Carrera Chain Tensioner Upgrade Cost

[roverelf]

Hi All:

Knowing the cost (~ $400) for the Carrera chain tensioner upgrade kit, what should I figure pricewise to have it installed?

I am relatively new in the Pittsburgh, PA area. I called the local Porsche dealer, who referred me to a private shop. They quoted me $1500 for the job (including kit). Is that a fair price? If not, what is? Thanks in advance for your feedback.

John

[svandamme]

do it yourself, i did it last weekend

takes about 20 minutes per side if you have the correct kit
you only need a partial engine drop

drain oil = 10 minutes
jack car = 5
partial drop = 20
the actuall tensioner change = 40
raise engine = 20
drop car = 2 minutes
97 minutes

let's be conservative
take 4 hours and you got the whole thing covered with time to spare.
that 1500 bucks price tag is not at all fair it's a downright ripp off
@ 250 bucks an hour !!!

EDIT and for the record, i'm not mechanical expert , untill 6 months ago , all i did was tire change and oil filling on my lease company car... until last weekend i never did anything else engine related

i had been doign car disassembling the last 4 months, due to restoration, and my engine wasn't in the car it was out of the car, but the procedure above can be done in 4-5 hours if prepared and educated ... it's really quite simple

[vash]

i was told labor would be $400.

v man, how much off the motor did you have to remove, muffler and what else? actually for the $400, i was quoted, awfully tempting.

[svandamme]

i had two books at hand , engine rebuilding and 101 projects..
really only used the 101 projects, it covered all i needed to know
spending lot's of time on this board also helps

[Danskman]

On another thread, I can't remember which one, someone was recently quoted $1200 for the job, total parts and labor.

I did mine on Saturday, but the engine is on a stand. I don't think it would be too difficult in the car, but sounds like a partial drop, like svandamme mentioned, would make it easier. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe in 101 P's it just says to remove the rear shroud.

I gotta tell you. After doing all I've done on my engine with it out of the car and on a stand, I think it's easy to justify dropping the motor for a weekend every couple/three years. Especially if you don't put a ton of miles on the car, and 10,000 miles covers 2-3 years. Valve adjustment was cake. Spark plugs - cake. Tensioner upgrade - cake. Replacing all the usual oil leak culprits - cake. No way would I have done all the stuff I did with the engine in the car. Now it's tight and dry, and ready to fly...

[roverelf]

Thanks all. I thought the $1500 was a bit much. I may give it a try myself. I just purchased the car in the fall from the original owner. It is a 1983 with 20K original miles. Yep, only 20k. Should I wait to put the carerra tensioners in, or do you recommend doing it now?

Thanks,
John

[svandamme]

do it as soon as possible, i bought mine last august, and drove it conservatively... lucky i did, left chain was not tense, didn't have tensioners in the traditional sense, it had a aluminum block with a bolt.. i learned that these are racing tensioners...

my left chain was very slack, and if you search for valve shot through valve cover on this board, you'll find several stories with pic to document the carnage if it get's too slack

[Danskman]

Originally posted by roverelf
Should I wait to put the carerra tensioners in, or do you recommend doing it now?

That's the million dollar question (or $6k - $10k). I bought my kit and sat on it for a while knowing I wanted to drop the engine to fix a bunch of oil leaks. My clutch went out, and made me make my move sooner. I would do it as soon as it's convenient for you - not critically urgent, but needs to be done.

20k miles. Wow. That's fantastic.

[CHILI]

I did it, too. Here's the tech article...

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/911_carrera_chain_tensioners/911_carrera_chain_tensioners2.htm

I just printed it and each picture (seperatley). read through it a few times and had 101 handy. All you need to do is remove the muffler, rear engine tin and heater hoses and distributor. No need to drop the motor. Everything is accessable from underneath, so jack it up high after you drop the muffler. It's easier on the ol' back!

I did it over a two day period.
Day 1
Drain oil, remove muffler, distributor, remove engine tins and heater hoses, clamp chain down (see article), remove old tensioners.

Then I went and had dinner and watched a movie.
Day 2
Primed new tensioners and put them in. Reinstalled all of the stuff, added oil, timed it.

[SilverPoly]

Should I wait to put the carerra tensioners in, or do you recommend doing it now?

I'd do it now like everyone suggested. Rather be safe than sorry even though it has very low miles.

Knowing the cost (~ $400) for the Carrera chain tensioner upgrade kit

I remember when I did this the part was $700 back in what.. 1998? Maybe I should have waited... Nah

[svandamme]

the low miles for me is a reason to not wait
have current tensioners been maintained? or are they 5+ year old ??
no way to tell , unless maybe a recent bill stating explicitely the tensioners... no way to tell... and posssible extreme repercussions if indeed old... better safe then sorry.