It cost me like $70 two years ago from a shop in Mountain View, who ended-up not doing the work.

blown 87

They are going to make what they need to make, you are not getting anything free, trust me on this.

Lizard928

Contact Roger on the shifter.

Mike LaBranche

It will be a real beast when you get it back... so be sure to drive the **** out of it upon return.

mickster

Chris and (Matt?) are really nice guys.

Imo000

How many hrs and what did they charge you for all this?

3000teeth

All parts and labor came out to around $2200 (which is precisely the amount I paid for the car 3 years ago), but Chris thought I had my own muffler and that he would just install it. I know the price on a new muffler, but he mentioned an after-market made in Europe that still gives me the same tail-pipe appearance as the OEM one, so he's going to give me that quote tomorrow. We talked about price parts and they are so close to what's being sold by folks on here, that I'm not going to split hairs (e.g. motor mounts = $127). Exact hours I couldn't tell you, because we were on the phone when I committed and the conversation went something like, "Oil pan gasket is this many hours, but since you're doing the mounts at the same time, you'll save this many hours on that, and this many ours on dropping the drive train", etc. I don't have a written estimate yet, but can update this thread when I do. The last quote I had for this work from a shop in Mountain View, without any talk about the muffler was around $2700, so all-in-all, I think it's worth it.

mark kibort

anyone that wants to make that ball cup socket work, needs to take the new replacement part to a welder and have them hit where the shaft meets the cup. after that, its pretty bullet proof. However, after many years the plastic does wear and get soft, and thats where Rogers cool parts come in to play!
(or carls)

James Bailey

Ah..." and this many ours on dropping the drive train", etc. I don't ..... " The dropping the drive line part seems to indicate that they intend to do the shifter socket by the book.....when in fact it can easily be done with the torque tube in place. I have done a couple in the driveway on my back and yes you remove the exhaust for better access but that is just six bolts and a couple hangers..

cali4sun

Welcome to true 928 ownership $$$, but in the end definately worth it!

'89 S4 GP White/Black
'76 912E Silver/Black

wpriller

I understand that Mr Al Bauer nolonger owns the shop, but when I lived in the East Bay many years ago, they were one of the best Porsche shops in the Bay Area. Mr Bauer was always strait forward and took good care of his customers. If the new ownership is anything like Mr Bauer, you are in good hands.

3000teeth

I was over there again this morning and spent about 20 minutes talking about my car with the mechanics. I started it up and it now runs like a top! It was great to be in a shop where the techs are as excited about my car as I am. One guy told me that I own a work of art, despite the interior being gutted and it needing body work and paint (up next).

Every other Porsche shop I've been to (2), they either won't work on my car, or do so ruefully.