SigAlphAdam

Okay all, after pushing the car up to the dealer on Monday night, I finally got a call from them yesterday.

For those that don't know my situation, my coolant somehow leaked into my oil, creating a brown muddy mixture in the oil pan. Here's the breakdown that the dealer gave me:

$100 - initial inspection
$190 - compression check on engine system to find leak

If the leak is in the oil seal in the oil cooler, as they suspect it is, then:

$690 - replace oil seal

Here's the big one, they say that the crank bearings inside the engine will need to be replaced:

$1,410 - replace crank bearings.

That's $2390, this is only IF it is the oil seal...if its a headgasket I'm looking at much more.

I don't think I can afford to have this done right now. Also I don't think it will be worth it as there will probably be engine damage later on. Looks like I might be selling it for around $3000 if anyone is interested.

Tom R.

i say head gasket. if it was the oil cooler seal you get oil in the coolant because the oil is at a higher pressure than the water. ask me how i know.

i spent 6000 in july to have the work done by a porsche specialist.

i would replace the head gasket and see if things get better. some of the guys here did the head gasket job themselves. me, im too old to start that type of job.

IceShark

I agree with Tom, you ususally see oil in the coolant first if the cooler seal went due to oil at 5 bar pressure. Then as the seal gets worse you get coolant into the oil.

You are running into the problem of dealer service rates. Did you take it to Lynch? What are they up to now, $125 per hour? You have to take it to another independent shop or need to do it yourself because these cars have to be scrapped if you are relying on dealers to service.

M758

The engine is still worth plenty. I bought a car with a motor like this cheap. I then turned the car into my race car after I swapped a good 924S motor. I let the original milk shaked engine sit for a few years. Then when I spun the #2 on my 924S motor and blew a hole out the block I turned to the milk shake motor and rebuilt it my garage. All it needed was new bearings and good solid cleaning. I had a blown headgasket and leaking oil cooler seals.
After the simple rebuild it runs fine and is my race motor block. I seriously doubt it is trashed. It just needs a little love and car. Yeah doing it yourself saves a ton of cash!

SigAlphAdam

Yes i agree that these dealers are insane with their prices. I might be inclined to take it to an independant shop if the car was in better shape. Its got some body damage, bad rear suspension, and may need a new clutch soon.

I'm only 22 and graduating college in 4 months and pretty much just starting my life, I can't afford to put this kind of money into this car at this time.

Mike S

Personally, I doubt you did serious damage to the bearings unless you were driving on it for a large amount of time or unless you were hammering it constantly. I would opt for the oil cooler seal and call it a day. If you have bearing issues in the future you can always have them replaced, but I doubt it needs to be done immediately. Besides, there wouldn't be any extra labor to do the bearings if you came back at a later date...this isn't a "while its apart" kind of repair.

SigAlphAdam

Really? so you think I could just to the oil cooler seal myself? How much does the part cost? If I can get away with spending less than $500 and do the work myself, that would be great. Besides, I just need this car to last through the winter b/c i plan on buying a new car next spring.

Is it possible to do the "compression check" yourself?

Randy_J

Oil seal kit is pretty cheap - see http://www.paragon-products.com/ and search for 944 oil seal kit - $23.87. Apparently takes 7 hours to replace the seals though and you might need a $45 alignment tool to put it all back together. If you're mechanically inclined, it's probably an easy job - just time consuming like most things on these cars.

Waterguy

Antifreeze can etch engine bearings quickly. Can you tell how far you drove it with the engine oil milkshake in there? On a former non-Porsche, I paid the mechanic quite a bit to replace head gaskets, only to have the rod bearings go two weeks later.

Magnus

Replace the oil cooler seal and see if that fixes your problem, I think it will. It is a rather easy job if you have a little experience and proper tools. This is how to do it.
http://clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/lube-01.htm

//Magnus

Peckster

I'd sell it. Other things will go and these cars aren't cheap to maintain, especially if you already have other problems with it. Nothing is more expensive than a cheap Porsche.

Tom R.

im with peckster. thats why i may be defecting to gm now that my porsche was stolen.

my wife cant bear the thought of another six thousand dollar job. these cars are bottomless pits. on the other hand my brothers 84 hasbeen very inexpensive as far as repairs go .... in the last two years/70+k miles

Magnus

If you can't work on these cars yourself they will cost you an arm and a leg every time a mechanic is walking by. But with some decent tools, this forum and the workshop manual you can do almost everything yourself and save some serious $.

Still it will not be cheapest car on the planet to maintain, so if need cheap transportation look for an other brand.

//Magnus

Mr. Avionics

Replace the oil cooler seals, easy job but very messy. Parts are cheap, seal kit and alignment tool will cost arround $50 give or take a few bucks. I did mine a while back, the job is actually easier than the discriptions make it out to be. Give that a try, you may get lucky, if not you don't have much invested in parts anyway. I agree that the oil pressure will push oil into the coolant when running, but if the seals are really bad when you stop, and the car is hot, now the coolant is under more pressure than the oil and will force it's way into the oil. Give it a try, you won't know till you do. And $690 for oil cooler seals at the dealer!!! Are they on DRUGS!!!!!


Bill,

SigAlphAdam

I've been using water as coolant all summer. could this have saved my bearings?