Porsche Thread: If you can't afford two, you can't afford one

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Porsche Thread: If you can't afford two, you can't afford one

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iwentdoodie: Apr 29, 2005; 🤗YOU'RE WELCOME🤗

The only IMS cure is an LS.

# ? Oct 6, 2016 02:26

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# ? Apr 27, 2024 22:28

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

LS was pimping ceramics for years with questionable benefits. Their plain bearing solution should be good though.

e: But surprisingly seen a few failures of even those. I'm not planing on touching my OEM 2-row as long as I have the car. If I had a single row, I don't know what I'd do; probably look at changing it. Jake Raby said himself if he had an early year dual row car at this point he'd just leave it.

slidebite fucked around with this message at 14:22 on Oct 6, 2016

# ? Oct 6, 2016 03:13

Elephanthead: Sep 11, 2008; Toilet Rascal

Sell it to carmax and then buy it back with a 7 year warranty.

# ? Oct 6, 2016 14:52

fknlo: Jul 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

That LS3 968 really needs to go up a little more in price :ohdear:

# ? Oct 6, 2016 15:25

DrakeriderCa: Feb 3, 2005; But I'm a real cowboy!

slidebite posted:

LS was pimping ceramics for years with questionable benefits. Their plain bearing solution should be good though.

e: But surprisingly seen a few failures of even those. I'm not planing on touching my OEM 2-row as long as I have the car. If I had a single row, I don't know what I'd do; probably look at changing it. Jake Raby said himself if he had an early year dual row car at this point he'd just leave it.

I think he meant the Chebby kind of LS :v:

# ? Oct 7, 2016 05:38

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

Oh. Yeah.

# ? Oct 7, 2016 06:08

iwentdoodie: Apr 29, 2005; 🤗YOU'RE WELCOME🤗

DrakeriderCa posted:

I think he meant the Chebby kind of LS

I'm so glad you said this because gently caress me I was confused.

# ? Oct 7, 2016 08:07

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

Sorry man, I don't even know why I thought that because it is "LN" not "LS" anyhow.
http://lnengineering.com/products/ims.html

# ? Oct 7, 2016 14:15

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

Originally posted this in the October thread by accident

Happy turkey day fellow canooks.

Had our get together yesterday, so today was catching up on weekend chores and I had a bit of time to work on the 911 a bit and continue on with the AOS job.

Today's step was removing the rear boot joining the intake plenums. Because motors are assembled outside the car, the clamps holding the boot on were pointed up in the back of the boot, not on top of the boot facing forwards so someone working on it could actually get a hold of the head with tools. Compounded with incredibly tight quarters and a grand total of about .5" to work, it was an incredible pain in the rear end getting them out. Not even close to enough room for a 1/4" socket and universal.

Luckily a buddy of mine has a flexible shaft driver so I borrowed it and wedged some spacers on top of the intakes to push up the sound deadening/insulation around the motor and the rear deck. With that flexible driver and and the 7mm socket right on the end of it, I wasn't able to seat the socket but luckily they were loose enough that I was able to just barely bite it enough times to loosen them. Elapsed time for 4 hose clamps? About 2 hours.

I'll finish this job later, now I deserve a rye.

Photo: Already loosened at this point, bolts were about 30 degrees rotated backwards facing up.

e: Anyone have any ideas at "compressing" that center boot so I can pull it apart? It's quite stuff and I don't want to squeeze the middle too much because there is a vacuum operated flap there. I think that's the pivot point you can see in the middle of it.

slidebite fucked around with this message at 14:20 on Oct 11, 2016

# ? Oct 11, 2016 14:16

kimbo305: Jun 9, 2007; actually, yeah, I am a little mad

slidebite posted:

I am certainly not convinced by a longshot that most of the IMS cures were any better than stock.
E:ceramic bearings are not some panacea for issues and are really only appropriate for very specific applications/problems.

Regarding that Boxster with the failed IMS bearing -- BaT took the auction offline, as LNE offered to repair it for the seller at a discount.

