I'm in need of a new clutch. Have 57,000 miles and running 550 torque. I got a quote for 3,900 installed that includes a Sachs Sport Clutch. I'm told that there's coolant pipe issues (outlined by SharkWerks) that recommend tap cooling fittings when removing the motor for a clutch job. Has anyone experienced a coolant lose after a clutch replacement? I understand the logic, but wonder about the odds of having a problem. The quote I received includes the tap of cooling fittings which adds 7 hrs. labor plus 16 hrs. to drop the engine and trans. to install clutch kit. Affordability is a big issue, but don't want to shoot me in the foot later. Feedback friends are appreciated.

 

Your coolant loss has nothing to do with clutch. A proper Indy would charge 1k in labor. Dropping the 3.6 is simple
Unless you track pinning is unnecessary and is a 996 ims argument. Clutch and slave parts is $500 with a $500 to $1k install

Your Indy is fos

What were symptoms you first noticed.

 

personally think they are over charging you for the dropping/replacement of the clutch. 12 hours? my indy does it in 6.

that would lead me to believe that everything had some extra charges tacked on, but hey. at least it's sharkwerks and you know the job would be done properly.

as to a preventative fix on the coolant lines? it's a must if you plan on tracking now or future, so let that be the ultimate guide. i have 135k miles on mine w/out having messed with them, car has been tracked a fair amount in its lifetime and heat cycled fully thousands of times.

while catastrophic coolant loss has already proven to be an issue, one of the long time members of a 996 turbo forum yesterday just pegged his estimate of cars that have had the issue at 2%, and anecdotally from my many enjoyable years of having had two, i'd *guess* that to be *about* right.

you'll love your new clutch though. good choose if it's the sachs 2.5 good mid level setup. GL w it.

 

i called the local indy in salt lake city yesterday for the same quote on a similar car. 3250$ was his all-inclusive bid using OEM parts. I think he mentioned 17hrs and motor stays in.

 

I spent 1500 dollars on labor for clutch and fluid change. Got several other quotes which were significantly higher. I think 500 to 1K is very cheap, especially if going by book. The quotes you have gotten are not that far off, I think.

I went with a sachs 2.5, and new flywheel. Great setup for a little higher hp.

Came back later and pinned the coolant lines. However clutch has nothing to do with coolant line failure, as stated above.

 

What shop was this?

 

I found that costs vary a lot by geography.

I shopped really hard, and no one up in New Hampshire would do a clutch for $1k, and I had to go with a shop fairly far away.

The amount that I *saved* was over $1k, so obviously the strictly local pricing (from shops recommended as good/economical) was a lot more than you were quoted.

Don't know situation in your neck of the woods, but don't assume that prices that others got are necessarily going to available everywhere...

 

^ thats definitely true.

 

If affordability is top of your list, just get a new clutch and roll it.
Once you pull the engine and trans for pinning the fittings, you should spend a little more and do several "while in there" things. This stuff adds $ quickly if it isn't part of a quote prior to starting the work. Depends on $, what your plans for the car are, and if going back in later doesn't bother you.

 

Metro Ann Arbor and West Detroit is around $2k +\-$300 to R and R engine. I'm torn about the spend, since I have 2 track cars. Local PCA club has banned Mezgers without a mod to coolant pipes.

 

If you are going to pin the coolant lines, you'd want to think about some preventive maintenance that can be easily done with motor out. I certainly would replace all the coolant lines. If you have a yellow coolant expansion tank, get a new one, and a new blue cap as well. Depending on mileage the water pump. And probably some other hoses and or valves. There is a good thread on 6 speed on what to replace when motor is out.

 

Just want to make sure im reading this properly... 17hrs for a clutch only to drop the transmission

 

Jack
Precision European Auto Repairs
801-268-8658
120 Baird Ave
Salt Lake City, UT 84115

 

If that's the quoted labor time that's well, pretty high, based on my experience. A couple of years ago at around 120K miles my 2003 Turbo was in for a RMS leak and of course the tranny had to come out and the flywheel removed to do this. The tech advised me the clutch lever shaft needle bearings be replaced and I agreed to this which didn't add to the labor cost but added to the parts cost a bit. Total cost was in the $1700 range and the dealer charged at the time $150/hour labor.

Even if the entire bill was labor that's just 11.3 hours to remove the transmission, remove the flywheel, install the flywheel, and then install the transmission.

However, it is not. I kind of recall the tech telling me the Turbo tranny drop takes around 4 hours or so with the install taking a bit more time as the tech says getting the needle bearings/clutch lever shaft and all back together is a "fiddly" job that can add to the time.

 

that's absolutely right. the clutch fork will take "fiddling" for sure. still in ALL honesty it's a 6 hour job. i know because i've stood under the car while we done did it.

they were honest with you probably because you've used the same shop/dealer for so long. porsche dealerships is SoCal charge 200+ per hour. not sure bout NorCal but what you got was a *deal* at a dealership.