Update on repairs by Jake - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

For those that are interested; I wanted to give an update on my IMS and valve work that was done by Jake and crew. First a little history: The car was missing at idle, and was running a little rough, stalling at cold start up, and a general loss of power. Also there was a mechanical noise from the IMS-clutch area. Knowing the clutch was worn, I figured that was all it was. I sent it to the dealer. They said that the IMS was noisy and the motor required replacement. Now keep in mind that it drives, I would say 90% of new and of course the dealer wanted big money to fix it. So I sent it to Jake, (500$ shipping cost from Texas) and let him look. I had a timing issue (the chain had skipped a few teeth), the chain pads where worn, the valve lifters where stuck, the IMS was going, the clutch was shot, front motor mount shot, cracked ignition packs, and a shimmy at 75 MPH that has been messed with for 5+ years and no one could fix it. I had an extended warranty with warranty direct - Interstate and they covered a fair amount of the cost. Incidentally dealing with the insurance company was the worst experience I have ever had. They dragged their feet, questioned everything, sat on the claim, "lost faxes", and after approval, still have not cut me a check. They are horrible, but in the end, I should get $$. Jake fixed the car, dynoed it 30+ times, installed a low temp thermo and did a brake job. Also He fixed the "unfixable" shimmy that has eluded many mechanics over the years. The car drives like new, but that was expected because he is a professional that knows what he is doing. What was not expected was the level of customer support and service. Jake stood by me with the insurance company. He went above and beyond the call of duty with them. Also he replaced parts on the car for free from overstock used items that he had lying around. The amount of time that he spend dealing with the car and the insurance company was more than expected, however the quoted price never changed. He is truly an honest man. These days that is rare and should be acknowledged whenever possible. So I drive my car again, hard and fast, knowing that there is someone that I can call anytime to fix problems that arise. Thanks a lot Jake.

Sweet! Good to hear! Who did you use to ship the car? What type of hp was your car pulling before and after the work was done?

Nice summary jhandy. Glad you acted quickly enough to avoid more damage. What was the cause of the "shimmy"? Thanks, ddb

The shimmy was a combo of rotors and strut problems. If you do a search you wil find refrence to the shimmy that a lot of people suffer from. It comes and goes and was really bad at 75mph. I had the tires balanced, rotated, bought new rims, and new tires. Weird thing....but now it is gone and I cant be happier. I acutally thought of selling the car over it. The shipper of the car was Creative Auto transport. Easy and cheap. Very nice guys. Jake has the exact numbers on HP increase, I dont think that it got much faster, however it drives much smoother. Like new. The dealer would always blow it off and say that "all boxsters drive like that after 50K miles." I was quite shocked and did not understand why they refused to work on it aside from replacing the entire motor at a cost of 22,000$.

Here is what I found on the web: http://warranty-direct.pissedconsumer.com/i-was-a-former-employee-20080528122355.html "Warranty Direct is operated in one large room,a telemarketing room,with the purpose of booking contracts as often as possible so that the company gets paid.Warranty direct is a scam 80% of all claims are never paid so that the company's bottom line is not affected and so they can show company growth year after year."

The Dealer's fix was an engine replacement. They won't do what we do and unless they buy the parts from us they can't do the IMS! This was all typical for an M96 engine of this era with this mileage.. In Mr. Handy's case 22 of his 24 lifters were bad, that made for uneven idling, noise and crappy performance/ fuel mileage. Someone at that warranty company needs their ass kicked! They have screwed around for 2 months working on this claim and I finally went ballistic on the rep they assigned to us.. I just couldn't take the lies any longer. We take pride in providing solutions to problems that no one else has. I've had cars shipped to us that have been to 13 different shops and no one could repair them, but my team did.. At the same time we have had things kick our asses too, but it doesn't happen often. I spent DAYS working on that shimmy problem. Thanks! You were a great customer! Thats what we do.. I treat people as I would expect to be treated when facing the same situation. I enjoyed the challenge and trying to beat them at their own game... :-) . Yep.. I had some good used parts here that were low mileage and replaced the coil packs with these and etc.. Thank you for the acknowledgement.. I run a tight ship and do what I say, being very up front and honest. Thats how I have gained a loyal customer base that appreciates what we create and the services that we offer. Almost non existant!! ...and we wonder why our country has gone to hell! Yep.. You have my direct line.. Use it :-) Thank you!

Out of curiosity, were the stuck lifters replaced, or "cleaned" or what? What sort of cost?

I have upgraded lifters that we developed primarily for our engines, these are what I used on jhangy's Porsche. The lifter job with parts and labor is 3,500.00 as a flat rate, we do the procedure often and have streamlined costs with flat rates because we know how long it'll take and what parts it'll require.

Never mind all the interesting stories of engine failures (wish there were fewer) and the great technology Jake and Charles bring to the Boxster community, the forum has never been so lively! I love the way Jake never beats around the bush! (Except for what oil to use, of course). Keep yourself tuned in to 986forum, Jake!

When or If the warrenty company pays for it it becomes very attractive to have everything done. it is almost worth getting an extended warrenty now for about 2-3K and then in 6 months hit them up for repairs. trust me....you will save many many many thousands of $$. Thier exact words to me....."we (insurance company) had no idea of these types of repairs. we have no data in the books on them. We never knew this was a possiable faliure." I guess porsche does not release engine repair specs or rates. What they dont know will hurt THEM. After the treatment I got from my company, I say SCREW them all and make them PAY!!!! I know I have issues, I am thinking about therapy.......

I put these people at the warranty companies on the same level of the algae that grows in my fish pond... I believe these worthless bastards operate on reverse commission, the more they screw you the more they take home at the end of the week. These repairs are unknown because of a total lack of initiative on behalf of repair shops and Porsche dealers... Shops didn't know about these engines so they could not make any money working on them, since any internal repair would have taken them more time that the "labor guide" offered.. They weren't willing to educate themselves yesterday for a positive experience tomorrow.. They would rather sell you a new engine from Porsche, make their 2K off the top of the engine purchase then charge another 2K to install it and have you out the door in less then 3 days. Thats why they are going to be screwed when the replacement engine program goes away... Its all about forethought, Charles and I saw all of this over 5 years ago and now we are way ahead of the curve and making more power than anyone with the most advanced components and a true support program. The warranty companies are an insurance company alright, if you deal with them you are guaranteed to get screwed and you'll be dealing with a bunch of clowns that can't even remember their own lies! Hell, they can't even spell!