Ok guys,I know I am a woman but I need help!!!

[crackrjakgrl]

Guys,

My CV joints are gone and I think I am being screwed by the mechanic being I am a woman. Can you tell me what a fair price is to have CV joints rebuilt or replaced? Thanks for any help!

[pschaars951]

hey, I have never replaced my CV joints before but the porsche dealership has set prices for everything so you can call them and get a good price range that you should be in. Just out of curiosity how much are they charging you?

oh and welcome to the forum too

-pete

[crackrjakgrl]

hey pete,
thanks for the welcome. They are wanting to charge me $175 each joint.

[Gordon Rankin]

Last year I paid $115.00 to have one side replaced in my 924. This was for a new part. I dont know if you have a 944 or a 924..

Added: This was for Parts and Labor
------------------
Gordon
1981 924 N/A

[This message has been edited by Gordon Rankin (edited 06-15-2001).]

[Dave951]

Well, labor should not be too much if they are replacing them. Definately no more than one hour. Parts are fairly expensive for a new joint. Check out Pelican's prices. With their list, you can find parts prices. I have rebuilt a 951 CV and it took me about an hour and a half to do one axle(both joints on the axle). However, if they are just replacing the axles, labor should be about one hour for both axles.

Welcome to the board.

Hope this helps,
Dave

[crackrjakgrl]

Hey Gordon,

I have an 86 Turbo...and I was just thinking that $175 each sounded a little too steep

[crackrjakgrl]

they were going to charge me $700 total...parts and labor

[Obin Robinson]

Originally posted by crackrjakgrl:
they were going to charge me $700 total...parts and labor

hell NO!!!!!!!! i have rebuilt 3 halfshafts for my 924 and 944. each time, all the aprts involved cost less than $20!!!!! the "labor"??? well, the first one took me 3 hours (never done it before). the last one took me 45 minutes.

honestly, you can do it yourself. even if you think you're going to screw something up. trust me, it's not that hard to do. we can all help you out and you will have around $600. i even have a rebuilt halfshaft waiting just in case something happens.

good luck! we can walk you through the whole thing.

obin

[crackrjakgrl]

Thanks Obin for your reply. I knew I was being suckered but wasn't sure how bad. I appreciate your confidence in that I could fix myself but I am a woman and know nothing about vehicles. I guess the thing for me to do is to keep calling around and maybe I can find someone to do it much cheaper.

[Cake944]

Even as a woman (statement of fact, NOT insulting), I think that you can do this job yourself. My wife (also a woman) has been helping me do a few things on our car. She has little mechanical aptitude, but is capable of doing some of the work. You will only need a few things, such as a Haynes manual, jack, jack stands, patience, "cheesehead" wrench (available at Autozone) and a few metric hand tools. The job is a little messy, but not that difficult as long as you can read.

[crackrjakgrl]

well,I already have the haynes manual...bought that when I got the car. I know I probably could do it but I guess my biggest concern is that if I were to try and fix myself...I don't want to make the problem worse....

[stray15]

Hey, if your anywhere near central PA I'll help you do it if you let it for a spin after we are done.

------------------
Porsche, Through and through
Tim
'83 944

http://community.webshots.com/user/strayer15

[Dave951M]

Welcome to the board! It's especially nice to see a girl driving a 951. I found complete rebuilt axles, with cv joints at CarQuest for $68 exchange. The cost for installation shouldn't be more than 2hrs labor. All that's involved is jacking the car and removing 12 bolts, taking out old axle, put in new axle, reinstall 12 bolts, torque bolts, lower car. Drive off.

OBIN!!!!-- Where are you getting the parts to rebuild them?? I've been looking everywhere, managing to strike out completely. I've rebuilt Fiat joints, these are way easier. I just can't find the parts! Do you have sources and p/n? Need help, suffering from 951 withdrawal and would rather rebuild than buy. Call me a cheapskate, but I can't justify paying anyone to do some easy job like this one when I can do it and be confident in the outcome.

Dave951M

[drew1]

Hi crackrjak,

$275 per CV seems high. It could be $275 per axle (two CV per axle. This is fair. A shop will probably charge list price for the CVs which is about $110-$120 per each CV kit(CV, boot & grease) from a dealer, according my memory. Then probably an hour charged at $40 - $50.

Saw you live in Arkansaw. If you or some buddies are going to do it yourself, & want dealer parts, try Don McGill Porsche in Houston, TX. Tell Dave that Andrew Love says "Hey" and ask him if you can get 20% discount on mail order parts. 1-800-237-1698. If not & you can wait on West Coast shipping give our BBS hosts, Pelican , a try. I imagine they sell Lobro which is who makes them for Porsche.

If you or buddies do it, tools you will need are ratchet, swivel, extension, 6 piont allen socket or 12 point for socket head bolt socket, lock ring pliers, screw drivers , & paper towells or rags.

