2yr service diagnosis:(

[Broke Boxster S owner]

Hello I am very green to this... so here go's

I purchased a used 01' Boxster S with 42,000 on it. I took it to the local dealership who suggested I do the 2 year service oil, brakes, and once over. When I recived "The call" later that day the service manager explained to me the cost to repair the car ala carte would be $8,000, ouch! I need some serious advice, so here is a list of the damage. I need to know if i can buy aftermarket parts and where, what to look for in a non-porsche mech., and last but not least do I atempt any of this my self?

1)Front Brakes

2)Front Strut Bearings

3)Oil seperator & Oil fill tube small leaks

4)Cam cover seal small leak

5)Head Gaskets on Bank #1 slight leak

6)water pump has crossion (no leak yet) with tension roller & idlers.

Their is no spots on my gradge floor yet & no burning smells coming from the car. When i asked what is the most imporant thing to fix first the dealer said the brakes, but my brakes light is not on yet(?). I undestand he has a family to feed... but $8,000 bucks?

HELP This is my everyday driver!

[wvicary]

Get a second or even third opinion.... the price seems very excessive.

[9nine6]

Hello I am very green to this... so here go's

I purchased a used 01' Boxster S with 42,000 on it. I took it to the local dealership who suggested I do the 2 year service oil, brakes, and once over. When I recived "The call" later that day the service manager explained to me the cost to repair the car ala carte would be $8,000, ouch! I need some serious advice, so here is a list of the damage. I need to know if i can buy aftermarket parts and where, what to look for in a non-porsche mech., and last but not least do I atempt any of this my self?

1)Front Brakes

2)Front Strut Bearings

3)Oil seperator & Oil fill tube small leaks

4)Cam cover seal small leak

5)Head Gaskets on Bank #1 slight leak

6)water pump has crossion (no leak yet) with tension roller & idlers.

Their is no spots on my gradge floor yet & no burning smells coming from the car. When i asked what is the most imporant thing to fix first the dealer said the brakes, but my brakes light is not on yet(?). I undestand he has a family to feed... but $8,000 bucks?

HELP This is my everyday driver!

Parts:

Front brakes (Pads)? less than 100.00

Front bearings 40.00 ea

Oil seperater 140.00

Small leaks... suggest run the hell out of it... should clear up

Water pump.. clean it

DIY or take it to an Independent!!!

[Topless]

Sounds like he decided to make you his own economic recovery plan. Very enterprising indeed. Most are simple enough diy repairs with a Bently manual and a little time. If it were my car I would do the brakes, bearings, reinspect the AOS and invest the $7600 in a vacation home :D .

[Loren]

I agree this pricing is way out of line. I suggest you look for a good independent Porsche shop in your area.

[Beelzy]

I would suggest a second opinion. At least!

[Broke Boxster S owner]

Thank you sooo much for the speedy responses!! I will sleep a little better tonight. The parts quote, was that from the "sunset" link on this page? I would like to Purchase the parts online and bring them to the Mech. to install, ie:pads, rotors,and AOS.

Thanks again, and this is the best forum on the web!

[mikefocke]

Don't assume

that your mech will install someone else's parts. For profit and liability purposes. As well as the practical aspect if the part turns out bad or not needed or insufficient, he has no way to recover.

I'd begin by kicking yourself that you didn't get a thorough Pre-Purchase Inspection of the car which would have told you of these issues and allowed you to either avoid the car or negotiate a reduced price.

Then I'd visit one of the online sites (example)that teach you how to do it yourself, if you have any inclination that way at all. Brakes are something you can do yourself in an afternoon, for example. And there may be local Boxster owners who could help you...we are a friendly bunch.

Edited October 9, 2008 by mikefocke

[savowood]

No need to take the parts to a mechanic for the brakes. I just did the front and rear pads and front rotors on my car in just about an hour, but I had some difficulties. An absolute novice could do the same in under two hours, and maybe 90 minutes. Brakes are amazingly easy on our cars. It seriously takes longer to jack up the car and remove the wheels than it does to change the pads. If your rotors are fine, then for the pads you'll need:

Hammer

Hole punch (or any long skinny metal rod you can push the bolt out with)

Needle nose pliers

19mm deep socket (or the one in the tool kit in the pocket of the spare tire cover)

Torque wrench capable of 97 ft/lbs

Using the 19mm socket, loosen the lug nuts. Jack the car up, remove the wheel nuts and place the wheel under the frame by the jack point (using the wheel like a jack stand). Using the needle nose pliers, remove the cotter pin holding the bolt in place. Take your hole punch (or metal rod) and hammer and tap out the bolt holding the spring and pads in. Chase down the metal spring because it shot across the garage while you were tapping out the bolt. Lightly tap the brake pads to free them from the caliper. Pull the old pads out. You may need a screwdriver or the metal rod (hole punch) to get them started. Push the caliper pistons back to the fully retracted position. Use one of the old pads and make a lever out of the edge of the caliper. It's pretty easy to do. Insert the new pads. It's a tight fit so make sure your pistons have been pushed back completely. Put the metal spring back on, insert the bolt, and then the cotter pin. Put the wheel back on. Put the lug nuts back on hand tight. Lower the car and then tighten the lug nuts back to 97ft/lbs. Go to the other side of the car and do the same thing there.