A couple of points:
- LNE makes various grade IMS Retrofit kits and an IMS Solution
- the Retrofit kit requires an ok engine and IMS before installing. It shouldn't be used with an IMS that has already failed
- the Classic Retrofit kit's bearing isn't lifetime, and is supposed to be serviced 4yr/50k mi. This kit was designed as a stopgap for dealers who wanted something in inventory for the IMS issue
- the IMS Solution is permanent
I wasn't aware of the distinction, and it seems like the seller got burned by that, too. His shop diagnosed a failed bearing and still put on a Retrofit kit.

So even though the car was repaired in a way that LNE doesn't regard as proper, they're gonna help the seller out.

Direct :sperg: quotes:

LNE posted:

Engine needs to be properly diagnosed and all of the details surrounding the failure including everything prior back to the original installation needs to be looked into.

I personally think he should keep the car and fix it. If he simply wants the problem repaired, I�ll work something out indeed if the bearing is at fault and everything was done properly. Even if not, I�ll help out, even if I have to build the engine to cover the labor and seller pays for upgrades only (which makes the most sense). Like previously stated by others, the warranty is only 30 days for a classic single row and there were other options, one cheaper, that would have given him a two year warranty. I question any shop that would choose not to use the products that provide their customers longer warranties. Like I mentioned in a previous post, the classic single rows are special order and made to fill the requests of wholesale distributors that are behind the curve or have their own customers who don�t want to use something different.

Regardless of the 30 day warranty, I�ve had a bearing fail within the first month or 1,000 miles and sometimes it�s a few months later, but no real miles. And they were properly qualified. Simple -the bearing was defective. Cut and dry, I fixed the engine. Defective bearings don�t last very long, hence the short warranty. It gets the owner past the point where we know the bearing is good. These bearings are man made, so we can only expect there will be failures from time to time. Nobody is perfect. Certainly I�m not.

The co-developer of these kits, Flat 6 Innovations, has done over 500 installations with zero failures. In that time, they have failed 100 cars during pre-qualification. That means 1/6th of the cars in reality that go in for repair shouldn�t be fixed.

LNE posted:

To answer your question about the cost differences between say, an IMS Single Row Pro Retrofit Kit and IMS Solution. The IMS Retrofit has a service interval where the IMS Solution is permanent. Nothing to fail and it�s proven itself pretty much impervious to wear. Case in point, we had a shop forget to install the oil line. Car left the shop without the oil leak and was brought back a hundred miles later because of the obvious oil leak. The plain bearing had no wear and was perfect. Proof that the IMS is indeed submerged in oil AND that a plain bearing should have been there in the first place, like in the Mezger engine. The IMS Solution is a much more complicated part to make, costly to develop and manufacture, and was in development and testing before any other IMS product. The other problem is manufacturing capacity. We cant get the volume any higher and get the price down more. We just can�t make them fast enough � it takes 4-5 months start to finish to make a batch.

The IMS Solution does not require any drilling into the block. I would never, ever advise to drill or machine anything on a complete, assembled engine. The only modification required is to notch the bell-housing to allow the external oil feel line to be attached to the IMS flange (externally).

As far as price differences varying between shops, I see it all the time. Some shops charge $1500 and don�t do any pre-qualification nor check anything else that might need replacing. In all honesty, most cars need a dual mass flywheel, clutch, and RMS. That�s for starters.

The water pump needs to be replaced every 4 years or 50k (whichever comes first) and a low temperature thermostat installed. Only genuine Porsche for the pump!

The AOS can be tested with a manometer. Easy check.

Cylinders are a whole different ball game. The 3.2 Boxster is the least likely to have problems, probably tied with the 2.7 Boxster and Cayman engines. If you have a compression and leakdown test done and it looks good, I�m satisfied with that, as long as there are no ticking noises coming from the engine. Many mis-diagnose this as lifters � it�s cylinder issues 99% of the time.

Cylinders score and go out of round really bad. I�ve seen them .015″ out of round on an engine that ran just fine other than really bad ticking. FYI, we�ve verified that the cylinder bore material is very hard � high silicon and it contaminates the oil and will guaranteed damage the IMS bearing and even score an IMS Solution plain bearing. It�s analogous to the cash for clunkers liquid used to kill engines, just in small doses.

