race911

^^^ But would you trust him to: 1. work on your car, and/or 2. be the face that greets you when you wander into the office?

Funny thing is that I make magnatudes more in my non-automotive businesses, than I would running even a fairly large Porsche specialist shop. (Yes, I know numbers on several Porsche and BMW specialists in CA.) When, and it's increasingly looking like "if", I do a hobby shop I won't expect income beyond what most would call beer money. Say you're working solo, actually billing half of the time you spend at the shop. You'll gross ~$120K. Overhead in all but most grotesque locations will be over $3/mo. Of that ~$85K, deduct nearly half for income and self-employment taxes. (You ARE doing this above-board, right?) You still haven't paid dime one toward your health care, or savings.

Of course this is overly simplistic. Of course the economies of scale ratchet up when you have employees.

andrewjn

Guys. Your advice has been great! I'm not a mechanic or a do-it-yourselfer. But I have read up and I follow these forums...and it's an excellent way to learn. That being said I just got off the phone with my mechanic (head and owner of shop). So he tells me they were talking about lower and upper gaskets...even though it is just the lower leaking. But he does say 90 min for lower is a bit off...once you take off the trey, exhaust, etc its more like a 3-4 hour job? So with lower and upper its $1100.

I will get back on the rest of the oil. He mentioned oil from chain housings but said it is very very common. I'm not sure I have to be worried about the top end yet. There is no CEL or oil being burned. But my talk with the mechanic yesterday scared me.

The clutch releases high. $3K is very expensive without a FW. Better stated....if I did the clutch do you guys think this is preventative or necessary. Again, love this car and I'm not selling....but I don't want to throw money at it if I don't need to.....

Warehouse33.net

I know you say you're not do-it-yourselfer, but the gaskets are something you can do in an afternoon in your driveway or garage and save some serious money. I'm in KC too if you want to get the gaskets and do-it-yourself.

-Jason

bcameron59

Clutch is a wear item and will eventually need to replaced, but not really urgent until it starts slipping. If you're not into DIY I would hold off on the valve covers and everything else until you do the clutch, unless the oil leakage is truly horrendous. Everything will be much easier with engine dropped, and should therefore labour should be cheaper. A lot of what you'll pay for is the work to R&R the engine, so you might as well do all the preventive maintenance you can afford (and as long as it makes sense) "while you're in there".

You may want to consider replacing the flywheel with the lightweight RS version (aka LWF) at the same time. The dual mass flywheel apparently can't be machined, and sometimes is prone to failure on high mile cars. With a '97 you shouldn't have the LWF stalling issues of the OBDC I cars (95 MY). Very nice upgrade.

Don't worry, we're happy to help you spend your money...

Spyder_Man

I'm not at all arguing that the local wrench shouldn't be allowed to charge a slight premium on parts. They all have to cover their overhead and cost of living and all.

I will certainly go back to them when there is work that is clearly beyond my own ability to DIY too, such as a clutch or top-end rebuild. I just have have trouble paying for any labor costs when I know the repair work is something I can tackle myself in the course of an afternoon.

Sometimes one just has to pay up and deal with the make-ups because one doesn't enough free afternoons for wrenching. Such is life.

vincer77

^^ I'd agree with this. If you think the clutch will need to be done soon, I'd hold off on valve cover gaskets.

Also, a source of oil leaks on these cars is filling the oil to the top mark on the dip stick. I was having a slight leak and going through about a quart between oil changes (5000 mi). Since filling only half way, no more oil usage.

Also, I had some weeping on the rear of the engine that was stopped by simply tightening the chaincase lid bolts that had come loose.

pp000830

A common misunderstanding a 993 Engine does not have to come out to do a clutch price should be a lot less than 3000. Get a quote and have the shop break out parts and labor in hours and labor rate and ask questions as to why concerning the numbers of hours, then you can see if a quote passes a sniff test.

andrewjn

So the oil leak IS significant. I'm talking a drip every 4-5 feet when driving in the condo garage. Then a puddle about a foot in diameter after sitting for an hour then it slows. I did some checking and the going rate for upper and lower both sides is about 900 plus an oil change....so about 1K. Figure I have to do it. Question is whether the upper gaskets need change too. I'm told with the heat they all dry out. And I suppose since they're "in there" its not huge addition to labor.

Yes and an afternoon for you guys would be 2-3 days for me....not experienced...and then the time issue. But I did just buy a BendPak parking lift so here in the future this will be changing.

Think I'm going to hold out on the clutch....let it ride...ha! Thanks for all the pointers on that...

Jason...you're pretty close to me. I'm down on the Plaza. Do you go to the PCA meetings? I haven't been in a while since theyre at 730am....and yes...if I don't have to get up for work on a Saturday you usually won't see me around at that hour.....

andrewjn

Vince....there is a slight leak at the chain housings but I'm told it isn't significant at this point....

Warehouse33.net

andrewjn,

I'm close to you, I live in Brookside. I haven't been to a PCA meeting for few years. I like sleeping-in on the weekends as much as I can.

-Jason

vincer77

Oh. Wow! Really?

ca993twin

I think that all 993s have a high clutch engage point (based on what I hear). If its not slipping, you may have many miles left.

David A

That's how mine is on my 95 and I'm not replacing it until it slips.

L23FPorsche

OK. So what is the shop rate? A 3-4 hour job plus parts does not equal $1100.

bcameron59

Easy math. $100 for parts and 4 hours at $250 per hour.