Gearbox Repair - your thoughts?

[mylamb]

So I have posted this subject a couple of times, but now that I finally have my vehicle back, I can fill you in on all the details.

I had the dreaded 2nd gear pop out & had to have the gearbox worked on. Now that 986's are out of their original warranty (unless you have a CPO) it seems that aftermarket warranty co.'s will make you FIX, as opposed to replace your gearbox. I have Warranty America, and they are subpar, in my opinion, as they force a shop to go with Motors or AllData for the required # of hours. They won't honor Porsche's #'s & won't honor Chilton or Mitchell.

My shop needed about 22 hours for R&R and the rebuild. That doesn't sound unreasonable, but the warranty co said it only takes 12.7 hrs, according to Motors or AllData. You can guess who had to pay the additional 9.3... I had a few other repairs to be done, that the warranty company wouldn't pick up, like the CV boots, and the leak in the spark plug tube. They were considered wear & tear. They also wouldn't pay for the synchros - considered wear & tear. They did, however pick up the necessary gears & the 12.7 hours, which came to just over $2300. Naturally I had to spring for the clutch & flywheel, but because the warranty company was being so difficult, my shop comped me the additional 3 hrs needed to do the clutch & flywheel.

When the first got the approval to do the repair, Porsche actually sent them parts that wouldn't work. When the shop called Porsche to describe the problem, they were told "oh, we have a new fix for that, we'll send an extra sleeve that we're using now on gearbox rebuilds." So the shop had to R&R the tranny TWICE, but couldn't bill the 2nd one because it wasn't MY fault, and Porsche wouldn't pay them to do it. They said it was a unique circumstance, and since they're not a P Dealer, and I'm not the original owner, there would be no reimbursement. How's THAT for getting screwed??? So it took a while but at least, I didn't have to pay for the second R&R.

In all, the warranty company paid $2300+ and the balance was mine. At least the transmission works perfectly now, and I have a new clutch & flywheel. I'll try and post the bill so you can see what it's like to get your tranny rebuilt. The shop gave me the old 2nd gear, shims & synchros, so I could at least see that, yes, it was damaged. I suspect the 1st owner did most of that, because I have been driving sticks for 14 yrs, and never had a gear or clutch problem.


Just thought I'd share the experience.