Firestone crushed my oil lines.

[old_skul]

Thanks, Firestone!



Un-fricking believable. A scant two days before a driver's ed, too. I had gone there on a recommendation from my local Porsche dealer - who will be getting a call tomorrow.

I got it all on paper, and they've agreed to pay for the damages.

Kudos to Darren here at Pelican who did his best to help out in getting parts numbers, even though the soonest he could get the part in from Porsche is Saturday (not soon enough).

The good news: It's not leaking, and there's oil flow up to the front cooler. And I apologize for the graphic pictures, I understand they're not for the faint of heart.

Please, be angry with me.

[pjv911]

Good luck with the threads on the thermostat. I would include a new thermostat in the repair price. Those aluminum threads dont like to break loose. Thats a sign of a non experienced tech. Its normal procedure to make sure the lift is set properly before you lift it. Or was that from a floorjack?

KURT WILLIAMS

[old_skul]

That was a four-arm jack, handled improperly by a Firestone "technician".

I can remember being 17, working in a Sohio (now BP) station - and learning how important it was to take your time to be careful when you lift a car. ANY car.

I'm going to let the Porsche dealer dothe work, rent me a car, and generally complete the work top-notch. I won't take anything less.

Boy, am I wrenched on this one.

[Bill Douglas]

Mark, I think if you replace the oil lines you need to replace the oil cooler as well with one of those fancy ones with the fan And like Kurt said a new thermostat is essential.

[Chuck Moreland]

That seems to be a common problem.

shameless plug on

If you had a bit more time to work with you could have gone with the Elephant Racing oil lines. These will be shipping in a few weeks and will soon be in the Pelican catalog. Cheaper than OEM and they provide a big cooling boost as well.

/shameless plug

[Jim Sims]

The next hurdle is for your new lines to survive shipping via UPS or motor freight. Hopefully, they'll be shipped inside a long cardboard carton stiffened with a couple of pieces of lumber to reduce the chance of the lines being bent during handling and transport. Good luck. Jim

[pwd72s]

Hey, at least you can easily buy replacement lines. And you learned a lesson. Anybody know where I can find a set of front cooler '72 hard lines these days? Thought not....I know a guy who found a set...several states away. He talked his dad into bringing them home atop a motor home, lashed down. During the motor home drive, all the old oil was blown out of the lines. As I heard it: :"I spent 5 days. Cleaning up dad's motorhome."
Still, probably worth it....

[old_skul]

Chuck, if I can, I'll specify that I want Elephant lines put on. They may be willing to do that. Not that it matters, but how do you ship the lines?

[Jim Sims]

pwd72S, I assume you have tried to buy them new(probably$$$ or NLA). If not, you might check; the PN's are: 911.207.025.01 (longer line from oil filter/thermostat console to front) and 911.207.026.01 for the shorter line from the front to the tank. Otherwise keep looking; I found an almost complete external oil cooler line system (front turn around "u" was lost in the wreck) and thermostat housing (including the brackets) for my son's '73 (another almost orphan year) at 20th Street in Phoenix, AZ. Another possibility is to adapt a modern line set; the back section would have to be made with hose and adapter fittings but you'd have the brass lines (with their heat transfer capability and fragileness) under the car at least. Cheers, Jim

[pwd72s]

Jim, thanks for the tips...but '73 isn't as orphan as '72..it's the forward mounted oil tank thing for '72...the only year made. Yes, NLA through Porsche at least...thank gawd mine are still fine, don't really "need" a set...but all those who want to add a front cooler to a '72? It's not easy...

[Joeaksa]

Mark,

Had the same thing happen to my 85 model. Drove it for two months while waiting for the shop to cough up the bux and then get the parts in stock. The temps did not increase at all but it was September and no AutoX work. They paid for the lines, rocker panels and paint and such with no hassle, just took a while.

I would not hurry and look at this as a perfect time to be the test mule for the Elephant oil lines, especially as someone else is paying for them!

Joe

[89911]

Mark, what where you thinking? You don't have any local shops that work on Porsche's there? About the only thing I trust Firestone to do is patch a tire, and even this with some doubts. If you can't actually talk to the person who works on your car, your really just rolling the dice that who ever happens to be the "service specialist" on your car is going to give a crap. Hope they come up with the cash for you.

[old_skul]

Oh, they'll come up with it. Firestone has probably had enough of lawsuits for the time being.

What I was thinking was that if the Porsche dealer recommended them (which they did) I could probably trust them to do work on my tires. It's not like they don't have the proper lift there to do the job - they just didn't use that lift.

From now on, though, I'll be taking my car to another person who has the proper gear to change tires and balance them, and also has many years of Porsche experience.

[billwagnon]

Hey old_skul, whatever happened to your Escort to the third power?

[Kurt B]

Now your oil lines look like mine but only a bit worse because I had the firestone employee who put the lifter under my rocker panel and crushed it mostly instead!

Of course, it's a lot easier to beat out a rocker panel than an oil line.
I had the new rears put on recently and told em to hand jack it and I'd show em where to put the jack and they were more than happy to oblige!

[Chuck Moreland]

The lines can be shipped UPS oversize, and they just barely make the size cuttoff. The carton is being sorted now. I'm looking at double and triple wall corrugated board, and lumber will be in the plans if needed.