How long should it take a shop to replace an oil pan gasket on a 1986 951? (What should the billable hours be?)

 

Many people sat 12+ hours, but my specialist says that i should take 6-8 hours, though the engine has to be raised, along with removing the cross member, steering rack has to come somewhat out a bit etc.....

 

It took me 9 months...

I guess it just depends on how fast you want to work and what else you decide to do while you are at it.

 

Holy cow Matthew! If anyone's counting, that's roughly 6480 hours, and at a conservative $60/H, the total comes to $388,800. That's 959 territory!

I have to tackle the oil pan gasket too, but I'm holding off until the winter, so down time will not be as critical. With as many things that you have to remove to get to the gasket, it becomes very tempting to refresh and clean everything along the way. This is where the extra hours add up.

 

A good idea when changing oil pan gasket is to install the brackets that My Swiss sells.

Stops the gasket from bulging out.

 

I considered this, but I recall that someone had the gasket blow even with the brackets. YMMV.

 

If the gasket blows with our oil pan gasket retainers, you have a bigger issue then a simple head gasket??? If you have ever seen our retainers, you will quickly understand why it's impossible to blow a gasket on the sides. Only on the front and rear , could you have the gasket bulging out, because our retainers don't and can't cover that area. Butr the front and rear usualy is not a problem area, since the block girdle has a ridge built into it to retain the gasket.

 

This could have been the case Myswiss. I think he/she had some severe blowby issues.

 

might as well change rod bearings too if the pan is going to be off?

 

And make sure you have up to date baffles in your pan. Also, check your motor mounts and replace if need be.

Max

 

What do you mean?

 

1) The internal oil baffles were updated in the later years, 1987 and I beleive at least one more time in 88. Go to the Porsche parts dealer and ask for an oil pan baffle and you'll see about 3 updated versions on the screen. Since you have an 89, you should have the updated one already.

2) If you're going to all that trouble you really should replace the rod bearings. They're super cheap and shouldn't cost you more than an extra hour of labor.

3)I'll agree with the MySwiss brackets also. They're a great addition to prevent future leaks on turbo's.

 

And make sure you buy the genuine PORSCHE oil-pan gasket at the dealer! There's a difference in construction between that one and the aftermarket ones you get.

 

If you buy the factory item, which I did, does it need to be glued to the pan and block? I installed an aftermarket gasket, dry, and it leaks like a sieve!

 

I just installed my Porsche gasket with Yamabond 4 several spots around the pan to hold the gasket in place, Yamabond on 4 corners of the block then installed with the Myswiss brackets and no leaks so far (180 miles)