Planet 9

CosmosMpower · #1 01-23-2012, 03:31 PM

We just bought a CPO 06 Cayman S with 34K miles. It needs to have a major service done and I read what that entails. Honestly it looks pretty basic with mostly looking to make sure everything is in good working order and only replacing:

Air Filter
Pollen Filter
Oil/Oil Filter
Spark Plugs
Brake fluid (if needed).

Dealers are quoting me some pretty high prices $1,300 etc. And it sounds like something I can tackle myself. Do most of you guys pay a dealer, independent shop or do it yourself?

I think the hardest part would be the spark plugs. Is that a fairly easy DIY? The filters and plugs can't be more than a couple hundred bucks so I'm assuming the rest is a tech poking around the car for $135 an hour checking off a worksheet. Is there a way for a DIY to reset the service intervals?

**Rcsting** · #2 01-23-2012, 04:06 PM

You can use the Durametric cable to reset your maintenance reminder.

Diagnostic Tool for Porsche | Durametric

**N0tt0N** · #3 01-23-2012, 04:32 PM

CosmosMPower:

Congratulations and welcome! I personally took my car to the dealership for regular service during the maintenance period (I have a 2006CS so it just ended) but have been doing everything myself since. I mentally decided that outfitting my new garage would be paid for by not going to the dealership anymore. The Durametric cable is very helpful (as mentioned) - I got mine when I bought my ECU flash from Softronic and they currently have a sale on! It allows you to read all the CEL codes, test the systems in the car, and if you have the pro cable to set some of the controls (like auto locking, etc.) that normally you have to have the dealer do.

There are some excellent articles that step you through most of the items you list - everything is can be found using the search function and asking. Everyone is super helpful on this site.

As long as you have the usual tools, including a set of Torx drivers or sockets you should be good to go. I haven't done the spark plugs yet (next on my list) but the other items are straightforward. Good luck!

P.S. Here are some interesting items I found critical:

1. You need some jack pads (same as a corvette) to jack up the car. If you put it on jack stands search for jack techniques. I use back jack points to set both same side front jack stands (the car is very stiff) and then from the rear the suspension point for the lower control arm (there are great pictures in the post on jacking).

2. Use magnetic tipped tools. My thoughts are that Porsche engineers understood that should any small part be accidentally dropped that it must have a place to stop (that is it will not fall out under the car) that you cannot reach.

hack · #4 01-23-2012, 06:07 PM

This was covered in a thread and can be found here:

Dealer Service Prices

Here's the stuff I bought to do the oil change and bleed the brakes:

(8) Quarts of Mobil One 0W-40 Synthetic Oil @ $5.99 each from Fred Myer $47.92

Oil filter kit from Suncoast $17.71

Drain plug and washer from Suncoast $5.54

ATE 706302 Original Super Blue Racing DOT 4 Brake Fluid - 1 Liter $15.69 from Amazon

3 ton low profile jack from Costco $97.00

(2) pair of aluminum 3-ton jack stands from Harbor Freight $68.00

Pair of car ramps from Harbor Freight $45

Motive Products Power Bleeder Black Label from Amazon $72.95

Genesis Magnet Bleeder bottle from Amazon $9.99

Pennzoil filter removal tool 74-76 mm from Fred Meyer $3.49

Materials: $86.86
Tools: $296.43

Total: $383.29

The dealer quoted me $390 to change the oil and bleed the brakes. Buying the materials and the tools required you still save over the stealer's price.

**CBRacerX** · #5 01-23-2012, 06:51 PM

None of this is hard. Tackle it yourself, save money and be sure the job is done to your standards!

Chris

CosmosMpower · #6 01-23-2012, 07:13 PM

Thanks everyone. I already have most the tools except maybe some Porsche specific stuff like the Torx bits. I do oil changes, diff, transmission, brake fluid on my other cars and my Elise is very quirky in regards to jacking procedure (mid engine also).

I just wanted to see if there were any strange things on this car that would make something simple like an air filter or spark plug change difficult without special Porsche equipment. It looks super easy to bleed the brakes on this car with the lobster claw wheels and easy access to the calipers at all 4 corners. The brake fluid looks very clean in the car but I have no record of it ever being changed so I might do it again anyway.

Is Suncoast a good online OEM parts website to use? It seems like each make has a great one (Majestic Honda, Tischer BMW etc).

hack · #7 01-23-2012, 09:14 PM

Suncoast has very good prices, and they also sell stuff off the beaten track. They also sponsor this site, so you ought to consider supporting them (I've found their service excellent).

I've read that changing spark plugs is not easy to do at all and one of the maintanence chores you ought to find a good Porsche indie to tackle (evidently the two front plugs require the hands of a ten year old to access). Other than that brakes, fluid changes, air filters etc.. are certainly within your capabilities.

Norra Norra · #8 01-23-2012, 10:06 PM

I havent changed my spark plugs in over 5yrs and 50k mi and my car isnt even garaged. I'd wait until symptoms like poor fuel economy show up before giving them a change. 35k miles isnt that much on plugs, they can last 50-75k miles. I say leave em in unless you notice a problem.

