Notes from 30k service

[FUHRIUS]

thought I'd post some random notes from my recent 30k service on my '01s, done at anderson-behel porsche / audi in San Jose. the car's still under warranty until oct of this year.

cost: $408, was quoted $425.

no plugs, since the 01's don't need plugs until the 60k service.

I was impressed with all the checks they did.

No damage or add'l wear reported as a result of my mods (no tire rub, no wheel bearing play, no issues from the hp bump, nothing)

Clutch looked 'very good' with an estimated 60-70% useful life remaining. I found this a bit surprising, as did the service advisor.

Brakes showed very little wear (I believe the numbers quoted were that the pads start with approx 12mm of thickness, the rears still 9mm and the fronts had 10mm)...service advisor was very surprised given the the clutch wear was so low...he said they usually see on or the other worn significantly more by 30k, depending on if you're a hard braker or a big down-shifter...I'm more of a down-shifter (which he praised) so I was quite surprised the clutch wear was so low.

Uh, you may be wondering how they guaged clutch wear? It's not part of the 30k service because it's many hoursof work to get into it...but they'd found a leak at the bell housing and thought it was a RMS leak, tore it all down and found it was the other seal in there (for the intermediate shaft, I believe)...so I told them to check all clutch parts while they had it torn apart so that I wouldn't eat all the labor to have it re-done somewhere down the road. I expected that I'd be replacing something in there...so that was a nice surprise. Having the intermediate shaft leak was not a pleasant surprise, having already had an RMS leak. The service advisor had already started walking me through the 'if it's rms again, you get a new engine' so I'll be watching closely until october when my warranty runs out. He did say, however, that if I'd had an rms issue under warranty and then had it again outside the warranty period that porsche would 'goodwill' it...we'll see.

They found some little things:
- high tone on the horn was not working...I had no idea...fixed under warranty
- a few mud flaps and plastic bits missing from the underside...he said not related to the lowering...that it 'happens on all the boxster'...recommended replacing the..around $100 but didn't have the stuff in stock...not sure if I will replace them
- recommended a brake line fluch, but I'd done it two years ago and think I'll wait a little longer to do that again
- recommended adjusting the emergency brake for $70, it feels fine to me so I passed

That about covers it...hope this helps someone somewhere sometime.

[b1zzyv1et]

Sounds like they are very honest and provide quality service. My loca dealer (champion porsche) quoted me ~650-$700 FOR MY 30K SERVICE..

FURIUS, u got pm

[donv]

Originally Posted by FUHRIUS

I'm more of a down-shifter (which he praised)

I've been debating which way to go, either really using the brakes or primarily using the clutch to slow down in places like long exit ramps, etc. I'd reasoned it out that I can do the brakes by myself easily and they're (relatively) cheaper to replace, so I've been biasing towards brakes use and only doing aggressive downshifting when on the track for performance reasons.

Did the service advisor tell you why he was praising down-shifting (other than the possibility of future clutch jobs )? Would like to know...

[socratic]

Fuhrius,

I thought RMS leaks were primarily on pre-2000 Boxsters. I was surprised to read that you had one too. I also have a 2001. What happened in your case of an RMS leak?

[deliriousga]

Originally Posted by donv

I've been debating which way to go, either really using the brakes or primarily using the clutch to slow down in places like long exit ramps, etc. I'd reasoned it out that I can do the brakes by myself easily and they're (relatively) cheaper to replace, so I've been biasing towards brakes use and only doing aggressive downshifting when on the track for performance reasons.

If you keep it in the lower gears longer, downshifting and braking are needed much less. No wear on the clutch from downshifting and no wear on the brakes. I keep her in a gear until at least 5K rpm, whether running up through the gears or cruising. I'm rarely in 5th gear since I'd be doing 100+ to break the 5K barrier. My negative is gas mileage is lost when you drive at higher rpm. There are trade-offs for every style of driving.

One other thing, learn how to do the clutch and it's actually cheaper than the brakes unless the flywheel needs to be changed.

[xavier405]

I just went to Circle Porsche of Long Beach, CA for my 30k service. They are a friendly shop and dealer. I live closer to Newport Auto Center / Porsche, but that is like a cavernous Porsche Mall and is a little too showy. The Circle Porsche is more of a hole in the wall with difficult parking and a small showroom, yet they seem to keep turning over the Carerra GTs.

I was quoted $699 and with tax it came to $727.65. Also the every-two-years brake flush service was quoted at $199 but I did not go for it yet.

The service completed was according to requirements. I got the list of checks and it matched my owners manual, I won't go into the details. Parts were
Alum seal ring 0.26
Oil Filter Insert 20.82
Oil Mobil 1 0W40 10x7.76
Pollen Filter 74.78
Window wash fluid 5.53
Parts wash 8.95 ???
Air cleaner cartridge 40.84

Additional service was according to my list of nags:
Sticky tiptronic switch : was lubricated
Broken windstop clip : was replaced
Curious airbag light: was explained as normal... included diagnosis, remove instrument cluster, cleaned terminals, recalibrate fuel level sender while in cluster
Door rattle: was fixed
seat belt beginning to fray: needs district manager review
2nd gear hesitation at 2500rpm: they didn't understand it, but I demonstrated it, the service rep will call HQ and ask about it. (There is another post on the hesitation if you search on tiptronic tranny hesitation)

Wash and vacuum!

Overall I was very pleased!!

[deliriousga]

Originally Posted by xavier405

Parts wash 8.95 ???

Glad to see that. A good shop cleans all parts that are removed to help cut down on corrosion over time. I'm impressed with your dealership.

Btw, the brake bleeding can be done in about 20 minutes DIY with a power bleeder ($49) and 2 quarts of brake fluid. Anyone interested in the power bleeder, go to www.928gt.com and search for "bleeder" and you'll see the Motive Power Bleeder. The cap is only one size so you can order any year model and it will fit your Boxster reservoir. Makes one-man bleeding a sinch and very effective at shoving any air out. Since you should replace your brake fluid every 2 years, it's a great tool to have.

[Onad]

My favorite: Window wash fluid $5.53