To check for cylinder issues, you have to put each cylinder at BDC and borescope each one to look for scoring. This is most prevalent on any of the engines with forged pistons � 3.4, 3.6, 3.8. Start on bank 2 � cylinders 4, 5, and 6. If there is no scoring there, you won�t find it on the other side.

It�s hard to just check by inspecting plugs though � you can�t read these as the low tension rings allow for high oil consumption in normal operation. Bore scope is the only true test for cylinder integrity.

If you add up all the testing and resulant parts that get changed in the process, it�s easy to see how we get IMS jobs that run $6-8k when we address everything that is potentially wrong. That�s the only way to be 100% sure that you won�t have a problem and why shops like Flat 6 Innovations charge so much (and have zero failures).

Lastly, to answer your question about failures, I�d venture to say since 2007 we have had maybe 10-15 failures, all classic single row, but that have failed within the first month and 1,000 miles, maybe two or three.

I know right off the top of my head 5 or 6 were all done by the same shop and same tech (which they fired) when they found he was using a zip gun to tighten the center nut of the bearing on the install tool used to drive in the bearing. He pretty much set those up for failure. We actually changed the installation tool so that you couldn�t put the nut on to prevent anyone else from making that mistake ever again.

The last big thing that takes these bearings out is a failure of the crank to ims tensioner paddle, which are known to break in half. Usually the plastic wear pin breaks off, in essence exceeding the mechanical ability of the chain tensioner to tension the paddle and chain, causing it to flap uncontrollably. It�s a matter of time of what goes next. If it�s a single row bearing, the bearing goes. If it�s a dual row bearing, the paddle or even the IMS shaft itself will go (the sprocket falling off the shaft completely).

The other failures fall into the categories of no pre-qualification leaving questions as to the integrity of the engine and even some where the original bearing had failed or was failing. Lack of registration makes this worst as we don�t have the original bearing to prove either way conclusively if the original bearing was good or not.

If there is any one constant, there are more shops out there skirting the edge of doing what�s right by the customer or just getting the customer in and out of the door as quickly as possible. Anytime you do mechanical work on a car, it must be taken seriously, especially with the M96 engine.

There has never been a failure of a Dual Row, Single Row Pro, or IMS Solution.

LNE posted:

Everyone here asked for full disclosure. Here goes. My staff is well trained and do their jobs as instructed. We did receive a call from his Porsche dealership and there were notes taken and recorded in our system regarding this exact car and failure report:

Dennis called this morning saying that a 2002 Boxster that they did an IMS Retrofit job to came back with a failed Classic Single Row Retrofit Kit (106-08.2). I went over the procedure with him and collected all the information. The job was done in April 2012 with 16,640mi and when it arrived to the shop today it had 29,776mi. Not a daily driver at all. Dennis did send pictures and I also requested a work order when the job was done and have not received that. So history of maintenance is unknown. They did register the bearing for warranty but I told Dennis that the warranty is for 30 days and if it was a defective bearing it would have failed within the first 30 days or 1,000mi. I also let him know that with the retrofit kits there are intervals. Informed him that the 106-08.2 interval is 4yrs/50,000mi, whatever comes first. Looking into the warranty database it does state that the bearing returned to us was described as rough, I explained that usually means that there is debris in the bearing and that is a sign of an IMS bearing failing.

John 8/25/2016

The original bearing as submitted was failing. As part of our pre-qualification procedure, it shouldn�t have been replaced.

We also asked for more documentation than the pictures with the bearing flange removed and those were not received.

Hard to read, but lnengine's comments in the thread have got to be one of the most authoritative discourses on the issue:
http://bringatrailer.com/listing/2002-porsche-boxster/

e: also, holy poo poo:
FYI, we�ve verified that the cylinder bore material is very hard � high silicon and it contaminates the oil and will guaranteed damage the IMS bearing and even score an IMS Solution plain bearing. It�s analogous to the cash for clunkers liquid used to kill engines, just in small doses.

kimbo305 fucked around with this message at 21:52 on Oct 12, 2016

# ? Oct 12, 2016 21:47

Seat Safety Switch: May 27, 2008; MY RELIGION IS THE SMALL BLOCK V8 AND COMMANDMENTS ONE THROUGH TEN ARE NEVER LIFT.; Pillbug

It's pretty common to stuff pistons with high quantities of silicon these days so I'm not at all surprised a cylinder wall is the same.

