[Beachboy]

I have European Performance Engineering do all my work and have beeen more than satisfied. A friend with a 951 feels the same way. The place is neat and always filled with quite an array of Porsches. Call Jerry in Natick, MA at 508 651-1316 or www.EPE.com Tell him Brian with the Amazon Green 968 sent you.

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[ccannon]

EPE did my pre-purchase inspection and then performed the services they recommended after I purchased the car. I was very pleased with both the inspection and the work performed then : an alignment, retro-lubrication of a un-lubed replacement clutch and the 60k service complete with timing belt and water pump.



I went back a year later for new brake pads, rotors and fluid, and was less impressed. Their reciept stated that they'd had to perform a 'partial rebuild' on some of the calipers, and that they'd had to shave some of the new brake pads to fit. (Length-wise, due to the common steel/aluminum buildup problem). Shortly afterwards the rear brake caliper locked up on me while hot and at highway speeds. I returned it to the shop and they bled the system again. The same caliper locked up again and the only option they offered was to order a new caliper at a cost of $900. I'm not sure they believed me, and I got the impression they were tired of seeing my car.



I purchased a set of used rear calipers ($235 for two from someone upgrading thanks to the 968forum/968.net community), replaced them myself and haven't had that problem since. My brakes still squeal like a calliope at low speed when hot. My current guess is that the anti-squeal shims should have been stuck onto the new pads with new glue. It's also possible that something is dragging in the parking brake mechanism, I haven't been in there yet to look. All the brake noise dates from the EPE service.



Has anyone had EPE do their cam timing chain? My car is nearing 100k and I'd like someone experienced to do that service for me and my confidence in EPE is a little shaky.

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[sdugan]

Give Randolph Racing a call. They are located in Stoughton, MA and I was very please with the work they did on my 93' 968. www.ranrace.com

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[josephsc]

Randolph Racing helped me drop a 968 motor into a 944. Their labor rate is also very reasonable. An added plus: they are located near the Commuter rail, so if you live in Boston, they are very accessible.



As for you brake squeal - some noise vs performance tradeoff is unavoidable with pads. Have you tried a different set of pads?

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[ccannon]

[quote name='josephsc' date='Jul 28 2005, 01:23 PM']As for you brake squeal - some noise vs performance tradeoff is unavoidable with pads.  Have you tried a different set of pads?[/quote]



I finally isolated the brake squeal this weekend. The wear on the drivers side front pads shows that only the outer pad is moving, the inner one was frozen in place, probably due to the steel/aluminum buildup that's common on the steel plate in the caliper. I took some light sandpaper to the surfaces and gave them a bit of grease before reassembling. Hopefully that'll be the end of it. If not I'll be looking for a source for those little bolts that hold the steel plate in place, as I've stripped them in the past trying to remove them.

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