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.