Front Crossover Coolant Pipes

[Grizzlee]

Took my 987 in for a service last week to an indie that I have not used before, as my usual indie is not available at the moment.

When I went to collect the car the chap I spoke to said there were an number of advisories that needed attending to including front coolant pipes, top shocker mounts at the front and in his words you might as well put some new shocks on while your there, a comment which did fill me with dread as it's got PASM.

They quoted me £2700 for the work but other than breaking the cost down into parts & labour didn't offer any other details, though I have asked for clarification.

So my question is to those who have had the job done, what can I expect to pay for the coolant pipe replacement as this seems to be the most urgent job?

Tx, Graham    

[bally4563]

33 minutes ago, Grizzlee said:

Took my 987 in for a service last week to an indie that I have not used before, as my usual indie is not available at the moment.

When I went to collect the car the chap I spoke to said there were an number of advisories that needed attending to including front coolant pipes, top shocker mounts at the front and in his words you might as well put some new shocks on while your there, a comment which did fill me with dread as it's got PASM.

They quoted me £2700 for the work but other than breaking the cost down into parts & labour didn't offer any other details, though I have asked for clarification.

So my question is to those who have had the job done, what can I expect to pay for the coolant pipe replacement as this seems to be the most urgent job?

Tx, Graham    

If the shocks aren’t knocking or leaking, I would leave them. Top mounts can be done without a full strip down , circa £40 each for lemforder mounts.

Cross over pipes x2 and 6 hoses plus 20 lt of coolant , factor about £350, I could do both jobs in around 5 hours, so if you factor a days labour , that’s your actual cost. Don’t know where you are based but if you were near to me ,I could do that work.

[moneypit]

I just had mine done ( crossover pipes ) on Friday. If we're all talking about the same thing, I paid £490 all in including a wheel alignment afterwards ( subframe off ), and from the discussion about it on here beforehand, that wasn't expensive.

Edited August 16, 2021 by moneypit

[bally4563]

27 minutes ago, moneypit said:

I just had mine done ( crossover pipes ) on Friday. If we're all talking about the same thing, I paid £490 all in including a wheel alignment afterwards ( subframe off ), and from the discussion about it on here beforehand, that wasn't expensive.

That’s about bang on, no way is it a £800 job!

[½cwt]

4 hours ago, bally4563 said:

If the shocks aren’t knocking or leaking, I would leave them. Top mounts can be done without a full strip down , circa £40 each for lemforder mounts.

Cross over pipes x2 and 6 hoses plus 20 lt of coolant , factor about £350, I could do both jobs in around 5 hours, so if you factor a days labour , that’s your actual cost. Don’t know where you are based but if you were near to me ,I could do that work.

OE Sachs mounts can be got for about £60 a pair if you search around.

[glen wells]

PASM shocks are expensive but as already said if they are ok - no leaks, knocks, noise when driving then they are still doing there job.

Maybe the indie was touting a little?

Been there myself t-shirt etc list of stuff not really needed.

 

Regards

Glen

[cptspaulding]

I paid a decent indie £620 for coolant crosspipes + 4 hoses replaced + a £20 connecting piece that they found needed doing.

It's worth shopping around. First place wanted £1100 to do all 14 pipes - "Aye, it starts off as 6 pipes but before you know it your replacing all of them". Then phoned me later that day to say he had a ramp had come available & he could fit me in the following day. Aye, right.

[Boxstercol]

17 hours ago, moneypit said:

I just had mine done ( crossover pipes ) on Friday. If we're all talking about the same thing, I paid £490 all in including a wheel alignment afterwards ( subframe off ), and from the discussion about it on here beforehand, that wasn't expensive.

Would love to know where you got that done at that price!

Most quotes are double that price & usual price for wheel alignment in circa £100 on its own.

[Macus]

I did this job DIY and can easily see how the costs can pile up in terms of labour. Those hose ends expand and get stuck and have to be extracted without damaging plastic parts. It’s a nightmare. I was quoted about 1k to have it done. I would pay that in hindsight. 

[moneypit]

5 hours ago, Boxstercol said:

Would love to know where you got that done at that price!

Most quotes are double that price & usual price for wheel alignment in circa £100 on its own.

I got it done at my trusted local Indy D&G Porsche in Newcastle. It had various other things including a major service, the total bill coming in at £917. The wheel alignment would indeed have been £100 alone., so the pipes were £390. I should make it clear there's vat to go on those prices for the avoidance of doubt.

Edited August 17, 2021 by moneypit

[Grizzlee]

Thanks guys, looking at the overall price and having looked at the cost of the shocks then the total of £2700 is not outlandish depending on whether the shocks actually need doing. They did say the cost included alignment.

So somewhere between £500 and £1000 for the pipes will cover it.

[Grizzlee]

18 hours ago, glen wells said:

Maybe the indie was touting a little?

 

It was the "might as well do the shocks" comment that surprised and disappointed me in equal amounts 

There are no rattles from the suspension and it seems to ride just fine.

[½cwt]

44 minutes ago, Grizzlee said:

It was the "might as well do the shocks" comment that surprised and disappointed me in equal amounts 

There are no rattles from the suspension and it seems to ride just fine.

Having done shocks DIY on a 986, I'd really only tackle it if you have to both from time and cost points of view particularly if you are paying someone.

