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he also addressed clutch upgrades, which is another common thing to do, but not required.
like others have said though, those are the two achilles heels of this car. once you do those two things, it should be bulletproof.
The 9k also included overhead for all of the parts he said he’d want to replace. Basically all of the hoses and rubber/plastic bits that might fail, plus fitting, welding and pressure testing the metal bits that connect to the motor. Idk. It sounds like the guy knows his stuff and said he’s done this job many many times (he also has a 997TT of his own, so knows all the pain points). That said, the price still seems steep compared to my research… then again, I don’t think there’s anyone else in my area that would do this job and has his experience.
don't give up, do the coolant / elbows and cams and you should be good to go. Search this section , there is a lot of info about it
I guess since the engine is coming out anyway, might as well buy once, cry once (I hope). I had no intention of ever selling the car, as I love it and for me, it’s the best generation 911 and a future classic (still small body and the perfect blend of analog meets digital).
Just bad luck on the timing, as I’m still trying to financially recover from the initial purchase, extras I put in right after the purchase, plus all the taxes I just had to pay the govt. for tax season 😭
Just had those repairs done on my 55k mile 2007 997.1 TT here in Texas. Coolant lines pinned and welded with Sharkwerks, cams pinned, and a few other bits and bobs. The price you were quoted was inline with the PCA recommended shops here in DFW area.
while it wasn’t fun discovering I had a coolant pipe leak (thankfully not out on the road like you) it’s a buy once cry once thing. I figured it would happen at some point and while I don’t love spending money unnecessarily, you have to remember you’re buying a 17 year old used performance sports car.
put the big boy pants on, get it done son, and enjoy for years to come. The loss you’re going to take trying to sell it (and the karma that will come back) isn’t worth it.
good luck! You’ll soon forget the cost after you get it back and hit it hard!
Originally Posted by slm181
Mechanic called this morning and told me it was indeed a coolant line failure. Recommends replacing all of the lines and having them welded. Quoted me 9k for the job. Also brought up the cam shaft pinning and quoted me another 3k for that. I’ve had this car for less than 2 months and it’s looking like it’s going to be a massive money pit. Thinking of asking him to repair the bare minimum and selling this thing before it bankrupts me. Guess buying a 15 year old 911 turbo was a bad idea. I’m sick to my stomach right now.
Last edited by charsiuboar; 04-27-2024 at 07:43 PM.
Yep I believe my price for having this done about 2 years ago was 12k cdn.. I also had the clutch done (I provided; plugs, coils, clutch, flywheel, new exhaust, new turbos, trans mount)..
I wasn't able to have my cams pinned which was a real pain to not be able to have this done as the shop didn't have experience with it.. It will hurt to have to pay for another engine out service to have the cams pinned if that ever becomes an issue.. I would have gladly paid the additional 3k to have this done and have an essentially bullet proof car..
Just had those repairs done on my 55k mile 2007 997.1 TT here in Texas. Coolant lines pinned and welded with Sharkwerks, cams pinned, and a few other bits and bobs. The price you were quoted was inline with the PCA recommended shops here in DFW area.
while it wasn’t fun discovering I had a coolant pipe leak (thankfully not out on the road like you) it’s a buy once cry once thing. I figured it would happen at some point and while I don’t love spending money unnecessarily, you have to remember you’re buying a 17 year old used performance sports car.
put the big boy pants on, get it done son, and enjoy for years to come. The loss you’re going to take trying to sell it (and the karma that will come back) isn’t worth it.
good luck! You’ll soon forget the cost after you get it back and hit it hard!
You’re right. I’m partly just venting. I actually love the car. It’s just a bummer to have this happen so soon after purchasing. Such is life though. Im
going to bite the bullet and have the mechanic do the full shebang and hopefully have to never worry about it again. This is a car I intend to keep forever.
My biggest frustration is this has now set back any planned upgrades and enhancements to the otherwise stock car a good while. Then again, in day to day driving, it’s still pretty sweet. Maybe it’s better this way!
OP you might want to also consider a clutch/pressure plate if it has not been done along with any suspect coolant hoses. Figure another 2-3k for other random things that might come up while in there doing the lines/cams.
The 9k also included overhead for all of the parts he said he’d want to replace. Basically all of the hoses and rubber/plastic bits that might fail, plus fitting, welding and pressure testing the metal bits that connect to the motor. Idk. It sounds like the guy knows his stuff and said he’s done this job many many times (he also has a 997TT of his own, so knows all the pain points). That said, the price still seems steep compared to my research… then again, I don’t think there’s anyone else in my area that would do this job and has his experience.
if you look at the quotes i linked, they include everything commonly recommend replacing while the engine is out like all rubber rings, gaskets, hoses, water pump, etc.
their estimate is quite high, but if they've done the job many times, it's probably worth it.
Sorry to hear of your troubles, I had a similar issue in late 2019 with about 60k miles and it turned into my COVID project.. I had never tackled such a big job before but with Ed's awesome thread here it gave me the confidence to tackle it myself.. I didn't pin my cams as the dealer had fixed one of these under warranty a few years earlier.