Don't forget, service recommendations are also about padding dealership prices. Huge markups on parts, then $150/hr+ rates for labor, and they usually double the actual time it takes to do the work.

**PistolPete** · #9 01-23-2012, 10:48 PM

I've witnessed the spark plug change first hand and it can be a bear to get to the last two plugs closest to the front of the car. We even had the car up on a lift. I have the scrapped knuckles to prove it after fighting to get the coil pack connectors off.

When it came time to do the plugs on my car, I went to the dealer and dropped $600 for it. This is coming from a cheap person that basically stopped driving to NJ since the bridge toll when up to $13!

Everything else on your list is straightforward.

Dloines · #10 01-24-2012, 08:18 AM

Congrats on the CS purchase. If you had a PPI done, then i would not be as pressed to visit the dealer, and you can save a few bucks doing it yourself or a good indy. If not i would recommend taking it to the dealer (but shop around i paid a little of $500 for that service not including plugs) since they see these cars everyday and look for wear in areas that a indy may not. I thought plugs were good for 60K miles?

CosmosMpower · #11 01-24-2012, 09:26 AM

Great advice everyone, glad to find there's a helpful form for these cars

Ouch $600 to do the spark plugs? I checked some sites and it looked like the plugs were only $15 a piece so that's a lot of labor costs.

The porsche maintenance booklet with the car said plugs were every 4 years or 40K miles. I'm not sure why plugs would be time sensitive though it's not like it's a fluid that can absorb water from the atmosphere etc.

I think the accessory belts were the 60K item. Either way I'll probably crack open the airbox and look at the pollen filter and see if it looks like they need to be replaced. The oil was done 10K miles ago so it doesn't need attention right now.

sixisenuff · #12 01-24-2012, 10:07 AM

Originally Posted by hack

This was covered in a thread and can be found here:

Dealer Service Prices

Here's the stuff I bought to do the oil change and bleed the brakes:

(8) Quarts of Mobil One 0W-40 Synthetic Oil @ $5.99 each from Fred Myer $47.92

Oil filter kit from Suncoast $17.71

Drain plug and washer from Suncoast $5.54

ATE 706302 Original Super Blue Racing DOT 4 Brake Fluid - 1 Liter $15.69 from Amazon

3 ton low profile jack from Costco $97.00

(2) pair of aluminum 3-ton jack stands from Harbor Freight $68.00

Pair of car ramps from Harbor Freight $45

Motive Products Power Bleeder Black Label from Amazon $72.95

Genesis Magnet Bleeder bottle from Amazon $9.99

Pennzoil filter removal tool 74-76 mm from Fred Meyer $3.49

Materials: $86.86
Tools: $296.43

Total: $383.29

The dealer quoted me $390 to change the oil and bleed the brakes. Buying the materials and the tools required you still save over the stealer's price.

Hack:

Oh my! Another super blue user!

Hack, did you not get the memo? If you are tracking your car, Motul 600 brake fluid will give higher wet and dry boiling points. If not, use ATE Type 200, NOT ATE Super Blue. Type 200 is the same fluid but without the blue dye.

If a Porsche dealer sees blue dye in your fluid while you're in for warranty work on something like an ABS system, which is really expensive and really has been known to fail, they will void your warranty "non approved fluids". This happened to at least one P-9 member.

You can use any Dot 4 fluid so long as it's not colored with dye and they won't bother checking to make sure it's their fluid, but if it's blue, well, it's pretty easy to tell that it's not Porsche fluid.

There is no advantage to blue fluid. In fact, it doesn't even work for it's original intended purpose which was to verify that all the old clear fluid was flushed out. What happens is that the blue dye gets all over the inside of the system and mixes with the clear stuff and you get shades of blue, no cut-off. The idea was to follow clear with blue and blue with clear so you knew each time that the old fluid was gone...but it doesn't work...Trust me, you can run a gallon of new clear fluid through and still see blue.

I've changed more brake fluid over the years than any non-professional I know. I have a hydraulic frame type service lift in my garage. Lots of preps for lots of DEs for lots of years on lots of different cars.

If you leave blue in there for a year or more, it will stain the insides of the plastic bits too.

Performance of ATE Super Blue is identical with performance of ATE Type 200.

Also on oil choice, My tech recommended 5w40 instead of 0w40 for better protection of the intermediate shaft bearing. I'm using Motul at the moment but there are several good brands of full synthetic 5w40 available. I wouldn't change the oil out right away, but maybe would recommend that for the next oil change.

You can definitely do all this stuff yourself and many do. There are some highly qualified DIYers on this site and a lot of how-to articles. I do some things myself, but...

