Just curious. How many Porsche owners/drivers/lovers are able/willing to do the work on their machines. I have heard Porsche drivers complaining about the complexity of their cars, and I never understood what the big deal is. If so, are you a driveway, on the weekend type, the purpose built sterile building type, or the 'borrow a lift bay from a buddy, and pay with a 6 pack' type. I know there are some air-cooled guys here as well, and I am really curious to hear from them.
Yep, all the time. Injector o-rings, leaking fuel rails, oil changes, etc. Whatever I can do, I do myself. Some things I'm not quite up on like balljoint rebuilding. At the end of the day it's no more crazy than my Mustang's were back in the day. Maybe a few more electronic doodads more, or whatever, but its still a car. 87 944 turbo.
I do all my own also, unless its covered by new car warranty. (Granted I've also got a 4Post lift that helps quite a bit) All-said-and-done..... does not matter whether its GM, Porsche, Ferrari....its a piece of mechanical parts, and unless you get into something that truely requires something to tap into the ECU........its a car. (The piece about the every scarey timing belts kills me...I mean it can only go on one way) The other reason I do is, you can pretty much get any manual you want for the car in questoin, and most likely you will give it that extra piece of care when working on the car. (and its rewarding!)
I haven't done major stuff yet, but I plan to once I get a lift and start the 6 conversion on my 914...paying someone to do it would be WAY more than buying all the tools and learning.
I'm over on Pelican, so most Porsche owners I know have air-cooled stuff and aren't afraid to turn a wrench. There's certain stuff I just can't do at home--I don't have a machine shop or a welder, for example. But routine stuff gets DIY'd. I think it's useful to have some knowledge of the inner workings of your car when it's 20+ years-old. Helps keep you from using AAA as much.
I don't own a Porsche yet, but I do work on them for a living. So when I do end up getting one, I will certainly work on it myself.
I don't let anyone else touch my cars but me. ASE Master technician certified, worked for Ford, Land Rover, Rolls-Royce, and Jaguar over the years. I can and often do everything including transmission internals, engine rebuilds, everything. I don't trust anyone else to touch my cars, and would rather not them do my warranty work (I let them do it, then take it home and recheck their work).
I am really liking what I am hearing. I was raised to do my own work, and I have my whole life. The few times I have let someone else work on my car was a case of not having the proper facilities to do so myself. My water cooled car is still a learning experience (my first water-cooled VW), but I have always done my own air-cooled work. The only time I stabbed in an engine I did not build, it spun a bearing, and I found out that the guy who built it align bored it .120 over. Yeah, .120 over. On a stock case. With no shim on the .60 over thrust bearing being used. Seeing where the flywheel had machined fresh magnesium from the case. (lovely) The only things I am lacking are a lift, welder, and full machine shop. I did a bit of work in a machine shop in Hawaii, so I know I can make it all work, I just need 1: money, 2: space. It would be nice to be able to just make what I need instead of having to buy someone else's work. It gets maddening sometimes. I know what I need, know how to make it, but dont have the material, or equipment to do so. If I had a shop, my projects would be done already.
I service my own Porsches (and Ferraris, and Lotus, and Lancia, Jaguar, Mercedes, etc.). All older/classic models. I also service them for other people. I really enjoy working on Porsches, because they are (usually) very logical to work on, and lighter/smaller as well; I always get the sense that whereas a GM car is designed to be assembled as quickly as possible, Porsches are designed to be able to be serviced. On top of that, everything in the Porsche is of high quality materials, and the parts always fit, fewer stuck bolts, etc. -- this makes working on them a joy. Older Mercedes are like this, too. Older Lotus cars, being hand made, are always easy to manage by humans, but the parts don't always fit well, and a greater degree of finesse is often required in making something go together properly. They are easier because they are more apt to hand assembly, lighter in weight and use lighter torque settings, more difficult because of parts quality/fitment, more fun because they are clever and exciting, less fun because of the finesse factor; overall, a lot of fun, and which I enjoy working on more (Porsche or Lotus) depends on the mood I'm in and what else needs to get done. The Italian cars are the worst. They are a mess of different sized nuts and bolts requiring different combinations of u-joints and extensions, and lots of having to reach behind awkward spaces or removing lots of haphazardly placed/poorly located seemingly meaningless bits just to reach a simple part that would be out in the open on a German car, like a belt or a starter. The Italian car will also often use more parts (usually small brackets and bits and odds and ends) to complete a function than the German or British car will. Whereas I view Porsche, Mercedes, and Lotus cars as "sophisticated" in their design and engineering, I view Ferrari, [Fiat era] Lancia, and Maserati cars as "complicated". Mind you, I'm generally referring to the time period of the 1970s through mid-1990s. IMHO, if you're going to service your own car yourself, a Porsche is one of your best picks, and for some people may be the best option of all.
The venerable 944. So (rightly) popular in its day and so well built that thousands of neglected examples litter the highways today, more than two decades later, still running, still quick, still not rusty, still strong. One of the world's great "driver's cars" of all time, the standard in its day by which so many cars were judged, and a fantastic combination of sports car and practical car. A well-kept 944 is a treasure. I just purchased a well-maintained 1989 944 S2. What a treat. What a great car. 100k miles and it feels more solid and tight than most new cars today. It is my eighth 944.
I do all my own work. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
What's up guys.. another Pelican in the house. I do all my own work except tranny builds.. I sub-out any machine, alignment, and/or paint work.. unless its an engine compartement or trunk area, then I'll do that too.. `Also do due the same with my BMWs and my 308.
I do everything myself after getting lousy service and high costs from dealers and others. Saved up the money to buy all the necessary tools and service lifts from doing all service at home. I have replaced clutches in 914 3 times, 911 2 times, rebuilt the 915 tranny, 1977 2.7L engine, bodywork, paint, 1977 911, 1988 Carrera 3.2, valve adjustments, replaced alternator, windshield wiper motor, etc. The web is unlimited source of info. Learn and get involved yourself leads to richer car ownership and enjoyment experience. Makes operating these cars more affordable if you don't have to pay dealer's shop rates.
Do my own for the most part, including body and paint. Here's part of my shop. Image Unavailable, Please Login
