Kevin Gross/Catellus Engineering tranny rebuilding
02-27-2006, 05:28 PM
#1
Kevin Gross/Catellus Engineering tranny rebuilding
Props to Kevin at Catellus! Here's the story:
I recently went through a long and painful process, where I purchased a supposedly "rebuilt" tranny that had a S2 ring and pinion gear set installed, along with reshimming the LSD, new bearings, etc. The 'lister I bought it told me he had used it at two track events and then decided to go to a 968 six speed tranny instead, the tranny was in great shape, blah blah blah... I paid pretty good money for this tranny close to a year ago and had planned on putting it in my previous '87 951. Back in July, I bought another '87 951, complete with a perfectly functioning LSD tranny (but no external cooler), and finally got around to swapping the trannys a couple of month ago. The good news is it did indeed have a S2 R&P, the bad news was that it was very obviously not working properly, and so a very short while after it was installed, I had to pull it and ship it off to get rebuilt.
[EDIT out of respect for Bill]
I have known of Kevin Gross for almost as long as I have owned a Porsche, and had talked to him about doing some work a while back. I got in touch with him just after I installed the bad tranny and let him know what was going on, and made arrangements to ship it to him. Understand this, Kevin is NOT the cheapest guy. Not even close. But you definitely get what you pay for in this case. Kevin completely went through the entire thing, took all sorts of pictures of what the previous idiot did to the tranny, and then told me what he felt needed to be done to get the tranny back up to standard. After further discussion, I asked him to take it a step further and install the hardened input shaft (ala 951S) and replace a few other parts that were useable but not perfect. He then completed the work and shipped me back the tranny and all the parts he replaced. I put the tranny back in over the weekend (with some help from Ben Wornall and the use of Imagine Auto's tranny jack) and OMFG, what a difference! Its the only 951 I have ever driven that did not have even a hint of gearbox whine. I'm convinced that a new from the factory box wouldn't be this good.
I'm used to dealing with John from Vitesse, so I know all about good service. Kevin was just as fast to respond, gave excellent advice and delivered even more than he promised, and made what was a very bad deal for me into a decent one, since I now have a MUCH better box than I hoped for. Just don't tell my wife what I spent on it. lol
From now on, Kevin gets 100% of my tranny repair business, no questions asked. He can be reached at kgross@connact.com. Again, he won't be cheap, but you won't be doing it twice, either!
Regards,
I recently went through a long and painful process, where I purchased a supposedly "rebuilt" tranny that had a S2 ring and pinion gear set installed, along with reshimming the LSD, new bearings, etc. The 'lister I bought it told me he had used it at two track events and then decided to go to a 968 six speed tranny instead, the tranny was in great shape, blah blah blah... I paid pretty good money for this tranny close to a year ago and had planned on putting it in my previous '87 951. Back in July, I bought another '87 951, complete with a perfectly functioning LSD tranny (but no external cooler), and finally got around to swapping the trannys a couple of month ago. The good news is it did indeed have a S2 R&P, the bad news was that it was very obviously not working properly, and so a very short while after it was installed, I had to pull it and ship it off to get rebuilt.
[EDIT out of respect for Bill]
I have known of Kevin Gross for almost as long as I have owned a Porsche, and had talked to him about doing some work a while back. I got in touch with him just after I installed the bad tranny and let him know what was going on, and made arrangements to ship it to him. Understand this, Kevin is NOT the cheapest guy. Not even close. But you definitely get what you pay for in this case. Kevin completely went through the entire thing, took all sorts of pictures of what the previous idiot did to the tranny, and then told me what he felt needed to be done to get the tranny back up to standard. After further discussion, I asked him to take it a step further and install the hardened input shaft (ala 951S) and replace a few other parts that were useable but not perfect. He then completed the work and shipped me back the tranny and all the parts he replaced. I put the tranny back in over the weekend (with some help from Ben Wornall and the use of Imagine Auto's tranny jack) and OMFG, what a difference! Its the only 951 I have ever driven that did not have even a hint of gearbox whine. I'm convinced that a new from the factory box wouldn't be this good.
I'm used to dealing with John from Vitesse, so I know all about good service. Kevin was just as fast to respond, gave excellent advice and delivered even more than he promised, and made what was a very bad deal for me into a decent one, since I now have a MUCH better box than I hoped for. Just don't tell my wife what I spent on it. lol
From now on, Kevin gets 100% of my tranny repair business, no questions asked. He can be reached at kgross@connact.com. Again, he won't be cheap, but you won't be doing it twice, either!
Regards,
Last edited by User 41221; 02-27-2006 at 11:42 PM.
02-27-2006, 05:55 PM
#2
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Hey Scott, I won't ell your wife, but how much did such a service run you. pm if you would like to keep that somewhat private. This is something I'dlike to have done eventually, and a really good review from you is saying something.
02-27-2006, 06:10 PM
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sh944,
Vetblack, (Bill) was a good friend of mine for 15 years. He died March 30th of last year at the track. He was a week away from his 37th birthday, and collapsed in the paddock from a massive heart attack. Bill was a straight shooter. I do remember him putting an S2 R&P in the tranny. If he knew anything was wrong with the tranny, he would have sold it with full disclosure. He did put a six speed in his car, and then drove it for half a day before he died at the track. I purchased his car from his wife about 6 months ago.
