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Looking for any BTDT, front driveshaft(torque tube) seal is weeping. I have a shop looking to address that repair. I am being told that the engine/transmission need to be dropped, to address removal of the torque tube. This doesn’t make sense to me, as well as being massively labor intensive.
Car had a complete engine out service, clutch, and all the while your in there bits…by the same shop in late 2018, just 12k miles ago. So no real additional benefit from the engine/tranny drop at this point.
How this was explained to me by the service manager at the shop, only caused addiction confusion.
So…does the engine and transmission indeed need to be dropped on a 97 C4S to allow the repair of that leaking front seal?
Yellow pointer to that which is weeping, attached…
Having dropped engine/trans on C4 recently, i think it would be easier to drop front diff & tube than engine.
Unless access to that seal is too restricted to prevent it being changed while trans is in place.
Having dropped engine/trans on C4 recently, i think it would be easier to drop front diff & tube than engine.
Unless access to that seal is too restricted to prevent it being changed while trans is in place.
that is both mine..and a friends thinking. The shop where the car is, was once absolutely beyond second guessing…now the gentleman who first enthusiastically recommended them, won’t go there for anything.
Confidence, and communication…when those are lacking, doubt creeps in.
i removed the big black tube and front diff without messing with the engine or transmission position when i converted to RWD
i did use a big pry bar at one point tho.
and
i may have removed or loosened trans mount, but don't remember
find out what type of seal needs to be replaced.
o-ring, just lower torque tube out of the way. which is still a bunch of work.
but it might be more like a rear main seal which would be difficult to replace while in the car.
from the shop's point of view dropping an engine is easy.
just expensive from the customer point of view.
find out what type of seal needs to be replaced.
o-ring, just lower torque tube out of the way. which is still a bunch of work.
but it might be more like a rear main seal which would be difficult to replace while in the car.
from the shop's point of view dropping an engine is easy.
just expensive from the customer point of view.
RMS is also leaking according to the shop. The same shop replaced that RMS with the engine out service…clutch, and all the while your in there bits, in 2018, just 12k miles ago. They stated that they would “warranty” that $35 seal, awaiting an answer to how much of the labor they will warranty also.
End of business day today…is three days past asking for an estimate.
Simply losing faith in them by the day, unfortunately.
the seal, 999 113 386 40, does look like a rear main seal.
might as well have the engine dropped to replace both.
seems like a fair deal is split the labor since they screwed up installing the previous rms.
but the shop might see this as a time factor, like warranty work only lasts 12 months.
****ty situation.
I personally wouldn't bother addressing a weeping diff seal given the labor involved. If it's dripping, sure. But you're gonna pay thousands to make sure a part that you can't see is dry rather than slightly damp? Not how I would spend my money...
I personally wouldn't bother addressing a weeping diff seal given the labor involved. If it's dripping, sure. But you're gonna pay thousands to make sure a part that you can't see is dry rather than slightly damp? Not how I would spend my money...
it’ weeping enough to spot the floor, and somewhat coat the underside of the tranny…follow up email to the shop this morning. If nothing by Monday morning, literally two weeks past the drop off date…I’ll probably end the discussion, and the service there. Took months to schedule a service there, now it’s the busy season at all the good shops…perfect!
Sucks to hear! Yeah met up with some PCA friends just recently and biggest complaints is trying to find a good Indy shop as the old timers are dying off. This goes for Porsche, Ferrari Lambo, Lotus etc…. Good shops are becoming fewer and fewer..l and yeah the few good ones are slammed with work! Weeks if not Months out to get the car in for service. This will only get worse over time.
Update…Trying to extricate the car from the shop. Nothing besides a jaw dropping, we don’t really want your F’n business estimate to date. My how far this once heralded shop has apparently fallen.
Went back and forth with the service writer…first told the RMS was leaking. They replaced that in 2018, 12k miles ago. Then told no…it was the crankshaft seal. That was also replaced in 2018, and was bone dry in late fall of 2021 when the Clewett system was installed.
I have one of their loaners, but was asked to overnight the dealer plate back to them. Now awaiting the return of a dealer plate, to drive the almost 4 hours back.
I expect a bill to argue over, quite honestly. Likely be another lesson learned.
Fair warning will be shared about the shop, if that bill is too unreasonable.
Update….shop is playing games with sending me a dealer plate back, so I can return their loaner. The plate was overnighted back to the shop, at their request the same day the 993 was dropped off. So…I’m almost 4 hours away, they have my 993, and I have their POS plate less Jetta loaner. I’ve been requesting that plate since Monday.
I awoke today at 2am worried about the car, been enough alarm bells about all aspects of this attempted “service”…that I should have taken caution with.
I just want the car back, with all its underbody pieces and hardware intact. I should only owe them a few hours for the estimate prep.
That service quote from Friday April 14th described any work status as “not started”….today the service writer tells me that without his knowledge the existing suspension was started to be taken apart the first week there(4/03-07), when they realized that the OEM rubber top mounts somehow wouldn’t work with my Bilstein B6XT’s. The service writer didn’t understand what the mechanic meant, and only just learned about this today.
This has been the service writers MO, trying to half explain to me what service my car needed, while simultaneously stating that he didn’t understand what the mechanic was telling him. Yes…read that again. Good times
So the car now needs an alignment before I can pick it up. I am told that a dealer plate is going out “overnight “ today, and I should have it by morning. I was told that the car will be ready for pick up tomorrow.
Just one crazy thing after another….the bulk of the mechanics leave today, for the weekend track events somewhere.
I am imagining the worst for tomorrow naturally…if the plate even comes.
The 13 yo 65k mile H&R suspension was beyond its life, but the car still handled and drove well…I can’t wait to see what kinda driver I get back.
Two and a half weeks worth of emails, phone calls and notes….utterly astonishing that anyone brings their Porsche, Audi, or VW’s to this shop still.
Wish me luck tomorrow peeps….or if ya got a direct line to the man upstairs, a little devine intervention would come in mighty handy at the moment.
04-11-2023, 05:10 PM
C4S front driveshaft weeping