# ? Oct 12, 2016 22:01

GentlemanofLeisure: Aug 27, 2008

kimbo305 posted:

IMS Stuff

That was really interesting to read and very informative, thanks for quoting it here. Reinforces one of the earliest lessons I was taught when I was in service - Document. loving. EVERYTHING.

# ? Oct 14, 2016 00:19

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

I concur and it is good of LN to help out the owner.

[Bearing guy hat ON]

However, I am still very skeptical of the replacement bearing products on the market, especially ceramics.
There are a few reasons for this.

Ceramics serve 2 main purposes in the bearing world:

1) To prevent electrical conductivity through the bearing
2) To help eliminate rolling element skidding under low/variable loads

That's really about it. Electrical fluting is not a problem on the Porsche and I don't think there is any evidence to suggest that low load skidding is what's causing the failures on the OEM bearing. If that were the case, the double rows should be more susceptible to failure and they're not.

I guess it's possible you might be able to work something with a higher load capacity going ceramics but keep in mind only the rolling elements are ceramic. The races on the bearings are still carbon steel, typically the same as a standard bearing, and those have to be capable to work with the load just as the elements do. Even if you have elements which are capable of carrying massive loads, but that's not going to do you any good of the races they run on aren't up to the task.

Furthermore, and this might be a bigger thing than most give credit to, even with "trained" technicians, you run a very real risk of damaging any bearing on install, especially a rolling element bearing in an awkward location. I literally cannot say how many times I've had people bring me a failed bearing that had only been running for a short while and I can either see evidence of terrible mounting OR when I ask them how they mounted them, they describe textbook examples of at least a few things of what not to do.

Cylindrical bearings, depending on the design (I have no idea what the aftermarket ones are) can actually be more susceptible to being damaged due to incorrect mounting procedures than conrad ball bearings.

I genuinely think based on the horror stories I've read about with failures on low mileage retrofitted cars, that it is entirely possible, if not likely, the OEM bearing would have been safer to run with than muck with it at all. I can say with confidence that I certainly would not open up an early model year car with a double row bearing under any circumstances short of direct evidence of the bearing being on its way out. If I had a single row bearing, I'd still probably not screw with it but wouldn't feel as comfortable as a double.

That said, I am hopeful that the "IMS Solution" with the plain bearing should be a good fix if it's engineered properly and I am optimistic that it is.

[/bearing guy hat OFF]

slidebite fucked around with this message at 01:10 on Oct 14, 2016

# ? Oct 14, 2016 00:52

kimbo305: Jun 9, 2007; actually, yeah, I am a little mad

slidebite posted:

Furthermore, and this might be a bigger thing than most give credit to, even with "trained" technicians, you run a very real risk of damaging any bearing on install, especially a rolling element bearing in an awkward location. I literally cannot say how many times I've had people bring me a failed bearing that had only been running for a short while and I can either see evidence of terrible mounting OR when I ask them how they mounted them, they describe textbook examples of at least a few things of what not to do.

It seems like LNE is at least aware that installation is critical, though they're still letting any shop out there do the work:

"tech (which they fired) when they found he was using a zip gun to tighten the center nut of the bearing on the install tool used to drive in the bearing. He pretty much set those up for failure. We actually changed the installation tool so that you couldn�t put the nut on to prevent anyone else from making that mistake ever again."

I'm guessing the tool amounts a cylinder or something to guide and press the bearing on?

# ? Oct 14, 2016 02:03

BlackMK4: Aug 23, 2006; wat.; Megamarm

slidebite posted:

[Bearing guy hat ON]

Ceramics serve 2 main purposes in the bearing world:

1) To prevent electrical conductivity through the bearing
2) To help eliminate rolling element skidding under low/variable loads

[/bearing guy hat OFF]

This is 100% a sidebar, but it seems like they sell ceramic wheel bearings in the motorcycle world to minify weight and rolling resistance. I'm not one to pay the prices they ask for something I will never notice, but are those valid?