Kevin
Vetblack, (Bill) was a good friend of mine for 15 years. He died March 30th of last year at the track. He was a week away from his 37th birthday, and collapsed in the paddock from a massive heart attack. Bill was a straight shooter. I do remember him putting an S2 R&P in the tranny. If he knew anything was wrong with the tranny, he would have sold it with full disclosure. He did put a six speed in his car, and then drove it for half a day before he died at the track. I purchased his car from his wife about 6 months ago.
Kevin
02-27-2006, 06:12 PM
#4
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Kevin is known as the transmission guru here in the Northeast. You'll also recognize him as the 'originator' of the 944 FAQ.
02-27-2006, 07:57 PM
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Wow, with a recommendation like that, I'm almost tempted to ship a TurboS tranny all the way across the country! (almost...)
02-27-2006, 10:52 PM
#7
Kevin M, please accept my apologies, I had no idea. Out of respect for his passing, I have edited my post.
Kevin Gross actually charges a pretty cheap labor rate per hour, the price is driven by the complexity of doing it properly and the price of the parts. A lot of the parts are no longer readily available from Porsche and the prices have gone up a good bit over the years. Below is Kevins "Standard Blurb" for his services:
"Parts cost for an 944S/2/T 083 gearbox transmission repair, when replacing
the bearings, runs to about $850. This includes bearings (input shaft,
pinion shaft, differential carrier), factory synchros, seals, shims,
circlips, and other small parts. It doesn't include replacing any other
parts that may be damaged or worn, but generally this is not an issue.
Labor is 8 - 10 hours for basic service that includes complete tear-down,
re-seal, syncro replacement, re-shimming, and set-up. If bearings are
replaced, it's an additional 3 hours labor. If you have a limited slip
differential, there is an additional 1 hour labor to rebuild it. If you
have an external oil cooler, there is another hour devoted to tearing down,
cleaning, re-shimming its oil pump (integral with the transmission). My
charge for labor is $80 / hour.
If you decide to have me do the work, you'll want to know that I use the
correct factory parts throughout the gearbox, and do not cut corners for
example by using cheaper aftermarket syncro rings for 1st and 5th gears. I
have hundreds of all the different-sized shims and circlips and do the job
right. I also have a huge inventory of new and good used OE parts.
For your car, the typical final bill will be around $1800 - 1900.
If you decide to use someone local, make sure they have all the sized shims
and circlips. They are a pain to get out of Porsche or VW/Audi, it takes
weeks or in some cases months. Not too many shops will let a job sit that
long and tend to slap things back together with whatever came out - which is
not a good thing.
There are a fair number of special tools required to do the job. Some are
essential, some are nice to have, and some you don't really need. I have
them.
In terms of logistics, you can ship your transmission to me in a crate. UPS
won't be an options because the crated transmission will tip the scales at a
little over their 150 lb. limit. I have had excellent experience with USF
Red Star, but there are other freight companies that give you a little less
reliability at a little less cost."
Kevin Gross actually charges a pretty cheap labor rate per hour, the price is driven by the complexity of doing it properly and the price of the parts. A lot of the parts are no longer readily available from Porsche and the prices have gone up a good bit over the years. Below is Kevins "Standard Blurb" for his services:
"Parts cost for an 944S/2/T 083 gearbox transmission repair, when replacing
the bearings, runs to about $850. This includes bearings (input shaft,
pinion shaft, differential carrier), factory synchros, seals, shims,
circlips, and other small parts. It doesn't include replacing any other
parts that may be damaged or worn, but generally this is not an issue.
Labor is 8 - 10 hours for basic service that includes complete tear-down,
re-seal, syncro replacement, re-shimming, and set-up. If bearings are
replaced, it's an additional 3 hours labor. If you have a limited slip
differential, there is an additional 1 hour labor to rebuild it. If you
have an external oil cooler, there is another hour devoted to tearing down,
cleaning, re-shimming its oil pump (integral with the transmission). My
charge for labor is $80 / hour.
If you decide to have me do the work, you'll want to know that I use the
correct factory parts throughout the gearbox, and do not cut corners for
example by using cheaper aftermarket syncro rings for 1st and 5th gears. I
have hundreds of all the different-sized shims and circlips and do the job
right. I also have a huge inventory of new and good used OE parts.
For your car, the typical final bill will be around $1800 - 1900.
If you decide to use someone local, make sure they have all the sized shims
and circlips. They are a pain to get out of Porsche or VW/Audi, it takes
weeks or in some cases months. Not too many shops will let a job sit that
long and tend to slap things back together with whatever came out - which is
not a good thing.
There are a fair number of special tools required to do the job. Some are
essential, some are nice to have, and some you don't really need. I have
them.
In terms of logistics, you can ship your transmission to me in a crate. UPS
won't be an options because the crated transmission will tip the scales at a
little over their 150 lb. limit. I have had excellent experience with USF
Red Star, but there are other freight companies that give you a little less
reliability at a little less cost."
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02-27-2006, 11:31 PM
#10
He's located near Boston. Drop him a line and tell him I sent you. 
I used freightquote.com and had pretty reasonable costs for shipping the tranny. I can't stress this enough, Kevin is the "Vitesse" of 951 trannys.
Regards,
I used freightquote.com and had pretty reasonable costs for shipping the tranny. I can't stress this enough, Kevin is the "Vitesse" of 951 trannys. Regards,