If you want to tackle the rotors, you'll need three more tools:

Breaker bar with a T10 (I think that's the size...it was just in my hands a few hours ago)

10mm socket

Large philips head screwdriver

During the process of the pads, once they're out, use the T10 and breaker bar to remove the two bolts holding the caliper on. Once those are out, use the 10mm to remove the bolt holding the brake line close to the strut. Pull the caliper off and let it hang. You shouldn't have a problem with it hanging for a few minutes. If you're going to take a break for a beer, you might want to find a place to support it. A bent up clothes hangar attached to the springs usually works well. Using the screwdriver, remove the two screws holding the rotor in place. You may have to beat on it a little as the heat tends to tighten these things up. Since you're not going to use the rotors again, once the screws are removed, smack the surface of the rotor with the hammer a few times to break it loose from the hub. Put the new rotor on, lining up the screw holes and put the screws back in. Use this point to install the pads back in the caliper and press open the pistons. It's easier to do it at this point since the caliper is just dangling. Once the pads, spring, bolt, and pin are back in, put the caliper back on. Tighten the bolts about hand tight. I think the spec is either 38 or 68 ft/lbs. I'm sure someone here will know for sure and can chime in. Lather, rinse, repeat...

For the final step, tell your wife/girlfriend you just saved $600 by doing it yourself. It shouldn't take you more than an hour to complete the pads. The first time I did it on the Boxster, it took me about 35-40 minutes and I'm really not that mechanically inclined. Now, I can do it in about 20. Rotors take about 30 mintues, and the rears are also about 20 for the pads. If you're doing it all at the same time, 50 to 75 minutes tops once you've done it two or three times. Adding in the rear rotors will push it to about 90 minutes.

-Michael

[pokey]

I have a 2000 Box S with 54K miles. About 10k miles ago I was told that the rotors were getting close to the limit (0.5 mm from the min) and to begin thinking of replacement. I decided to hold off until the brake wear warning light came on because my normal street driving is pretty easy on the brakes. I recently had the brake warning light come on for a day, then go off again. Rumor has it that this intermittent light is a pre-cursor to the light staying on for good (sounds odd, but . . .). Even once it comes on I understand there is no rush to replace (although I'd like to find out how much pad is remaining at that point). Keep in mind that the brake warning is based on pad wear, not rotor thinkness. Anyway I'm starting to plan for a brake replacement (rotors and pads) - I guess that'll be my Christmas present. Parts for all 4 wheels run about $900. This is a fairly easy DIY. Here are good instructions: http://www.bombaydigital.com/boxster/projects/brakes/

[uabchris]

I second...my Boxster has 165K and still has the original pads on the rear. My light has been on /off for about 2 years now. In my opinion if you replace the pads when the warning light comes on, it is a waste of money as I still had 40-50% of the pad left when the light first came on.

I have a 2000 Box S with 54K miles. About 10k miles ago I was told that the rotors were getting close to the limit (0.5 mm from the min) and to begin thinking of replacement. I decided to hold off until the brake wear warning light came on because my normal street driving is pretty easy on the brakes. I recently had the brake warning light come on for a day, then go off again. Rumor has it that this intermittent light is a pre-cursor to the light staying on for good (sounds odd, but . . .). Even once it comes on I understand there is no rush to replace (although I'd like to find out how much pad is remaining at that point). Keep in mind that the brake warning is based on pad wear, not rotor thinkness. Anyway I'm starting to plan for a brake replacement (rotors and pads) - I guess that'll be my Christmas present. Parts for all 4 wheels run about $900. This is a fairly easy DIY. Here are good instructions: http://www.bombaydigital.com/boxster/projects/brakes/

[gandrade1]

I second...my Boxster has 165K and still has the original pads on the rear. My light has been on /off for about 2 years now. In my opinion if you replace the pads when the warning light comes on, it is a waste of money as I still had 40-50% of the pad left when the light first came on.

Well, at 165k miles (or km) and with the lights on replacing your pads is hardly a waste of money in my opinion!

Drive safe,

Gus