I am in need of some service for my 951 but I don't really have the room, tools or experience to do it myself. However, I wouldn't mind learning.

I have a fairly nasty oil leak that if I sport drive it up in the hills or park it on a hill it will smoke when oil drips on the exhaust (i'm thinking). It also smokes in the morning for about 10 seconds while the oil burns off. I already bought the oil pan gasket retainers from MySwiss so I expect that is part of the problem at the very least.

My second major issue is that my car makes scraping (almost grinding) noise but ONLY when I take slower right hand turns. However, I was in the hills and taking a sharp right turn and it "felt" like all power steering was lost for about 1 second and then it was all normal. I hear/heard the familiar "wub, wub, wub" noise which led me to thinking the problem was rear wheel bearings but it only makes the scraping noise on right hand turns - never on left hand turns. Go figure.

So anyway, I'm looking for any recommended shops in the San Jose area if you guys can help point me in the right direction.

Also, what do you guys think of the problems I described???? I'd just like to have an "idea" of what my costs might build up to.

As always, thanks for the help and the tips.

Aleks

 

I dont know if they are in your area but stay WAY away from T&D performance. I dont know how these guys got such a good rep, you should see some of the work they did on this car. Absolute garbage.
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There's CT Automotive in Campbell which i've heard good things about. They are expensive though. He used to be partners with T&D which is also in Campbell. Moddermann in Mountain View is good, but expensive as well. I also didn't get a good vibe from the owner when I dealt with him a couple of years ago but I admit he knows his stuff. Steve at Rennwerks (also in Mtn. View) is very knowledgeable about our cars and is super nice. They may be a bit out of your way though.

I usually take my car to Precision Motorworks in Santa Clara near the corner of Steven's Creek Blvd. and Saratoga. He knows these cars well and his prices are very competitive. There is always a 911, 944 or 928 in his shop. He might not be as reliable as Rennwerks or CT Automotive though because he doesn't work exclusively on Porsches and last time I was in he said he didn't use the Porsche tensioning tool for the belts. Apparently after working on them for 20+ years you can tension them by hand. Regardless he's definitely recommended.

Good luck.

 

FWIW - I know a Porsche tech here and he doesnt use the 9201 either, tension by hand.
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Matt,

Yes, i've heard that this is common. I would imagine that if you've had enough experience with it you could do it by hand. I just get a bit scared when I pay to have my belts changed and find out that the 9201 isn't even on site. Come to think of it though he did the belt on my N/A and that belt had 30k on it when I sold it without an issue.

Aleks,

Let me know if you need additional information.

-Ben

 

CT Automotive did my PPI, and they did a good job.
I would recommend against High Performance House.
Mountain View Alignment is great for alignments and suspension work, but very expensive.

 

Thanks guys...I have a friend (ex-wife actually) who lives very near Campbell and she'll give me a ride if I take my car there I'm sure. So I'll give a shout to CT Automotive.

Precisions Motorworks is pretty close too.

Hey Ben - which shop do you think would have a quicker turn-around time? Also, is CT Automotive THAT much more expensive to make it worth it going there????

Thanks.

 

I would recommend Rennwerks, bit pricey but their work is second to none.

 

I had Heyer Performance in Mountain View do my clutch 6 months ago, Tony Heyer is a nice guy and is extremely knowledgable when it comes to 944s, he works on mostly on Porsches, in matter of fact, his daily driver is a 944, same with his helper Tyson. I saw them work on my car, and I've never seen someone work so quickly on a car, they know these car very well. He did my clutch for cheaper than CT Automotive or Rennwerks quoted me. Give him a try.

 

Thanks for the leads. I made an appt yesterday afternoon to drop my car off at CT Automotive since it is the most convenient for me to catch a ride. If their estimate proves too high for me to swallow, then I'll be off to Rennwerks and I'll rent a car or something to get me home.

 

Aleks,

I think you made the right choice. If the quote you get from CT is too much then give Precision Motorworks a call. The turnaround will probably be about the same. When I was shopping for new motor mounts Precision was about 1/2 the cost of the others. Moddermann in particular wanted $600. The only thing is that my new mounts with less than 3k on them are on their way out. I got the aftermarket parts.

Good luck

 

I'm late on this thread...but I always go to CT. He is expensive but its always done right and that's more important to me than going back multiple times.

 

good point Mike. I HATE going back to get a problem re-fixed.

 

Both and friend (968 owner) and I have had work done at http://www.modderman.com recently. We're both happy with the results and there's always a bunch of 944s at this place (he seems to know them well).

Karl.

 

Here's some info...

Carrera Motors, Adam @ 650.342.9955, 408 1st Ave. San Mateo CA 94401
D&M Motors, 109 Channing Ave., Palo Alto @ 650.329.9016
Modderman Service Inc. @ 650.967.3213, Mountain View
European Auto Works @ 650.967.3213, Ralph Foglein (aren't open on Fridays), Mountain View
RennWerks, 650.965.1574, Mountain View
Heyer Performance, Tony Heyer @ 650.962.0930, Mountain View
Custom Alignment, 650.961.5311; Mountain View, for alignments, competition and otherwise
Precision Motorworks, 2545 Keystone Avenue, Santa Clara, CA 408.985.2316 (not Porsche exclusive, very competitive prices with good service)
German Precision, Sunnyvale @ 408.747.0728, for machine work
RMG, Bob Grigsby @ 408.738.2060, Sunnyvale
T&D Performance, Tom Amon @ 1661 S. Bascom Avenue, Campbell, CA 408.369.1911
CT Automotive, 408.377.3885, Campbell
Ken's Sportech in Campbell
Jerry Woods Enterprises, 408.369.9607, 491 McGlincey Ln., Campbell 95008

Body work:
Del's (Auto Body?, 408.295.7446) in San Jose
Yeaman Auto Body, 2025 E Bayshore Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94303, 650.328.8169
BodyStyle, 524 E Brokaw Rd., San Jose, CA 95112, 408.436.1616 (separate link)