I use a non-dealer tech called Euroquipe in St. Charles, IL for most of the routine maintenance or installation of major add-ons. They keep good records of the maintenance, they're closer to my house and charge a lot less than the dealers. I also trust them more. They do Porsche, BMW/Mini, Ferrari, M-B, Lamborghini and Aston. There are some fine local machines at his place whenever I go. The place is neat as a pin with state of the art alignment and other equipment including a lot of the factory tools. The guys are all factory trained in one or more marques. One guy was a maintenance mechanic at NASA. It's a cool shop. There are places like this around most big cities and it's a good idea to have a relationship with one if you're running a used Cayman, especially if you track it. I know the owner personally. He drives Formula Ford at the national level and gets paid to do it. Lots of track and suspension set-up experience. He just installed and corner-weighted my new (to me) Damptronic coil-over suspension.

I feel lucky to have a resource like this so close to my house. Very handy! Look around for a good shop near you.

**SuncoastRyan** · #13 01-24-2012, 10:20 AM

We now have maintenance kits listed on our website:

Maintenance Kits: Porsche Parts & Porsche Accessories - Wholesale Porsche Parts & Tequipment - Cayman Panamera Cayenn

These kits are put together by us and is a great tool for the DIYer. We also list which items need to be check and inspected on the vehicle.

Let me know if you have any questions, always happy to help!

kcheves · #14 01-24-2012, 11:38 AM

Ouch $600 to do the spark plugs? I checked some sites and it looked like the plugs were only $15 a piece so that's a lot of labor costs.

I think the ignition coils (if needed) are about $300/set. Not sure if that was included in your estimate for a plug change.

Kit

light speed · #15 01-24-2012, 12:15 PM

A good and reputable independent mechanic that works on german cars can cut the dealer cost in half, or less! Oil change is easy at home if you have the space and tools. I'm going to tackle spark plugs at home with the Forum's instructions.

CosmosMpower: I know you were on the Lotus forum when you owned your Elise. Cayman S is a different beast, easier to tame and drive. But I still miss my Elise! For me, the Elise was a wonderful and fun car! But the Elise does not have the better Daily Driver or long tripper like Cayman.

--Hal

cbzzoom · #16 01-24-2012, 12:51 PM

Originally Posted by CosmosMpower

Ouch $600 to do the spark plugs? I checked some sites and it looked like the plugs were only $15 a piece so that's a lot of labor costs.

I spend $600 for parts + labor for all 6 plugs and coils. You shouldn't normally have to replace all the coils, but mine were in really bad shape.

I do all my fluids and such, but had my indie do the plugs. It looked reasonably straightforward, but you would want to have a good set of extensions and angles for your ratchets. Also much easier to do on a lift than lying on your back!!

Green Bean · #17 01-24-2012, 12:59 PM

I am still under warranty, so I took my car to the Porsche Dealership for the inspection for its 40,000 mile service, and I did everything else myself or at an independent shop.

Dealer Inspection = $170
Air Intake Filter = $30, did it myself
Cabin Air Filter = $40, did it myself
Spark Plugs = $90 from Suncoast, Paid independent shop $250 labor to do it. $350 total
Oil Change = $80 oil, Oil Filter $18, Paid independent shop $30 labor

Doing it this way, I saved close to $700 rather than going through the dealership.

CosmosMpower · #18 01-24-2012, 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by light speed

A good and reputable independent mechanic that works on german cars can cut the dealer cost in half, or less! Oil change is easy at home if you have the space and tools. I'm going to tackle spark plugs at home with the Forum's instructions.

CosmosMpower: I know you were on the Lotus forum when you owned your Elise. Cayman S is a different beast, easier to tame and drive. But I still miss my Elise! For me, the Elise was a wonderful and fun car! But the Elise does not have the better Daily Driver or long tripper like Cayman.

--Hal

I do remember you from LotusTalk, great to see you here too. I still have the Elise, the Cayman is for my wife as we replaced her unreliabile Mini Cooper S. It was a breeze to cruise home 3 hours in from Austin to Dallas last weekend when we bought it. She will do an occasional autocross and track day in it too. I'm just trying to get all the maintenance sorted first. Looks like a cinch except maybe the spark plugs which I may have someone else do.

I checked Suncoast and all the filters and spark plugs I need will run only about $194.00.

**jaica** · #19 01-24-2012, 04:06 PM

Make sure you are not leaking any fluids. To do that open the top plate and the one behind the seats. Usually the first step is to clean the engine turn it on for a while and look carefully for any leaks.

This cars are known to have weak water pumps. Keep and eye for that.

You probably have a couple cracked coils. If you are not having any problems you might want to skip the plug/coils inspection replacements. If you do not have any check engine lights, and are getting good gas milleage I would not do it, unless this was a frequently tracked car.

CosmosMpower · #20 01-24-2012, 05:29 PM

I scheduled an appointment with the local dealer that originally CPO'd the car here in town. They verified the CPO should cover any engine issues so I'm going to have them check out the leak discovered in PPI, it was noted as a B2 valve cover leak.

They wanted $1300 to do the major with spark plugs. I think I'll order the parts and do that stuff myself but I figured I might as well have them fix the leak since it's free under CPO. Do you think they would warranty a cracked coil or would that be a "wear item"?