2007 Boxster - $6k worth of repairs - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

lurky · 11-20-2018, 10:20 AM

Hi I have a 2007 boxster... It was making a horrible noise last week so I took it to the Porsche dealership.. today I got the bad news..

Air/oil separator needs to be replaced (this is the primary issue)
Air/Oil separator replacement total $855.0
They said they also found 3 leaks:
Rear main seal $3000
transmission pan gasket $1250
drivers side cv shaft (axle?) $1400

So the horrible noise was due to the air oil separator, that has to be fixed.. but I think only one of the leaks was serious, the others are slow leaks..

One possibility, I usually get it worked on (brake pads) by a mechanic who works out of his garage, I put a call in to him, Im sure he would charge less than the dealership, ... do you know if any of these issues could be address by this type of guy? or would you need the apparatus they have in the shop to fix these?

particlewave · 11-20-2018, 10:29 AM

AOS is an easy DIY.
After you replace that yourself, get under the car and see if and how bad the others are. RMS is a big job as the transmission needs to be removed, but the axle and pan gasket are both easy DIY fixes.

All of the repairs can be done by a moderate DIYer, certainly by a competent mechanic.

Starter986 · 11-20-2018, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by particlewave

AOS is an easy DIY.
After you replace that yourself, get under the car and see if and how bad the others are. RMS is a big job as the transmission needs to be removed, but the axle and pan gasket are both easy DIY fixes.

All of the repairs can be done by a moderate DIYer, certainly by a competent mechanic.

+1

I'm a DIY. Replaced my AOS in <2 hours. Part ~$125.

I'll be pulling my own transmission pan. Parts ~$90. Fluid ~$60.

Those 2 you could do yourself. Save the quid for upgrades... mods... and beer. When it comes time for axle work... I'll be consulting the forum.

The RMS. Ouch.

Good luck.

husker boxster · 11-20-2018, 01:19 PM

As others have said, the AOS is a DIY job. Suncoast has them for the best price - less than $100. You'll add a stack of $1s to the swear jar, but way cheaper than $8 bills.

The RMS charge is WAY over priced.

JayG · 11-20-2018, 02:57 PM

Bring your car out to sunny San Diego and my guy will probably do all that for around 50% of that rip off pricing

For example, he replaced one of my rear axles for around $500 parts and labor

thstone · 11-20-2018, 04:34 PM

How bad is the rear main seal leak? If its just a seep (oil on the bottom of the engine but no drops) or only a couple of drips now and then, then you can probably live with it for quite a while. If its leaving drops on a daily basis, then it should be repaired. Dropping the transmission, replacing the RMS, and re-installing the trans should run around $1200-$1500 at an independent mechanic.

Same for the transmission pan leak. But this one is fairly easy to replace so your mechanic should be able to do it for much cheaper.

Its important to replace the CV joint boot if its torn or leaking. Your mechanic should be able to do that for much less than the dealer.

NewArt · 11-20-2018, 05:30 PM

Ooo, dealer prices. Nasty nasty!
The RMS is a bit of a challenge for a DYI project but the rest are quite do-able for the moderately handy (and fearless)Porsche owner. It’s an old car now and maintenance and upgrades are half the fun!

tonythetiger · 11-27-2018, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lurky

Hi I have a 2007 boxster... It was making a horrible noise last week so I took it to the Porsche dealership.. today I got the bad news..

Air/oil separator needs to be replaced (this is the primary issue)

Air/Oil separator replacement total $855.0

They said they also found 3 leaks:

Rear main seal $3000

transmission pan gasket $1250

drivers side cv shaft (axle?) $1400

So the horrible noise was due to the air oil separator, that has to be fixed.. but I think only one of the leaks was serious, the others are slow leaks..

One possibility, I usually get it worked on (brake pads) by a mechanic who works out of his garage, I put a call in to him, Im sure he would charge less than the dealership, ... do you know if any of these issues could be address by this type of guy? or would you need the apparatus they have in the shop to fix these?

I’m competent with a wrench but not trained mechanic nor have much practice. I replaced the AOS, both drive shafts (need alignment afterwards, 80 bucks) and did the tranny service to include pan gasket of course.
Parts were 100 bucks for AOS and 2 hours
Parts for drive shafts were 200 bucks and about 1.5 hours each side
Parts for transmission where 6 quarts of tranny fluid at about 11 bucks a quart and a 10 dollar gasket, I spent about 2 hours, but an hour of this was cleaning everything and scrubbing the pan, etc.
do it yourself or learn exactly how and direct an independent on how you want it done.
It’s fun!

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NewArt · 11-27-2018, 05:44 PM

@tonythetiger
Exactly!

alm001 · 11-27-2018, 05:59 PM

Where are you in CT? I'm local and I'd be willing to help with the AOS at least (I've done that before)

Never done an axle on the porsche, but other germans. RMS is probably out of my depths, but I've never failed at a project...

Geof3 · 11-27-2018, 07:53 PM

The hardest part of doing the axles is taking off and retorqueing the axle nut. It requires 3 men, 2 children and a six pack as well as a BFW!!!

jdraupp · 11-28-2018, 02:17 AM

What you need to do is find a competent porsche independent mechanic that knows these cars but charges a fraction of the stealership. My guy redid both my CV joints for 600 bucks this year. Aos was about 450 installed.

jonogt6 · 11-28-2018, 04:34 AM

Oh lordy those prices are absurd. How can they possibly justify nearly $900 for the aos!

Brian in Tucson · 11-28-2018, 06:30 AM

Find a nice independent Euro car shop and get a second or even third opinion. Probably the most labor intensive part is taking the transmission out to get the RMS. But while it's out, the cv axles could be cleaned and new boots could be installed, and the trans pan gasket could get replaced.

I wonder if the dealer is figuring the labor for each repair separately. Only need to take the trannie out once for most of this. The AOS could be replaced while the trannie is out and the rear of the engine is easier to access. While you're having all this work done, get a magnetic drain plug, cheap. And a water pump.

6 G's is just insane!

Brian in Tucson · 11-28-2018, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonythetiger

It’s fun!

It IS fun. And if you are a competent home mechanic it's all doable. I replaced my 01 engine, rebuilt the drive shafts, etc. A puzzle, Porsche does things differently from other vehicles I've worked on. But the 'puzzley' parts are solvable and there really is a pride of accomplishment.

geekdaddy · 11-28-2018, 10:05 AM

I'm new here and this may be a dumb question, but can't the axle boot be more easily and cost effectively by replacing the entire axle(s) with new or rebuilt units. Just pop out the old ones and put in the new ones with new axles. Don't have to remove and deal with the axle nuts, right? (or am I wrong and don't yet understand how to work on Boxsters yet?).

There are inexpensive options out there like this one: https://goo.gl/vT3J5n
Not sure this particular one fits a 2007 but there may be others.

tonythetiger · 11-29-2018, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian in Tucson

It IS fun. And if you are a competent home mechanic it's all doable. I replaced my 01 engine, rebuilt the drive shafts, etc. A puzzle, Porsche does things differently from other vehicles I've worked on. But the 'puzzley' parts are solvable and there really is a pride of accomplishment.

True dat. (80s quote)

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