# ? Oct 14, 2016 02:12

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

kimbo305 posted:

It seems like LNE is at least aware that installation is critical, though they're still letting any shop out there do the work:

"tech (which they fired) when they found he was using a zip gun to tighten the center nut of the bearing on the install tool used to drive in the bearing. He pretty much set those up for failure. We actually changed the installation tool so that you couldn�t put the nut on to prevent anyone else from making that mistake ever again."

I'm guessing the tool amounts a cylinder or something to guide and press the bearing on?

To be clear, I have no idea what their install tool/procedure is.

:siren:

Gross generality for mounting cylindrical fit bearings :siren:

Diagrams are for a single row ball bearing, but the theory is the same regardless of bearing style.

Basic bearing install is to only put the mounting force through the interference fit race as per the red arrow.

So, let's just say for an example you're putting a bearing in a block of a motor and the crank/cam/whatever is a slip fit. You would want to use even pressure around the outer race to drive the bearing in with a full circumference tool.
So in this diagram, the red arrow is how you want to apply a nice even the force (outside race for a typical install)

The inner ring is just along for the ride.

Reverse if for an inner ring interference fit.

Ghetto tool if you don't have a proper driver? A piece of pipe or even a socket that has the same OD as the race you are driving on. Don't have those? Clean the old bearing up and use it as a tool.

Alternatively, if you have an application where you have an interference fit on both the inner/outer race, you need to evenly apply mounting force to both at the same time

The absolute last thing you want to do is apply any mounting force exclusively through the race that doesn't have the fit and you are then forcing that mounting force through the rolling elements to the fitted race and will almost guarantee some brinelling and premature failure. This is absolutely a, if not THE major cause of failure due to improper mounting especially for ball bearings.

Also, for the love of god, don't open the bearing until you are ready to use it and don't have it on your workbench next to where you are using your emery cloth to polish/clean up the shaft. I have literally seen brand new bearings on a work bench being showered with sparks from a retard with an angle grinder. Cleanliness of the work environment and your hands/tools is paramount.

BlackMK4 posted:

This is 100% a sidebar, but it seems like they sell ceramic wheel bearings in the motorcycle world to minify weight and rolling resistance. I'm not one to pay the prices they ask for something I will never notice, but are those valid?

No. Any decreased rolling mass for a small bearing on a motorcycle would be measured in single grams, if that. Taking a piss before you go for your ride would easily have a greater effect by order of magnitude.

slidebite fucked around with this message at 03:54 on Oct 14, 2016

# ? Oct 14, 2016 03:51

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

God drat, trying to get the rear left intake manifold bolt out is absolutely kicking my rear end. It's literally the only thing holding me up getting at the AOS. I think I'm going to try and drop the motor a little bit to get me more clearance but holy poo poo, even if I get it out I'm a little concerned about getting it back in when I start buttoning everything back up.

# ? Oct 16, 2016 00:45

guidoanselmi: Feb 6, 2008; I thought my ideas were so clear. I wanted to make an honest post. No lies whatsoever.

So I realized I won't have enough for a 718 and its pointless to lease. i ended up putting in a deposit for this guy:

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/5798093271.html

for a sale price of 44K. the door damage seems like it won't be an issue to repair. Not a huge fan of the idea of the ipad system, no radio apparently.

# ? Oct 17, 2016 23:47

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

Love the blue and it works with the tan leather. The previous owner sounds like a bit of a pretentious douche. I would be surprised if you can get a "free" set of tires on warranty. Tire warranties almost never work that way, especially on a sports car so you might want to do some deligence on that.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 00:39

Ether Frenzy: Dec 22, 2006; Nap Ghost

Are you kidding? He knows more about the car than even Porsche's top engineers. Tire wear from doing burnouts is totally covered under Michelin's warranty, that's why no one has ever bought another set of tires ever again in their life. Just go into any store of any type and they'll happily eat the $1400.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 00:51

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

Knows more than some of the automotive world's best engineers but clueless as to how warranty and quite possibly insurance works.

Why wouldn't he get that deer hit damage fixed under insurance? Doesn't want to show the claim on its history and hoping for an unreported repair?

# ? Oct 18, 2016 01:25

Bajaha: Apr 1, 2011; BajaHAHAHA.