Let's talk about the bolts. I have seen bolts with no head and bolts that have the holes messed up. By replacing everyother time I grease, (30,000 mi is good time to do it), I don't find this problem on cars I work on. Last bolts I got from a dealer cost $1.44 each, I think. They come with the boot kit from a dealer, otherwise tey are 6 to a CV. Some people get cheaper ones, but all metric bolts made overseas don't meet the same temper specs.

Being a woman may help. A pretty woman ought not to have any problem getting somebody to work on a Porsche. My wife has less "coaxing" for this than other projects.

drew1

[Obin Robinson]

Originally posted by crackrjakgrl:
well,I already have the haynes manual...bought that when I got the car. I know I probably could do it but I guess my biggest concern is that if I were to try and fix myself...I don't want to make the problem worse....

well, put it this way, i was concerned about the exact same thing before i did it. then after i did it, i was like "THAT's IT?!?! i can't believe i was going to pay for that."

honestly, believe me, you can do this yourself. follow the directions in the manual exactly. they are very good. also, if you really are worried about screwing something up, we can all walk you through it. worst case, i'll sell you my rebuilt halfshaft for cheap (and take your old one in, then rebuild it for $20 and keep it). believe me, it LOOKS like a pain in the ass, but you can accomplish this job with:

...$10 set of snap-ring pliers from Sears.
...cheese-head socket from Sears ($6 or so)
...a TON of rags (i mean like a big bag of 20 or 30)
...two $2 tubes of CV joint grease.
...two replacement CV boots (i think $5 each, or you can buy a "CV boot kit for $15)
...jackstands ($10 for 2 if you don't own them)
...a jack (c'mon, everyone has one or can borrow one )

i have done this job so many times i can even tell you where you will run into problems, and what you'll have problems with.

1) the CV boots will be a pain in the ass to remove
2) you won't get the CV assembly together right the first time (or maybe 3 times )
3) you will run out of rags if you only get 10 or 15
4) it will be a BIG BIG BIG pain to stretch the rubber boot back onto the halfshaft
5) you will scream, curse, and get pissed a bunch the first time you do it
6) the little c-ring won't want to go back on easily.
7) the little cheesehead bolts will be a big pain getting out unless you soak the heck out of them with this stuff called "PB Blast"
8) when you finish it, you will feel great!

next time i do it, i'll post a lot of pics, as a whole bunch of people need to do this. you probably don't need new ones if you rebuild yours. also, if yours are so badly worn you will need new ones, then this will still save you around $400 to $500 over having the garage do it for you.

good luck!

obin

[Obin Robinson]

Originally posted by Dave951M:
OBIN!!!!-- Where are you getting the parts to rebuild them?? I've been looking everywhere, managing to strike out completely. I've rebuilt Fiat joints, these are way easier. I just can't find the parts! Do you have sources and p/n? Need help, suffering from 951 withdrawal and would rather rebuild than buy. Call me a cheapskate, but I can't justify paying anyone to do some easy job like this one when I can do it and be confident in the outcome.

Dave951M

well, the CVs on the 924, 924 turbo, and 944 were all the same. they are also identical to the ones in some VW buses. hint: there's a billion busted buses with flawlessly new CVs on them. the left-side halfshaft in my 924 was one i rebuilt that used to be the right side one of my old 924 turbo. the ones in my 944 were both ones that were previously in my 924. i have YET to rebuild one and have it fail, click, or go bad.

also, a bit of trivia. 2 weeks ago when i was at Watkins Glen, i was talking to a guy with a Lola Indycar ( a mid-1980s one). i looked at the halfshafts and i said:

"you know, that halfshaft looks mighty familiar. is it only for this car?"

he said:

"no, they're actaully Porsche halfshafts"

i thought about it and said:

"out of a 944?"

he thought about it and said:

"well, i think so, i my mechanic says that they're not that expensive and they are pretty common. we don't modify them at all, we just change shorten the rubber boot a bit so that it can clear the ground effects tunnels"

heh heh, pretty cool huh

obin

[crackrjakgrl]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the help and the welcome! I have since found someone to replace my CV's for me...parts and labor only $275. My porsche is just too cool to be making all that clanging....

[Blackfoot]

crackjack, if you attempt it, kudos to you!

the thing that sometimes deters me from doing self-repair is that i live in an appt. complex, and i can't jack up a car and leave it that way for days like you can when you have a garage.

welcome to the board. it's cool also that you have a 951! are you married? :-)

[Obin Robinson]

just offhand:

from 924.org:
Most 924/944/951 CV joints are nothing more than type 4 VW bus joints. PN 924 CV joints: 113.501.331D


obin

[crackrjakgrl]

Blackfoot,

Well,I am not going to attempt to fix it myself..but have found someone to do it for me at quite a reasonable price. No,I am not married can't find anyone better than my car...