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Old 06-07-2011, 09:36 PM   #21
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Cars break down and have to have parts replaced. Some parts are poorly designed. There's a couple of revelations. At the end of the day it's what you get out of it. Cost / benefit. If that balance doesn't work for you, buy something else. Simple.

To the OP, having just finished the jobs myself, I concur with the earlier post to combine some jobs if you have to do your water pump. I did the front engine mount and low temp thermostat and fuel filter, and it sure opened the area up and made the jobs a lot easier.

PS, if you don't know what coolant you have and have to replace it, and want to avoid the possibility of gelling, either buy a lift for your garage or have the pros do the flushing of the old coolant. Ask me how many times I had to put my car up on jackstands...


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Old 06-08-2011, 03:41 AM   #22
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I heard that in heaven they have French cooking, German cars, and English humor.

In hell they have English cooking, French cars and German humor.
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Old 06-08-2011, 08:00 AM   #23
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I'm not sure I said the parts were of higher quality. But the idea that Porsche is going to simply use off the shelf parts across the board may have been true in the early 90's when they were using auto parts store shocks in the 911 (although that's also when they were on the brink of bankruptcy) but not so much since the rebirth.
I also have to say that for the most part the new Porsches have been on par on reliablity with any Japanese car I've ever owned. Actually my experience prior to my recent major 10 year overhaul was of a single $300 unexpected repair after nearly 70K miles. The newer Porsches are even better. But when it's time for major maintenance you need specialized labor (most import mechanics I've visited flatly refused to touch my car) with expensive parts. What are you going to do? I guess some people arent' getting excited about driving an RX8 or Jetta.


Quote:
Originally Posted by mikstew
As much as I would like to believe what you are saying, sadly it just isn't true. I have had many a discussion about German car manufacturers unscrupulous ways of making profits and they all seem to tread the same thin line between purposely making crap/junk parts designed to fail, and poor, but not deliberately poor, design.

To say that the parts that go into german cars are of higher quality or perform better thus making a better car is for the most part completely untrue. In fact, you'll often find much better parts in Japanese autos, especially in electronics. However I will concede that the parts on German cars are usually designed in a unique fashion, thus making their construction more expensive, but I really do question how much more expensive. I believe there is a lot of BS going on here about exclusivity - i.e. Porsche knows that if they make up funky shaped parts, odd fasteners, and unique designs, they will be difficult for after market companies to replicate and/or install, and thus all parts and service revenue go directly to Porsche (Most glaring example of this was the advent of the "service interval"). On top of this, sometimes I believe that certain parts have a prescribed lifespan. In other words, Porsche makes them knowing they will break, and thus they are a big revenue stream. This is CERTAINLY the business model for BMW/Mercedes. Possibly also for Porsche. The AOS is a good example -- it does not take 5 revisions to make one that doesn't fail in 20,000 km. A simple fix would have been to use better materials from the outset. Instead, they used crap knowing that this would be a common service on the car and hence reap the profits from repairs.

So the OP can feel better in knowing that the majority of the people on these forums have suffered the consequences of ownership of a german luxury auto. The only way you can avoid such costs is to buy the car new and use the warranty for what its for. However this is not a perfect fix since the downside is that your cars parts are still going to break and you will waste coutless hours at the dealership NOT enjoying your 100,000$ car. Trust me, I know. Alas, these are just the prices we must pay to enjoy luxury. I know I could have an Acura and be problem free (or much more so), but it just doesn't have the same feel and thrill as the Porsche or BMW. 'Tis a tough world... I wish someone would just make a luxury car that isn't made from cheap crap parts. I've heard that old Bentleys are good for this, but I think I'll need to work on my Law career a little longer before I can get one of those
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Old 06-08-2011, 08:02 AM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark_T
I heard that in heaven they have French cooking, German cars, and English humor.

In hell they have English cooking, French cars and German humor.

I saw that on a the back of an Italian menu in South Beach.

In heaven:

The cooks are Italian
The police are British
The lovers are French
The mechanics are German
and it's all organized by the Swiss

In Hell

The cooks are British
The mechanics are French
The lovers are Swiss
The police are German
and its all organzied by the Italians!
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Old 06-08-2011, 01:16 PM   #25
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Originally Posted by WhipE350
San, how many miles on this car...I've done a ton of stuff to my car but it didn't 'have' to be done, in fact all the 'repairs' on my car (2000 S) at 55k miles were minimal. I think I have done more early maintenance and unnecessary repairs then all those from the previous owner and I got the car at 53k miles in Nov. Do you have to do the gas filter and transmission fluid? If it is at that scheduled maintenance point then of course it makes sense. Like gschotland says getting it up to snuff can be a pia but in the end the piece of mind and the fun in doing it is worth it. I still have the water pump, engine mount, clutch, rms, ims on my list and look forward to doing it when the weather cools down. It gets really expensive when you start adding mods . I will say I probably won't be so positive if my coolant tank goes


Just turned 116k miles. The gear oil was done at about 50k and I didn't see a record for the fuel filter. I'm trying to get all the major maintenance out of the way and start fresh. Luckily, the tires are new, glass window top is new, suspension is tight, clutch feels great.