"IMMACULATE"

...

"recently had a deer strike"
"rear tires are bald" @ 11k miles.

He's definitely got an interesting take on immaculate. Can't comment on the price, but yeah 100% owned by a certified douche, named Logan. Any idea how robust the drivetrain is? Burnouts does seems like the most likely cause of his tire issues.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 01:49

BlackMK4: Aug 23, 2006; wat.; Megamarm

That's... quite the site he has there.
http://www.logankugler.com/

# ? Oct 18, 2016 02:00

Ether Frenzy: Dec 22, 2006; Nap Ghost

TAPPED BY THE WRITERS OF
STAR TREK
FOR PLOT IDEAS.

SUMMITED THE PEAK
TALLEST
LANDMASS ON Earth.
OF
THE

# ? Oct 18, 2016 02:12

Gorgar: Dec 2, 2012

BUILT WEBSITE
THAT NEVER STOPS
LOADING

# ? Oct 18, 2016 03:12

MrChips: Jun 10, 2005; FLIGHT SAFETY TIP: Fatties out first

BlackMK4 posted:

That's... quite the site he has there.
http://www.logankugler.com/

That...cannot be real. There is no way on Earth that dude can actually have his head so far up his rear end that he can taste his own tonsils.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 04:51

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

That website was so hosed my 12" galaxy couldn't load it.

That guy literally looks like I expect him to after reading his website.

guidoanselmi, if it's not too late, lowball the gently caress out of this guy.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 05:15

Powershift: Nov 23, 2009

No, he was totally out there at 3 years old stealing newspapers and selling them. and of course he dropped out in grade 6 and everybody was cool with that.

The deer he hit was named kevin and works at subway. He's leaving the country in a hurry and the cops totally aren't looking for the blue porsche that killed kevin.

He seems like a rich kid still living on daddy's dime who was never told when he did something wrong, so doesn't believe it's possible.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 05:16

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

Article with a $9K 250,000 mile 911 came up on Jalopnik and Jake Raby commenting that the early 99s were the cars to get.
http://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/958602-the-243-000-mile-99-just-popped-back-up.html#post13681487

Just furthers my confirmation bias that my 99 with relatively few nanny options is probably the closest modern water cooled to an "old" Porsche you'll ever get and I'll never crack that IMS open.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 05:38

guidoanselmi: Feb 6, 2008; I thought my ideas were so clear. I wanted to make an honest post. No lies whatsoever.

Had a feeling you guys would appreciate the ad. It was interesting reading some of the stories he wrote. Though TBH, you could expect someone who would write that ad would be really responsive and full of details. He also sent a sizable PDF on taking care of the car, I might post that later...

slidebite posted:

Why wouldn't he get that deer hit damage fixed under insurance? Doesn't want to show the claim on its history and hoping for an unreported repair?

He reported, collected, and put the car for sale before heading abroad.

Bajaha posted:

"IMMACULATE"

...

"recently had a deer strike"
"rear tires are bald" @ 11k miles.

Yupppp. The first thing I noticed.

slidebite posted:

I would be surprised if you can get a "free" set of tires on warranty. Tire warranties almost never work that way, especially on a sports car so you might want to do some deligence on that.

I figure I'd get a rebate or some fractional discount to a new set on tire-wear warranties? I've never taken my tires back for that, anyway.

Ether Frenzy posted:

Just go into any store of any type and they'll happily eat the $1400.

A tangentially related story that might belong in another thread:
I did have a recent tire issue. I had a flat on a new tire and used fix-a-flat to hold it over until I could get it to a shop. I later noticed there was a nail through the crown, ok, should be an easy plug fix? As far as I know the tire never got lower than 20 (or even 25) psi, should be OK. I took it to Dobbs Tire, where I got the original tire, maybe two weeks after using Fix-A-Flat.

The first tech who looks at it said it should be easy to plug, but I get a call a little while later saying they need to replace it because there was significant damage and that the tire was totally torn up. They didn't have any of the same tires available and that the only one that was in stock was ~$75 more, after warranty. I'm pretty surprised but agreed to a replacement under warranty. I later go in and ask to see it, the tech and then the manager pointed to the Fix-A-Flat residue as the tire damage.

