I need to vent because I am extremely angry
I took my car to a trusted shop after some serious research because let's face it...a mechanic will never care about your car as much as you do. I needed Lifters and found an indy with a great reputation that said they had the necessary tools to time the cams and the job would be no problem. I went to the shop to watch as the intake lifters came out because I wanted to see what they looked like. Strangely, the mechanics would only do one bank at a time and said this was the only way to keep from losing the cam timing. I thought this was odd since the owner previously claimed to have the expensive tools required to time a Mezger engine. I left and hoped for the best. After a week they called and said the car was ready, just needed some testing and I could pick it up in a few hours. Later that day they called and said they needed more time and held it for the weekend.
This morning (Monday) they called and said I probably wouldn't be able to pick it up...but "it's running great and nothing is wrong." They called again a few hours later..."Sorry we are seeing 2 check engine codes and we need more time." I'm thinking it is probably an air leak or something minor. Then I wonder what the codes are so I call back to ask and I hear the worst possible answer "P0011 and 0021". $h!t...cam timing codes.
The shop owner insists that the car is running great and readings look perfect so he can't understand why the codes are coming up. I told him the reason I used his shop was that he claimed to have the right tools for the job and then I told him that I was there during the critical part of the work and that his mechanics used a shortcut to avoid losing the cam timing which was almost certainly the reason for the new CEL codes.
Why are mechanics so F'd 90% of the time? I have had the worst luck with Porsche mechanics with the exception of one.
Now I am at least going to have to wait to have my engine pulled AGAIN unnecessarily to have the cam timing properly done and at worst I will be in a nasty fight that I just don't want to deal with and shouldn't have to.

 

Horrible! Sorry to hear this but you're gonna have to stand your ground on this.

 

Sorry to hear this, dont mean to be negative but there is a good possibility that they bent the valves if the timing was out. Tell tale sign is at idle the revs starts to hunt up and down.
Good luck with it and I'm sure it will all work out in the end.

 

ask to see the cam timing tools... they probably do not have it... sorry to hear that...

 

Stinks all you can do now is look forward and get it straightened out. Different but the same is the contractors working on my house, I have to babysit in order to get any type of quality. Hope soon its just a bad memory.

 

I hate hearing these stories. Worst part is that I continue hearing them about reputable shops. Good luck getting your issue rectified.

 

I am sorry to hear of your problem. Having the tools and KNOWING how to use them are two very different things. I think the intake cam was not put on the right lock (full retarded) and was held on the left lock (full advanced). that is my thought on P0011&P0021


"This DTC code is a result of a mechanical fault of the VCT unit or related components, so there is no need for electrical diagnosis. Refer to vehicle specific repair manual to perform component tests for the VCT unit."

 

Bummer.

About all else that I have to offer -- besides sympathy -- is that you are owed a reasonable degree of skill, experience, and care.

The shop took the job on with no pressure on your part.

This means the shop believed it to be qualified to do the job right.

I am not sure how I would open the dialog -- these situations occur so seldom that I play it by ear -- but you can put the above to the shop and suggest that if the shop doesn't put things right it must turn the car over to a shop of your choosing -- another indy or a dealer -- and pay whatever it takes. The shop should have insurance for this sort of thing.

Actually I have my doubts the shop can do this and would be reluctant to let it proceed but I'm not sure how to wrest the car away from the shop and yet still have the shop cover its repair.

You might end up having to document everything and fix the car yourself and then take the shop to small claims court.

Before you do that, though, if you get some push back mention BAR (Bureau of Automotive Repair). I used this one time and you would have thought I jabbed the shop owner with a hot poker.

BTW, I can point you to an indy that has a senior Porsche tech on its staff. He just joined the indy shop a month or so ago. It is in Dublin CA. This is the tech that did my Boxster's VarioCam solenoid/actuator job and most of the heavy lifting work on my Turbo.

 

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely have to navigate carefully. I think you may be talking about Kahler's in Dublin. Is that the place? I steered away from them because they kept blaming my tune for something that was obviously not caused by it and I proved it to them by fixing it myself. That was the end of our relationship. Like I said, I've had terrible experiences with shops that supposedly have great reputations.

 

Not Kahler's. The shop is primarily a BMW shop but this tech was hired as the shop wants to grow/expand its Porsche side of the business.

 

Hope you get it sorted out.

I my experience, it seems that finding a shop that knows their way around a turbo is different working on a other P cars. Else, your car is just a "guinea pig".

How about Sharkwerks in Fremont?

 

They were first on my list but they had a 3 month wait to get my car in. They also don't like doing repair work unless it is part of an upgrade.

Today at noon I'm giving the owner a deadline...have it fixed by end of day Thursday or I will pick it up and pay only for the lifters and coolant line pinning.
I think this is more than fair and if he has the tools to time the cams like he says he does this should not be an issue.
I just need to stay calm. I didn't realize how much I am attached to the car until now.

 

Sometimes you may look for different shops to save money. My suggestion is to find one that you trust even when you pay extra few bucks.. You know the car was done on time and they did right. But yet the best mechanic you can trust is yourself.

Wish i had a lift for heavy jobs. Like to change the clutch or even to drop the motor if i have to.

I hope they didnt f up your motor.

 

I just looked in the book.. I feel they may have either put the lock to the right which would allow the cam to advance 32 degrees more then the ecu wants to see. Easy check would be to unplug the the two solenoids on the cam towers (not the ones between the coils) and let it idle and check the cam deviation. Or they used the wrong plates, 996 gt3 is different then 996 turbo and 997 turbo is different too. I am sorry that this does not really help you bet maybe will help the shop.

Tim

 

The best thing you did was say you did major research and found a trusted shop with a good reputation. I am sure the shop owner will make the "trusted & reputable" decision on how to handle the situation.

Don't throw your panic into high gear just yet, it may be sorted properly based on your initial research in finding a solid shop to do the work.

Employees sometimes make mistakes, Employers make it right.

Good Luck, I am confident it will be worked out for you.