from having its AOS replaced.

Along with the new AOS (this is the 4th one now) I had plugs done and the tech found some spark plug tubes loose and leaking so he put in new o-rings. All the tubes were otherwise ok. (He said sometimes he finds them cracked.)

The AOS job cost $722.98. This included not only labor ($480) but the AOS ($156.64), vent line ($50.31), rubber o-ring ($23.73). Oh, I see the tech lumped in the 3 spark plug tube o-rings ($12.30) in with this part of the receipt too.

The plugs and oil/filter service cost another $1092.13. $720 labor. Plugs were $34.38/each. Oil $12.99/quart.

Because the car kept getting bumped to let the techs take care of sold cars -- end of the month -- and I always graciously agreed to let the car get bumped -- the SM had the car detailed, down to having the car clay barred. First time this has ever been done except maybe when it was in the body shop for repairs after its first accident here in Livermore. That clay bar is impressive: The before and after feel to the car's paint is like night and day. During the detailing the Boxster script on the back trunk got damaged. It was already missing a piece of a letter due to age/wear and tear so I didn't fuss when the SM called to let me know and just told him to order a new one and have it installed and add the parts cost to my bill, but the dealership assumed this cost.

Anyhow, here's the car after the detailing:



Oh, I have the old plugs: 100K miles on them. I lost track of the miles and let the plugs go too long. I have the old AOS and one from another car: 2008 Boxster; to cut apart when I can find the time and place. The SM told me this was a busy week for AOS's. There were 3 cars in for this: Mine, the 2008 Boxster, and a GEN III Cayenne.

Bit of a stumble after a moment or two after a cold start from the Boxster's engine. No smoke though. I attributed the stumble to the throttle body. I know from my first AOS the TB was oily as all heck. But the engine ran just fine once away from a stop and I drove it until it was fully up to temperature then let it set a few minutes while I got a shuttle to follow me home in my other car and bring me back to my Boxster.

Oh, the oil level. I had the oil/filter changed and Mobil 1 5w-50 used. I checked the oil level and it was down to just 1 bar above the low line. I talked to the SM and the tech and the tech assured me he had the level right on the money. So I drove the car until it got hot and let it sit as I took care of the other car. After just maybe not even 15 minutes later back at the Boxster I checked the oil level hot and the level was right up at the max bar line.

Amazing change in level due to temperature. While I have often noticed a 2 bar or segment difference between a cold level and a hot level because the car sat so long and in a temperature controlled space (the service area) the oil really cooled down to ambient.

Towards the end of my shake down test drive, I took the freeway and on the on-ramp gave the engine some real throttle -- opened the engine up real good -- and ran the engine hard up through a couple of gears. No smoke. The engine pulled nice and hard all the way to nearly redline and continued to pull hard upon an upshift.

I generally find 1-2 bars difference between cold and hot. It makes not over-filling a chore. i under-fil, top up later.

I also find that my 2000's level indicator is somewhat flaky. Some of it is likely due to the techno-sump trapping some oil if its not 100% level (took me a while to figure that one out), but some is just plain variation. The red 2004 base, OTOH is much more consistent.

Car looks, for a distance, pretty snappy with the clay-bar detailing.

I cut my AoS open (replaced on a a bit of a gamble) and it was perfect. So i glued it back together and have a spare.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

it was not a careful selection. Its what i had. but it seems strong.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Gorilla super glue. Impact tough formula. Comes in a small , clear bottle. Clear ( transparent) thick liquid.

This stuff is 4 years old. I keep it upside down to keep air away from the nozzle.

I think its the regular stuff without the brown coloring.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

(quite warmed up: We're experiencing a mini-heat wave here) when I checked the oil level this AM it was down the usual 2 bars from the max line.

You paid $1k for an oil change and plugs? Plugs were $34 each? Ouch.

Its a nasty job, but not that nasty.

And let's see, i do 5-6 oil changes a year (total, both 986s)...uh, no.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/03/2014 08:01PM by grant. (view changes)

The Mobil 1 5w-50 oil has gone up quite a bit. Used to cost less than Mobil 1 0w-40 and the price of this was down to under (just under) $8/quart. But no more.

The tech had to do a lot of cleaning to remove all the grime that had accumulated from the leaking spark plug tube o-rings. I looked at the engine and it had a huge build up of grime -- dust that had become wet from the oil -- that had to be cleaned away just to keep any of the stuff from falling in the spark plug holes. Also, around the AOS was quite grimy as well. The grime layer had even started to make its way up the intake even. What a mess.

But overall dealer servicing costs have just gone up some. Nothing I can do about it, as I can't do my own servicing. There's an indy over in Pleasanton that one of the senior techs joined up with a few months ago. I am planning on giving it a try to see how the costs compare. I would have used it for this AOS/plugs thing but when it came time to tell the tow truck operator where to take the car all I could think of was the dealer's address.

The car looks great;+1 for using a clay bar to bring back the finish.

What is the dealer charging/hour for the labor?

And a drive belt check. This ain't gonna be a cheap (if there is such a thing!) visit to the dealer.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/04/2014 01:51PM by Laz. (view changes)

In my car's case I just wasn't paying attention and let 100K miles slip right on by.

Dropping my 2003 off first thing in the morning for a 75,000 checkup and oil change. Fingers (and wallet) crossed that nothing major comes up. Changed the 2 air filters today so at least they can't do the 3x markup on those.

I'll either let mine run down, or siphon some off just before I get the next servicing!

As I think I mentioned when I had this done, while the brakes were ok the clutch was not. It was like I was not pushing the clutch in all the way. Shifting was more difficult because of this. Take offs from a stop were not very smooth either. It was like I lost my coordination.

I was afraid the tranny and the clutch were on their way out.

Thankfully the brake/clutch fluid flush/bleed put things right.