Next step is to check the cam timing at the dealer (ouch, $145) to see if the IMS is in good shape, if not, then its clutch, IMS and RMS for me too.

Last edited by san rensho; 06-08-2011 at 01:34 PM.
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Old 06-08-2011, 01:43 PM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clickman
Cars break down and have to have parts replaced. Some parts are poorly designed. There's a couple of revelations. At the end of the day it's what you get out of it. Cost / benefit. If that balance doesn't work for you, buy something else. Simple.

To the OP, having just finished the jobs myself, I concur with the earlier post to combine some jobs if you have to do your water pump. I did the front engine mount and low temp thermostat and fuel filter, and it sure opened the area up and made the jobs a lot easier.

PS, if you don't know what coolant you have and have to replace it, and want to avoid the possibility of gelling, either buy a lift for your garage or have the pros do the flushing of the old coolant. Ask me how many times I had to put my car up on jackstands...

Yeah, I just read Pedros write up on the waterpump amd he says loosening the motor mount and lowering the engine makes the job much easier, so I'm going to check the mount and if it isn't perfectly pristine, I'll replace it. I'm a firm believer in if it aint't broke, don't fix it, but I'm friends with the porsche dealer parts guy and he gives me wholesale/mechanics prices on OEM Porsche parts, so I can't really go wrong.
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Old 06-08-2011, 08:32 PM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by san rensho
Just turned 116k miles. The gear oil was done at about 50k and I didn't see a record for the fuel filter. I'm trying to get all the major maintenance out of the way and start fresh. Luckily, the tires are new, glass window top is new, suspension is tight, clutch feels great.

Next step is to check the cam timing at the dealer (ouch, $145) to see if the IMS is in good shape, if not, then its clutch, IMS and RMS for me too.
116k miles...sounds like a good car that just needs some tlc, enjoy fix'in her up and enjoy the drive!
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Old 06-10-2011, 08:42 AM   #28
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116K miles on the original clutch?
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Old 06-10-2011, 12:56 PM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Perfectlap
116K miles on the original clutch?

Yep, and its in pretty good shape except for just the slightest hint of chatter below 2k rpms. I'm hoping the chatter is from a bad motor mount.
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Old 06-10-2011, 12:59 PM   #30
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Then you should definitely do the IMS/Clutch/RMS. Your rear axle boots are probably both ripped as well.

On the brightside the previous owner was obvsiouly easy on the machinery. I'm guessing he probably performed regular oil changes as well.
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Old 06-10-2011, 05:13 PM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Perfectlap
Then you should definitely do the IMS/Clutch/RMS. Your rear axle boots are probably both ripped as well.

On the brightside the previous owner was obvsiouly easy on the machinery. I'm guessing he probably performed regular oil changes as well.

Boots are good, tranny mounts good, suspension tight as drum, no shakes at any speed. Previous owner put new Bridgtones on it (paid over $1300 for them). He was an older guy and his widow said it was mostly highway miles. But yes, the IMS has me worried, the internet has made me paranoid. If the cam timing is good, I may just wait till the clutch goes. Although since I only paid $7500 for it, I guess I can afford to put some money into it.
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Old 06-11-2011, 09:47 AM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by san rensho
Boots are good, tranny mounts good, suspension tight as drum, no shakes at any speed. Previous owner put new Bridgtones on it (paid over $1300 for them). He was an older guy and his widow said it was mostly highway miles. But yes, the IMS has me worried, the internet has made me paranoid. If the cam timing is good, I may just wait till the clutch goes. Although since I only paid $7500 for it, I guess I can afford to put some money into it.
I'd do the IMS if I were you. I was a doubter but eventually got too paranoid and had it done on my 2000 Boxster S with 76,000 miles on it. The bearing was about to fail. It sounds like a lot of money, but once you've done it you know you have a good car that you don't have to worry about. Just my .02.
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Old 06-11-2011, 10:49 AM   #33
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If the car has the original motor mount I'd be comfortable saying that it's almost impossible that the front motor mount doesn't need replacing. The 2000 cars had the earlier design with less rubber. It's a cheap enough part that I'd replace it while you do the water pump. My 2000 at 84k had a very bad motor mount. These two are pretty easy jobs.

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