Here is a pic of the long block stripped down.. I actually liked doing this job as it allowed me to clean everything.. I'm convinced the engine ended up being as clean as it was the day it came out of the factory when I put it back in the car..
Here's a few of the parts I ended up pinning/JB welding. I actual paid a shop to do this part (I just dropped off the parts) since they had done it several times before.
Ready to go back in!
I spend a couple of grand in parts as I replaced just about all the rubber hoses/etc. that touched the engine. Maybe overkill, but I feel better knowing it's all new. I probably saved about 6K in labor, maybe more, and I enjoyed the project.
if you look at the quotes i linked, they include everything commonly recommend replacing while the engine is out like all rubber rings, gaskets, hoses, water pump, etc.
their estimate is quite high, but if they've done the job many times, it's probably worth it.
Yeah, I’m thinking it’s worth it considering the shop specializes in 911’s and is the only place willing and able to do the work properly (I called the local Porsche dealership and spoke to the service department and they said they’d only replace any damaged fittings with OEM replacements- no welding or pinning).
Also, the shop called me yesterday evening after they pulled the motor and the tech working on my car went over everything with me. I was really impressed with his knowledge of the car, but then again, he works on 911’s all day every day and he told me the 997.1 is his favorite 911 ever. So that gives me a good feeling that he’s going to take care of the car and ensure that everything was done right.
The real disappointment for me is the quality of work the Porsche dealership did on the car before they sold it to me. They claimed they did 20k worth of service work on the car that included replacing all of the worn hoses and a spun camshaft (which for me was a big selling point for the car and I paid a bit of a premium believing these issues were addressed). Once the engine was out, it was clear they only replaced the hoses that were visible from the engine bay, and they used the wrong hose clamps, which were overtightened and cutting into the hoses. It also looked like someone sloppily slathered JB weld over a bunch of the coolant fittings (I specifically asked them if the coolant issue had been addressed and they told me the hoses had been replace and fittings were re-glued… yeah right). The line that broke looked new and burst where the hose clamp was cutting into the hose.
The real disappointment for me is the quality of work the Porsche dealership did on the car before they sold it to me. They claimed they did 20k worth of service work on the car that included replacing all of the worn hoses and a spun camshaft (which for me was a big selling point for the car and I paid a bit of a premium believing these issues were addressed). Once the engine was out, it was clear they only replaced the hoses that were visible from the engine bay, and they used the wrong hose clamps, which were overtightened and cutting into the hoses. It also looked like someone sloppily slathered JB weld over a bunch of the coolant fittings (I specifically asked them if the coolant issue had been addressed and they told me the hoses had been replace and fittings were re-glued… yeah right). The line that broke looked new and burst where the hose clamp was cutting into the hose.
Maybe I missed it above, but are you saying the coolant failure was a direct result of the work the dealer did to the car immediately prior to you buying it?
Imagine if you have taken the car to them for the repair originally and paid them to do the work (the "20k worth") and this happened. I would say that you would have a great claim against the dealer to repair/fix it at their cost.
Maybe I missed it above, but are you saying the coolant failure was a direct result of the work the dealer did to the car immediately prior to you buying it?
Imagine if you have taken the car to them for the repair originally and paid them to do the work (the "20k worth") and this happened. I would say that you would have a great claim against the dealer to repair/fix it at their cost.
It certainly appears to be the case, although not sure how I could prove it, and the car was purchased with no warranty so I don’t think I have a leg to stand on. And while I didn’t pay for their claimed “20k worth of service” the car was a bit more expensive than several other 997s I was looking at, but I justified paying a premium thinking the car would be good to go for a long time. Very disappointing.
Sorry to hear of your troubles, I had a similar issue in late 2019 with about 60k miles and it turned into my COVID project.. I had never tackled such a big job before but with Ed's awesome thread here it gave me the confidence to tackle it myself.. I didn't pin my cams as the dealer had fixed one of these under warranty a few years earlier.
Here is a pic of the long block stripped down.. I actually liked doing this job as it allowed me to clean everything.. I'm convinced the engine ended up being as clean as it was the day it came out of the factory when I put it back in the car..
Here's a few of the parts I ended up pinning/JB welding. I actual paid a shop to do this part (I just dropped off the parts) since they had done it several times before.
Ready to go back in!
I spend a couple of grand in parts as I replaced just about all the rubber hoses/etc. that touched the engine. Maybe overkill, but I feel better knowing it's all new. I probably saved about 6K in labor, maybe more, and I enjoyed the project.
Nice work!
I wish I had the time and tools to tackle this job myself. If this failure had occured right before winter, I probably would have just purchased a lift for my garage and attempted the DIY route myself. But with the weather just getting nice and me having limited free time, it would likely take me the whole summer to complete this project.
Plus, the mechanic has already pulled the engine to identify the failure and weak points (the engine pull and reinstall work alone is almost 3k), so at this point, I might as well just bite the bullet and get it over with. I’ll have the car back in a couple of weeks and hopefully won’t have to worry about the engine for a very long time.
04-27-2024, 05:56 PM