I told the manager that it was clearly Fix-A-Flat and not rubber. I scraped off the residue, offered him to feel it, and showed the tire below it. He deflected, said that Fix-A-Flat is a liquid and cannot be a solid, and said that the inner side wall was damaged. I asked him to show me and he had trouble finding the few creases, ~1 mm deep and a few cm long, from sitting at low pressure. I said that that sort of mark isn't structurally compromising, to which he said that the nail had not gone in the crown. It was pretty unbelievable listening to him come up with new things that we could clearly see weren't the case.

I imagine tire shops get refunded if it's a warranty replacement? If so, this seems like a classic bait and switch bilking the manufacturer & customer. I imagine hardly anyone going through that shop asks to see their old tires. I contested it with the credit card because the tech who informed me of the damage on the phone was a loving moron and misinformed me.

guidoanselmi fucked around with this message at 06:59 on Oct 18, 2016

# ? Oct 18, 2016 06:52

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

guidoanselmi posted:

He reported, collected, and put the car for sale before heading abroad.

I figure I'd get a rebate or some fractional discount to a new set on tire-wear warranties? I've never taken my tires back for that, anyway.

So he took the insurance money and ran instead of fixing his new porch? Hmm.

If they give you any warranty credit at all, it will almost certainly be pro-rated so you'll get some credit for portion used but tbh I'd be surprised if you'd get anything. Not buying them yourself isn't going to help matters either.

If you do buy this thing, make absolutely sure it doesn't have any liens on it and make him do the tire warranty that he's so sure of will be no problem before he goes.

slidebite fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Oct 18, 2016

# ? Oct 18, 2016 14:26

wallaka: Jun 8, 2010; Least it wasn't a fucking red shell

guidoanselmi posted:

Had a feeling you guys would appreciate the ad. It was interesting reading some of the stories he wrote. Though TBH, you could expect someone who would write that ad would be really responsive and full of details. He also sent a sizable PDF on taking care of the car, I might post that later...

He reported, collected, and put the car for sale before heading abroad.

Yupppp. The first thing I noticed.

I figure I'd get a rebate or some fractional discount to a new set on tire-wear warranties? I've never taken my tires back for that, anyway.

A tangentially related story that might belong in another thread:
I did have a recent tire issue. I had a flat on a new tire and used fix-a-flat to hold it over until I could get it to a shop. I later noticed there was a nail through the crown, ok, should be an easy plug fix? As far as I know the tire never got lower than 20 (or even 25) psi, should be OK. I took it to Dobbs Tire, where I got the original tire, maybe two weeks after using Fix-A-Flat.

The first tech who looks at it said it should be easy to plug, but I get a call a little while later saying they need to replace it because there was significant damage and that the tire was totally torn up. They didn't have any of the same tires available and that the only one that was in stock was ~$75 more, after warranty. I'm pretty surprised but agreed to a replacement under warranty. I later go in and ask to see it, the tech and then the manager pointed to the Fix-A-Flat residue as the tire damage.

I told the manager that it was clearly Fix-A-Flat and not rubber. I scraped off the residue, offered him to feel it, and showed the tire below it. He deflected, said that Fix-A-Flat is a liquid and cannot be a solid, and said that the inner side wall was damaged. I asked him to show me and he had trouble finding the few creases, ~1 mm deep and a few cm long, from sitting at low pressure. I said that that sort of mark isn't structurally compromising, to which he said that the nail had not gone in the crown. It was pretty unbelievable listening to him come up with new things that we could clearly see weren't the case.

I imagine tire shops get refunded if it's a warranty replacement? If so, this seems like a classic bait and switch bilking the manufacturer & customer. I imagine hardly anyone going through that shop asks to see their old tires. I contested it with the credit card because the tech who informed me of the damage on the phone was a loving moron and misinformed me.

They were saying that because fix-a-flat is a huge mess and makes it so patches and plugs don't adhere worth a poo poo without scouring the inside of the tire. It's an enormous dirty pain in the rear end and wipes out any money they would make on fixing the hole. In short, buy a plug kit for $5 and gently caress fix-a-flat forever.

