john.rogers

Well, I am undergoing the dreaded carbon fix - rebuild the heads, replace the valve stem guides and clean out the carbon.

For those who have had this done, would you share the cost with me. I am beginning to hear some astonishingly high "estimates" as the job is nearing completion.

Also, while everything is apart I am have the light weight clutch installed. This should add about $1,000 to the overall repair I am being told.

Any experience on these costs would be appreciated.

Thanks,

John

ksjcorpus

did you not ask before they pulled it all apart?

Wachuko

You should have requested an estimate before taking that on.... I have seen amounts listed here in the 5k neigborhood...


Good luck and let us know how it comes out.

Greg D.

The PO of my car had it done in 2002 for $5000 - the carbon was caused by worn valve guides. If you have to drop and open the engine, the cost of cleaning the ports vs replacing guides (or both) is almost non-important... The cost is labor ! At $85 an hour at the dealer, I would definitely try the other options listed on this board... Some mechanics soak the ports with carbon loosening solutions (laxative?), and clean just those, and while it takes a while it seems to work. Of course if the problem is worn guides, well...

cmoss

Hmmm... I had the local dealer (Silicon Valley Porsche) do it in 77 hrs at $125 per!!!! The total was over $10K. Why aren't I crying? For some strange reason PCNA decided to pick up the bill. Apparently they were doing this on a case by case basis.

Most of my luck is usually bad. This was a notable exception.
Chris

Rick Lee

Chris, how did you get PCNA to pick up the tab? Did the dealership volunteer when they saw you faint upon being presented with the bill? Or did you mount a letter-writing campaign? I will never let a dealer touch my car and will probably DIY this fix if it becomes necessary. So I wonder how I can get PCNA to pay for my parts and machine work. If I knew PCNA would pick up the tab, I might be tempted to trust a dealer with my car.

jford

Please more info Chris. Are you the original owner? Was the car under warrenty? How many miles where on the car and how old was it when this was performed? Thanks.

Jamie

Dave Crellin

Mine was just over $5000, last year. Included new guides and exhaust valves, and a new (stock) clutch and plate

chris walrod

Wonder if PCNA would pick-up the tab of regearing my car.....my plight is those ratios are so far apart, its a safety hazard

I would guess for PCNA to pick-up that tab, you must be a well known and respected customer, or the car was fairly new and you were the original owner...tell us more...

scs32

Isn't the cost of an engine in the 10k range?

Wachuko

Nope... 10-15k is the cost of a 996 engine. 993's run about 25-30k

scs32

Interesting, thanks for the info. I did mean new (which I think is your answer). However, can't one get a very low mileage for 10-15?

Cheers,
Steve

Wachuko

Correct, I was talking about new engines. You can find them in the used market for around that range.

DC from Cape Cod

John - where are you having the work done?

cmoss

To those that wanted a more complete description of my carbon build-up problem.

I bought the car in Feb. of 2002. I live on the central coast of California and traveled to Sacramento to get the car. Irt was at a Porsche dealer and sold as is without any Porsche backed warranty. The salesperson talked me into a third party aftermarket warranty. The dealership was actually a Porsche/Acura dealership, and the aftermarket warranty was carried by Acura. Lots of promises were made as to the warranty being ironclade. I drove the car home and the next morning found out the RMS was leaking.

Well I took the car to a local independent repair guy, and the warranty people were brought in. They wouldn't cover the leaking RMS--said it was a pre-existing condition. At the same time the local wrench checked the valves and found excessive play. This lead to the discovery of the carbon build-up problem. Again the warranty people were consulted and the claim was denied. By then I was getting pretty pi$$ed.

The wrench was a great help though. He suggested I take the car to a local P-car dealership and ask them to fix the problem. Long story short: after much talking Porsche decided to pick up the repair bill. I kept reminding them that I had bought the car from a dealer, had a bad warranty, bad experience, etc.

I can't stress enough how helpful the local wrench was. He was an ex-factory mech. and knew all the people at the dealership. He told me who to talk to, and what to say. In the end he lost a $5K repair job and gained a customer/friend for life. The guy's name is Tim Benson and he owns Fastlane Porsche Repair in Santa Cruz on the coast. And this IS a sameless plug for one of the straightest arrows around.

All told, the process took six months, but I ended up with a top-end rebuild. Plus I had the LWF/clutch swap done at the same time.

Hope this answers all questions.
Chris