[DeTomaso] NPC: Porsche Boxster head gasket

Will Kooiman will.kooiman at gmail.com
Wed Jul 18 11:16:47 EDT 2012


We have a good relationship with our Porsche mechanic.  That should tell you something about the repair costs/frequency.

We have replaced the water pump twice.  The impeller didn't break.  The casting cracked and fell apart.  A new "high quality" pump was about $300-$400 - the total bill was just over $500.  And we did it twice.

I like my wife's Boxster, but the repair bills are pretty ridiculous.  It is currently honking when we close the doors because the passenger's window regulator isn't working properly.  We replaced it a few years ago for ... wait for it...   $500.

You can't do much of anything to these cars for less than $500.

And our mechanic had a Boxster in his garage that had overheated.  The owner had driven it without water.  He said it was totaled.  The repair bill was as much as a new/used Boxster.  You could maybe do it yourself and repair it for less than the cost to replace the whole car, but you wouldn't save much.  Better to part it out, and get a known good car.

On Jul 18, 2012, at 9:46 AM, Sean Korb wrote:

> Hi Corey,
> 
> I've had bad luck with modern cars replacing the head gasket.  I would
> recommend the new motor.  A lot of havoc can be wreaked on a motor if
> it overheats.  No problem on a Pantera with iron heads, just let it
> cool down and it will be fine.  But I've seen two Volvos (VW designed
> motor) die horrible death after brief overheating.  Simple things like
> the heater core or the plastic swirl tank will crack and leak, and
> then the fluid gets low and on a hot day...
> 
> Those motors are fussy.  I'd look at them as if they were a potato,
> you either have a good one or a bad one.  Not much in between.  Even
> after machining all surfaces flat, there are unseen problems with
> broken or worn piston rings and head cracks.  More trouble than it's
> worth.
> 
> sean
> 
> On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 7:12 PM, Corey Price <coreyjprice at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I have a coworker that just overheated his '98 Boxster.  The mechanic said that he blew a head gasket.  Anyone have experience replacing this?  A new engine is $12k with $3k labor to remove and install.  A used engine would be $3k plus labor.  The car is worth $8k...  Poor guy.  He isn't a DIY guy either.  Ouch.
>> 
>> Corey
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Sean Korb spkorb at spkorb.org http://www.spkorb.org
> '65,'68 Mustangs,'68 Cougar,'78 R100/7,'60 Metro,'59 A35,'71 Pantera #1382
> "The more you drive, the less intelligent you get" --Miller
> "Computers are useless.  They can only give you answers." -P. Picasso
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