# ? Oct 19, 2016 04:52

Elephanthead: Sep 11, 2008; Toilet Rascal

So you guys are saying if I buy a cheap, i.e. used corolla priced 1999 911 I am likely looking at only expensive ongoing repairs instead of haha hope you like living in a trailer park level repairs? I am so tempted to buy the worst 911 ever and drive it as a winter beater.

# ? Oct 19, 2016 14:03

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

There is a lot of anecdotal data that build years of <=99 have the best reliability for the motor at least for a 996.

I bought a not quite dirt cheap 99 (still well priced) and while I admittedly haven't driven it a ton all my work is just maintenance. I have every intention of selling it next year as long as I get a reasonable offer. The car itself is rock solid, drives exceptionally well and everything works as it should..

# ? Oct 19, 2016 14:24

guidoanselmi: Feb 6, 2008; I thought my ideas were so clear. I wanted to make an honest post. No lies whatsoever.

wallaka posted:

They were saying that because fix-a-flat is a huge mess and makes it so patches and plugs don't adhere worth a poo poo without scouring the inside of the tire. It's an enormous dirty pain in the rear end and wipes out any money they would make on fixing the hole. In short, buy a plug kit for $5 and gently caress fix-a-flat forever.

Thanks, this explanation makes a lot more sense than whatever else they were trying to say.

# ? Oct 19, 2016 16:31

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

Got you, you rat bastard

The prize is now easily in sight

The last bolt was the one at about the 1 O'clock position on the back of the manifold, so you can imagine how much of a bugger that was. Funny that it doesn't look nearly as tough once the runners are out though.

Mrs. Slidebite asked if I would be able to get it back together. I just replied :shrug:

slidebite fucked around with this message at 00:01 on Oct 24, 2016

# ? Oct 23, 2016 22:56

morothar: Dec 21, 2005

So about two weeks ago the stars align and I finally manage to get the Cayman serviced and ask the shop to arrange the biannual safety inspection while they are at it.
Car returns with a 985 EUR price tag for the service, but no safety inspection due to a number of defects. Fine, it has not seen a shop in three years or so, so get me a quote to get it fixed up. Quote arrives today after some prompting: 4,673.77 EUR, for sundry work on the brakes, suspension, and the a/c :shepicide:

Thing is, I really only need it to be fixed up to sell it. It basically will not sell without the safety inspection, and it will not pass the inspection without some of the repairs :sigh:

Possible solution? I asked the shop if they weren't willing to pick it up. I'm sure they will lowball me, but it's not as if I'll get the full value of the repairs out of selling it either.

Bollocks.

# ? Oct 24, 2016 21:16

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

Can you do the brakes and maybe suspension yourself? The big brembos on my 911 cost a small fortune at the dealer but pads and rotors are reasonably available on the aftermarket and simple to do.

# ? Oct 25, 2016 01:04

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

Motherfucker.

Out. Finally.

What a royal pain in the rear end, the final insult was after I had it exposed 2 of the hose clamps were those pinch-type and the eye to wedge open was in the most inaccessible position possible. The squeeze connect on the big bottom left hose refused to budge. Took me almost 2 hours just to free it.

Then, as I was pulling the AOS out 1 of the hose clamps fell off and I don't know where. :saddowns:

I have to find it - crankcase had an open port and if it fell in there I am having a bad day. The good news is I put my snake camera over it and don't see it in there - so that's a good sign - but I will not be able to sleep if I put this thing back together without finding it. Hopefully in the daylight tomorrow I will be able to snag it, then start on re-assembly.

# ? Oct 25, 2016 04:44

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# ? Apr 27, 2024 22:28

DrakeriderCa: Feb 3, 2005; But I'm a real cowboy!

D:

The suspense is killing me!

We sold our Lincoln recently and I've been encouraging the wife to get whateeeeeveeer she wants, with the implication that if she gets a nice little SUV now, I get a nice little sports car a few years from now.

So what I'm saying is:

Don't sell dat porch until I'm ready because it's the exact intersection of price/car that I need. :unsmith:

# ? Oct 25, 2016 16:37

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Porsche Thread: If you can't afford two, you can't afford one

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