[cptspaulding]

10 hours ago, Grizzlee said:

There are no rattles from the suspension and it seems to ride just fine.

It might surprise you how much difference makes to your drive. I was persuaded to refresh stock suspension on my Mk3 MR2 after 15 yrs & 75k miles on the original suspension. Felt like a new car afterwards. I've 106k on the Boxster & saving up for that.

[deanmr2]

2 hours ago, cptspaulding said:

It might surprise you how much difference makes to your drive. I was persuaded to refresh stock suspension on my Mk3 MR2 after 15 yrs & 75k miles on the original suspension. Felt like a new car afterwards. I've 106k on the Boxster & saving up for that.

A total suspension refresh absolutely transforms how these cars drive. A bit painful for your wallet but well worth the expense and it is a DIY job if you are handy with the spanner’s. I changed every suspension part on the front one year and then done the rear the following year on my 986 S

[bally4563]

In my opinion, the best way to do a suspension refresh is to slowly accumulate all the parts and thus spreading the spend( keeping an eye out for bargains) and then do the job in one hit.

[Mike1960]

I am surprised by how many suspension changes are done on Boxsters.

How do you know it needs changing? Because I don’t track mine and only drive my own car I have no terms of reference for “it could be better”. Mine handles well and doesn’t make any strange noises when being pushed, so I always assume all is well.

Whenever I get it up on jack stands the bushes are looked at and nothing seems to be loose. Changed a coffin arm when I first got it, but the bush was worn so fairly obvious.

I have had a couple of bad experiences with indys so am reluctant to trust them. Hence I rely on MOT examiners and my own judgement.

What makes you know it is ready for a suspension refresh?

[BBB]

2 hours ago, Mike1960 said:

What makes you know it is ready for a suspension refresh?

In my case it’s a few factors:

- no evidence of any receipts from previous owners

- very broken bump stops each side at the front and corrosion on the tops of the damper pistons

- a broken rear spring (just the last bit of the bottom)

I’m accumulating parts, in the way @bally4563 suggests, and then I’ll do the rear first.

[½cwt]

7 hours ago, Mike1960 said:

I am surprised by how many suspension changes are done on Boxsters.

What makes you know it is ready for a suspension refresh?

 

4 hours ago, BBB said:

In my case it’s a few factors:

- no evidence of any receipts from previous owners

- very broken bump stops each side at the front and corrosion on the tops of the damper pistons

- a broken rear spring (just the last bit of the bottom)

I’m accumulating parts, in the way @bally4563 suggests, and then I’ll do the rear first.

Oh,  and the knocks, rattles and creaks.  Roof down my car is now silent (986S with all new suspension except rear tuning forks and rear springs, £1350 in parts alone and fitted DIY, all in). The only time it creaks now is when the roof is up and I haven't treated the seals with Gummi Pflege for a couple of months or more.  The handling is vastly improved in terms of stability and response having got rid of the saggy dampers and all deteriorated bush rubbers.  New front top mounts alone are noticeable in steering response.

Whether you get the same benefit with changing PASM dampers I'll leave others to answer.

[zcacogp]

For reference, I did a full suspension refresh on my 987 Cayman a couple of months ago. 'Full' with the exception of the shock absorbers as the £800 or so each corner for PASM items was a bit too rich for my wallet. 

Spyder Performance coffin arms and tuning forks were around £500 for everything. Drop links were about £20/corner. Strut tops were about £25 each from AutoDoc. Alignment was £200 or so from Cotswold Porsche. All other work was DIY, and it was quite an involved job mainly because the inboard bolts on the coffin arms were corroded into the arm ends and each corner needed to be cut off with a reciprocating saw. 

The work cured the clunks and rattles entirely and the end result is handling sharper than anything I've ever experienced before. The response to the slightest steering input is immediate and gratifying. Worth it? Yes; the last 110,000 miles was a good innings for the previous bits but replacing them has shown how worn they were. 

[Deano37]

Agree with @zcacogp, did mine earlier this year and has made a huge difference, definitely worth doing. My car had 101K on it at the time.

I took the same approach as @bally4563 and @BBB, collecting parts as the came up on offer (Autodoc, EBay & Spyderperformance).

You wont regret it and its a very satisfying DIY job, if sometimes frustrating!

 

 

[Mattman42]

@Grizzlee - I had all the front coolant pipes and new cross over pipes done on my 987.2 by a local indy and that came in at £800 including alignment - could have done it cheaper myself but didn't have the tools/garage space/time/skills to be dropping the subframe!

 

[cptspaulding]

1 hour ago, Mattman42 said:

didn't have the tools/garage space/time/skills to be dropping the subframe!

Time & skill are the big ones for me. I'm sure given enough time I could do most jobs. When I read people saying it's a DIY job, I forget that the car is a weekend car for a lot of people. Consequently they can leave it up on the stands while they source the odd bit that broke or didn't factor for  in the repair. It's my daily so I really don't have that luxury. If I'm not confident I can do a job over a weekend then it's into the shop.

[rhys57]

I've had all my dampers replaced, plus top mounts bumps stops and coffin arms plus tuning forks 

[andy987]

Where and how much please? Mines on 97k so starting to think about this now