OUCH --Clutch job needed

widmn · 11-19-2002, 08:03 AM

Car conked out on way to work this morn. 100,000 miles. 87 911. Towed to mechanic who said was about $2600 at first glance with the 30,000 done at the same time. He says it needs fork?? replaced and upgraded to brass one and probably the clutch too at this mileage. Needs to drop engine, blah blah blah Sound right???

JDaniel · JDaniel's Garage

g-50 upgrade of shaft/fork and replacement of clutch... add in 30k service... yeah, I'd say $2600 is not too far off the mark.

john walker's workshop · 11-19-2002, 08:55 AM

only about $500-$600 off the mark. kind of pricey!

bob tilton · bob tilton's Garage

john, what is the standard shop time to just drop the motor only - no additional work?
bob

JDaniel · JDaniel's Garage

It's only about $500-$600 off your mark John.

Many of us p-car owners have the unfortunate circumstance of not living near your shop, so we have to deal with inflated prices (read "Dealer"). Maybe you could franchise and have a shop in every city. That way we could all enjoy fair prices and real p-car know how!

I was quoted about $2k for just a clutch replacement (my neck of the woods) Add in the $250 for the Porsche factory fix, and 2-5 hours for labor + $$ for maint parts... That's why I figured $2,600 was not too far from reality. But yes, it is a bit high any way you look at it.

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

Why don't you just buy the parts and do it yourself? Here are the instructions - it's not too difficult:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/911_clutch_replace/911_clutch_replace1.htm

-Wayne

Neilk · 11-19-2002, 09:43 AM

Isn't the book rate for an engine drop and reinstall something like 6 or 9 hours? My old mechanic said he could drop an engine in 1 hour. So there is a lot of free money whenever they drop an engine.

Maybe John Walker can make a list of what he charges for common repairs so we can see when we are being hosed.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

I have to keep posting this to encourage others to DIY their clutch job. Wayne is absolutely right. You can do this yourself for under $1000. Hell, for the fun and learning experience I got out of doing my own, I would have gladly paid $2000. BTW, this was my first engine drop and we did it in about 6 hrs., none of us having ever done it before. A few months later, Marcesq and I dropped his (just the two of us) in under 4 hrs. Check out below. It can be done!

Engine drop . . . day one

Superman · 11-19-2002, 09:58 AM

I agree with Wayne. The reasons I perform these jobs on my own cars include:

Save Money
Learn about the car
Make sure the car is not damaged in the process
Increases the length and width of my Johnson

Seriously, the nimrods who work at shops, even dealerships, often break and scratch things, and just cover up the damage.

A shop is free to charge the "book rate" regardless of whether it actually took them that much time. Time is money for John. So, John is fast. John is real fast, because he knows exactly what he is doing and he wastes no motions at all. I believe John shares those savings (savings that accrue from his acquired efficiency), with his customers....but I figure he benefits from that efficiency more than the customer, and that is fair. In other words, if he does a job in one hour that the book says takes seven, then perhaps he charges for five hours.

Good work is expensive, but worth every single penny.

john walker's workshop · 11-19-2002, 10:55 AM

yes, you can't give it away if you run a business. the overhead is too high. i try to stay equal with the rest of the locals so i don't get a rep as being expensive. yes, i can do a clutch job in a couple of hours if everything goes right, but charging for straight time would put me out of business quickly, so i charge what i think is reasonable without feeling like i gouged someone. most shops around here feel the same. book times tend to be unreasonable, so i don't even look.