[jrallen01]

I have been a member for awhile and this forum has been very helpful. One thing I have learned is that a 968 is an annuity for mechanics.



I have a '94 968 Cabriolet with 60,000 miles. I purchased it 14 months ago at 59000 miles. I took it into my "new" mechanic and asked him to service it. At that time, I also asked him about replacing the timing belt. He poo pooed me and said I should hear some rattle or noise before failure. Less than 300 miles later, I paid him $3800 for a top end overhaul because the belt failed.



Now, I hear a rattle and noise while in gear while stationary. When I am moving, it goes away. It's at the Porsche dealer now. My quote is for $3800.



How many of you have had the damper plate fail?



Don't get me wrong, I love the car, but what else can I expect in the near future? <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/blink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[banditsc]

Don't ever go back to that mechanic and you will have a much better and cheaper Porsche experience. Were are you located? There might someone on here that can suggest a good local mechanic.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[jrallen01]

[quote name='banditsc' post='41586' date='Sep 23 2007, 07:34 AM']Don't ever go back to that mechanic and you will have a much better and cheaper Porsche experience. Were are you located? There might someone on here that can suggest a good local mechanic.[/quote]





The bad experience was a mechanic in Omaha. I promptly moved to another one and was very satisfied. I just moved to Columbus, OH and am now at the Porsche dealer.



Thanks for the reply.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[RPM]

That is a painful story. I would get another quote from an independent shop - there must be a good one in the Columbus area I should think.



While a Porsche dealer may seem a good bet there are two things against using a dealer to service a 968:



1. Cost of parts. Labor rates between the dealer and an independent are usually about even, However, at the dealer you pay the full inflated cost for parts - up to 40% more than you may be able to get elsewhere depending on the part. Dealer installed parts do have a full one year warranty, but so do original equipment parts purchased from other reputable sources. A good independent shop will work with you to find more affordable solutions. Some may even let you source your own parts from a vendor such as Sunset Porsche in Oregon.



2. Experience. Few dealers have techs with real experience working on the 968. They are much more competent on the 996/986/997/987 and Cayenne than on our 12-15 year old cars. I have found that dealers will even sometimes price an estimate a bit high to chase off 944/968 business. They are not good at it and it is not a money maker for them. This is of course a generalization, there are wonderful and experienced dealerships out there that will do a great job.



I have not heard of a damper plate failure in a 968 in over 7 years of 944 and 968 ownership and active participation on a variety of forums. I may have missed it, but I would get another opinion.



Good Luck.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[unknown4u]

[quote name='RPM' post='41589' date='Sep 23 2007, 07:28 PM']I have not heard of a damper plate failure in a 968 in over 7 years of 944 and 968 ownership and active participation on a variety of forums. I may have missed it, but I would get another opinion.



Good Luck.[/quote]







I saw at the history of mine that I had one at ± 102.000 miles. The car had at that time the age of 9.

It was a big bill from the OPC. Lucky it has been paid by the previous owner.



Ritchie

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[oppositelock]

I assume you have tip? If so, age not miles kills the rubber centered damper plate/flex plate. It is easy to double check an see if this is the problem. Remove the inspection plugs (if still there) by the starter and see if the rubber is torn. If not, may be you have broken heat sheilds. There are many on the tip and they break and rattle. Other things to expect? Nothing more that any other car, just more money to fix like oil leaks and parts wearing out. Hopfully a water pump was done with your timing belt.

Mitch

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[968rz]

[quote name='oppositelock' post='41593' date='Sep 23 2007, 02:23 PM']I assume you have tip? If so, age not miles kills the rubber centered damper plate/flex plate. It is easy to double check an see if this is the problem. Remove the inspection plugs (if still there) by the starter and see if the rubber is torn. If not, may be you have broken heat sheilds. There are many on the tip and they break and rattle. Other things to expect? Nothing more that any other car, just more money to fix like oil leaks and parts wearing out. Hopfully a water pump was done with your timing belt.

Mitch[/quote]

My dealings with my 924 auto showed that if the dampener is going bad you will see rubber bits in odd places (under hood @ firewall, on the garage floor) I never figured out where it came from until one day it wouldn't move (no noise, no warning). I also second the noise idea, I have 1 shield under the manifold that only rattles at idle.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[jrallen01]

Just a follow up to say that I got the car back on Friday. I asked for the parts back and the damper plate rubber was cracked into two pieces.

Total bill was $3500 including tax with 1100 for the damper plate, 2100 for labor, and taxes.

I asked how much time it took and the service manager said it was 24 hours of labor... which I find totally absurd.

Does anyone else have a bill with the number of hours for labor?



Thanks for all of your help.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[968rz]

I don't have a bill (did my 924 myself) but it was about 1K for the dampner (no more), and took me about 4hrs to do. You need to remove the exhaust, half shafts, trans, TTube and bell housing, then you can replace the dampner @ the motor. 24hrs is WAY out there.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[banditsc]

Probably not out of line for a dealer, they proably don't have much experience with the car and most of that time was probably sitting around reading the manual. Look for a local Indy shop, contact the local PCA region to see if they have reccomendations for shops in the Columbus area.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

they didn't do anythig cool like they did on the manual setup, which allows removal without dropping the torque tube? bummer

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[968rz]

No, the trans would not move back far enough to get the tube out the way.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

onthe manual cars, there is a coupler up front that you disconnect, and then just slip the shaft rearward - no dropping the trans or anything - i would have thought that if the flex plate is up front, like the flywheel, that they would have figured out a way ot remove it just like the flywheel, without dropping all that stuff

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[968rz]

Beleive me, if I could have avoided it I would have. Maybe it has to do with the converter.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

bummer - they did such a good job updating the process on the 968, over the pain in the butt 944, i would have thought they would have worked it out for the tip cars too



my sympathies

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[968Z]

My flex disc failed at about 87,000 miles. Got the disc from Sunset for about $650 plus freight. Labor was right at $800.00, but they also replaced the connection piece (can't remember the technical name) at the rear end of the torque tube.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.