OldGuy

I dont think my wally world carries it anymore. Which is weird because here in the desert alot of us used
15-50 in EVERYTHING, my Porsches, my BMWs, my Motocross bikes my lawnmower and my 4 cycle weed wacker. Now I cant find it!!!

mickster

Amazon.com has 6 quarts for $50.

safulop

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I had itemized all the work they did. There was also an air filter and brake fluid flush, brake light bulb, maybe a couple of other little things. The shop is in Fresno, I would generally recommend it but the crowd on RL has a very high standard.

Their judgment is that the bypass on the fuse panel is sufficient for now, that's how it was before. Current draw does not caused melted fuses, it is usually moisture-induced corrosion of the old fuse. So the melted fuse is not a symptom of anything. They did suggest I get a whole new CE panel, which would fix the problem, but SeanR points out I could replace a 5-fuse bank, which I will do the next time. I'm not sure why the shop did not suggest this, probably because of the parts issue (see below).

They complained about parts availability for this car, I paid $55 for air filter and $145 for O2 sensor, but I have not comparison shopped. I wanted to see how this would play out the first time, they were always very good with parts for my 944 and I never saved a dime going to online sites. Things are different with this car, however, they suggested I have parts shipped to them next time because their regular suppliers (e.g. WorldPac) are going out of 928 parts.

As for oil, they always recommended 15W50 for the 944, but the owner explained that this is a much tighter tolerance engine for which the 5W40 high-grade synthetic would be appropriate. If oil use is any indication, he is correct. This car used less than .25 quarts of oil in 2500 miles, where my 944 would have certainly gone through an entire quart.

I know my lack of mechanical aspirations does not get me the highest grade of membership around here, but I have reasons for not wanting to spend time working on my car. I was quoting the price for the benefit of potential (or even recent - oops) buyers who may be unaware of the financial outlay that is entailed by even a simple shop visit. Although I don't want to work on my car much, I don't want to remain ignorant, so I'm hanging around here whether you want me or not

-Sean

dr bob

I see it at Wal-Marts in some places in the country but not others. No luck lately with area Cali stores, but it was prominent on the shelves in Tennessee stores when I visited a couple months ago. Can't bring motor oil as carry-on luggage or even checked luggage I suspect. But it still exists in their system. No way to get it from their on-line stores, but it is availabe via Amazon for a chumk more than the $25/5qt Wally World price.



Sean--

Nice of you to pay the shop-owner's orthodontist bill this month. Thoughts-- The "horn bracket" they fixed usually lives in the RF fender under the headlight. They do break off, and more than a few are 'fixed' with wire ties. Should have a bent steel bracket installed since so many seem to flex and break. Not sure how that relates to the front brakes though. As others have said, the fuse sections of the CE panel are replaceable. The terminals are available from the 944 catalog, or just carry the old ones to a VW dealer parts counter. They used the wrong oil, especially for summers in Frezburg. Watch hot idle oil pressure, and if you see it below 2bar, you'll know it's too thin. Owner's Manual has recommendations, and for most of us in the flatlands of Cali the M1 15w-50 is a good choice for year-round use. 5w-anything will test you on hot days.

dprantl

Sure it does. Peripherals that draw too much current will melt fuses and their holders, I have seen it many times before. A blower fan for the A/C is a pretty common one that does this when the fan gets old. Radiator cooling fans do it too. I have also seen it with fuel pumps in other cars.

Dan
'91 928GT S/C 475hp/460lb.ft

WallyP

Fuses melt because of resistance in the fuse contacts cauing heat. A properly-installed fuse will never melt before it blows.

linderpat

No problem - the only requirement here that I know of is to love sharks! Our skill sets come in all shapes and sizes from none to zen master. I'm at the low end myself

GregBBRD

Well, I think you did fine, for what you paid to have the things you listed repaired.

They didn't figure out you had a fuse problem, from the office. Someone had to figure that out, remove the relay board, and move the wires out so that they could install a "remote" fuse.

To "repair" the burned fused on the stock relay board, they would need to have a used "donor" board (these parts are not sold separately), which not many people have sitting around. The remote fuse was probably the best they could do.

I doubt that you went in and told them that the Oxygen Sensor needed to be replaced. Someone had to look at things and figure that out.

It always seems so easy...when it is written down on a repair order. When you are standing there trying to trace the problem...it's not always so easy.

Bill Ball

5W40 was probably Amsoil. It should work fine. I prefer their 5W50 or Mobil 1 15W50 for hotter climates, but see how it does.

safulop

Good to know, thanks. I did save them some hunting thanks to the stuff I learn around here. I'm the one who traced the intermittent electrical problem to the fuse box and fuse 17 in particular, thanks to Wally's advice here. I also told them I suspected the O2 sensor was hurting the mixture, again thanks to stuff I learned here. They checked it and found I was correct about that, so the labor was less because of less hunting around.

These guys are far from being a 928 specialist shop (we don't have one within 100 miles AFAIK), but they seem capable on it and the owner and one mechanic are old-timers who trained on 928s years ago. They know how the cars should be from factory spec, but they are not aware of the modern upgrades. My Porkensioner flabbergasted them, although they did say the timing belt looked beautiful!

As Speedtoys suggested by bringing out the popcorn, experts often disagree about motor oil. I will see how the pressure holds up when I drive to Canada next month

The horn bracket was discovered after I told them I thought I had something loose in the brakes. I misunderstood what they told me, not realizing the problem in the end was not associated with the brakes. Thanks for clearing that up for me, Bob.

In my experience with the 944, anytime you go in for "spring cleaning" and come out only $1000 lighter, it was a good trip to the shop. Normally on the 944 it always seemed to need some major deal like a clutch job, steering rack, and on and on.

-Sean

Leon Speed

That's pretty decent, a lot of shops don't want to because of their mark up on parts or liability issues. Of course this has a down side as well, but buying from one of our vendors is guarantee for the right parts.

That's cool. Main reason I decided to do everything myself wasn't so much the bills as the fact that I always found something wrong after a shop repair. I concluded that nobody cares as much for my car as I do and that hence I can do the best job. But then my son was born and the car was parked for almost a year. I still have a garage full of parts for several delayed projects

safulop

Yeah I hear you. Two hours in a shop with a mechanic who has never seen your car is no guarantee of perfect result. My fuse panel problems are still not completely fixed, I have still got a loose contact somewhere that was either not found or not corrected. Oh, intermittent electrical connections can get the best of them, can't they?

BC

I know alot of people here want to and enjoy working on their cars.

Some people (I know they exist, because I hear about them in ghost stories) do not. They would rather use their precious life cycles doing other things (what, I don't know, but its something) - and so they go take the pilgrimage to find someone who they can trust.

Not many return from that wasteland of desperation and intrigue, and we read about those exploits here occasionally.

The OP seems to trust the shop. Thats good.

And as Greg has suggested, and I wanted to put a focus on here: Its different when you need to make money, and the way you do it is to work on other people's cars.

With all that work done I would want 1000 or more. I would want to make sure I did it properly, and made sure I did it in a way that it looks good from the outside.

The OP seems to have given them a track to run on on some of the issues.

Landseer

Great post, and the last line is worth a lot.
Certain cars even German-focused shops turn away, and the 928 is one of them.

Randy V

5W40 is far too light a grade for summer in Fresno.

I'm guessing you have yet to read your Owner's Manual.