Caboose

Hey guys, Caboose here I haven't posted in a while.

I am in the process of getting a little work done on my car because I really dont have too much time to work on it myself being in the military. My question is this: My mechanic has quoted me $3,000 to do the following repairs. I just want an honest opinion if this is way too much or not.

Car in question is a 1987 turbo.
Timebelts/Balance Shaft belts and all rollers / tensioning
all new front end seals
NEW waterpump
Oil-pan gasket.

I know the oil-pan is rough because I changed one on my old N/A i used to have, how much more difficult is the turbo for the oil-pan gasket change?

I am contemplating just getting the belts done but the pan gasket has a good leak in it from what he is telling me (the car is in another state right now). I want to get the work done so I can drive it back 20hrs to my duty station now and I want everything to be tip-top for the ride to avoid any problems.

Whats your opinions rennlist?

Thanks,
-Boose

JohnKoaWood

Not too bad, I have the belts only done at a P car dealer for $1200, I wouldn't think $3000 is too bad for belts, rollers, water pump, front seals, pan seal (major PITA) ... especially if you are planning on a 20Hr cross country drive to get it home afterwords...

Good luck.. I would just ante up and have the shop do the work given the situation... unless you have the time, desire and location to do the work prior to departure...

dillon410021

yeah, the oil pan gasket is a lot of labor. also have him check the bearings while he is at it

robG

I'd say that is spot on if your mechanic charges ~$100/hr. The belt service and oil pan gasket on my '86 951 (both done in the last year) came out to about $2300 cash (parts + labor), but they were done at shops with perhaps less experience with these cars. I just had the oil pan job done two weeks ago at 15hrs (though I think book time is less than that) at $75/hr. The belt job was at an even cheaper place with labor at $65/hr. It is a calculated risk to pay less for labor, and perhaps there is more piece of mind with a more expensive mechanic with more experience.

I feel for you though. When my mechanic called about an oil pan leak and the $$$ it would cost to fix it, I came straight here to search out why it was so expensive. Turns out it is a major PITA.

xupkid2

I wouldnt waste the time checking the bearings. I would just have the rod bearings changed since the pan is off. The cost for new bearings is minimal and worth the investment.

porshhhh951

Absolutely.

GrantM

I just had the belts, wp and rollers, etc., done on my car for $1670 at $85/hr. He wanted another 5 hrs of labor to change the oil pan gasket.

PorscheDoc

Figure about 10 hours for the waterpump/belts/seals job, and about 10-12 for the oil pan (i would also do rod bearings without a doubt while you are in there, it is an extra 8 nuts). On the turbo, the intake and crossover pipe have to come off, which is what adds all the labor.

944obscene

Dude, if he's a specialist then you're not bad off. That's just Porsche labor lol.

Caboose

alright thanks guys, i think ill go through with it.
I cant quit loving these cars

Ken D

Unless they've been done recently, you might as well do motor mounts too, the crossmember will be off.

Chris White

You guys need to move closer to me.....

I look at the prices listed with a little different view point - if you are paying above 'average' rates for a Porsche mechanic then expect them to know what they are doing - in other words get it done faster than the 'book' rate.

Under extreme pressure (at the track) I have changed out a water pump in under 4 hours…only missed one run group. This is defiantly not at a normal work pace….but if you want to pay me $100/hr I will pick up the pace!

Chris White

Oh yeah – another piece of advice (for any 951 owner) – If y9ou have the cross over pipe off for any reason have the two piece mod done – Lindsey does it and I do it for any customer. It will pay for itself in labor savings almost immediately.

robG

Good advice. If I had known how relatively inexpensive the 3-piece crossmember and 2-piece crossover pipe were I would've had them put in when I had the oil pan gasket done. Would probably pay for itself the very next time.

PorscheDoc

That is a good point, but what is your overhead a month? Labor and time rates are usually reflected by the shop's monthly overhead cost.