987 rear shock replacement cost

The dealer did an oil and brake fluid change yesterday and noticed that the left rear shock was leaking. To replace both they quoted $3000 (labor $1330). I can get all the OE parts online cheaper by 25%. I can also get Bilsteins for less then the OE ones. The killer is the labor. They say it will take 7 hours to do the replacement. That seems extremely long even for a Porsche . I know the axles need to be removed but even so. They didn't list it out but I'm sure the labor includes the alignment. I haven't talked to my local specialty shop yet but hope he can quote lower. I'm pretty good with a wrench and would consider doing this myself if it weren't for the fact that they also pointed out an engine oil seal leak. This repair would require removal of the tranny thus removal of the axles again so it only makes sense to have both repairs done at the same time. They quoted both repairs individually so the next step is to have the quote combined. Anybody have some labor cost figures for their shock replacements?

Labor does seem high. Not exactly comparable but I had some suspension work done on a 986 Boxster recently. Looking at the breakdown the labor cost to remove and replace the rear struts and springs was billed at $840. The work scope is similar I think. This was an indy Porsche shop that usually charges a little lower labor rate than the dealer but not a lot less. Agree, if you have a good indy shop, ask them to quote.

That cost is more in line of what I was thinking. The indy charges the same rate as the dealer but I bet the job could be done in 4 hours.

I just got this quoted by my Indy. Six hours labor ($850) plus $1,400 parts. I have non PASM . Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I wish the labor rates in Cali were that good. Dealer rates are $190/hr.

Will shops install parts that you buy yourself? Seems like they would have liability concerns. Not to mention profit concerns. I've thought about asking but thought it might be a dumb question.

Depends on the shop I suppose but I've supplied parts to both dealer and indy without issues. Suspension, brake parts, brake fluid, etc. Nothing wrong in asking.

The shop that does my Mazda repairs won't let me bring parts. They are no different then a dealer. Need to make a profit on both labor and parts. I was thinking of putting in a Wavetrac TBD and the dealer said they would consider doing it which kind of surprised me. I haven't found a local indy shop that has the expertise or equipment to work on diffs in the newer cars (post air cooled).

Some shops will install non OEM sourced parts but you better believe they will extract whatever profit they can to negate your savings. Probably better to go with an independent and let them know you have a parts source preference if possible. I was considering lowering springs and was quoted $1200 by a well known tuner shop, throw some shocks on top of that and it's probably close to where you are with your dealer. I decided to decline the project because it appears all of the trim from the A pillar back must be removed.

I just installed the Bilstein B16 Coilover PSS9 last week. The rears took 3 hours total plus an hour for the interior trim. You do NOT have to remove the axles to remove the oem nor to install the new. You do not even need a spring compressor to change the rears. I used my spring compressor for the fronts, but the rears did not require it. It they do oem replacement struts but not the springs, I would bet that they are not planning to do an alignment; never assume what they are going to do. If it isn't listed on the estimate, why would you assume that they are going to do it? Any 10 year old car that has a leaking strut is a good candidate for new springs. Whether sitting in the garage or driven 65000 miles, 10 years is a lifetime of service for springs. Since labor is a major factor, it would be penny wise pound foolish to not change the springs at this time. The B16 kit is $1880 on eBay from a reputable seller. Get the kit, do rears now and fronts later if you wish, or do both ends now. You won't regret getting the B16's, they transformed my car.:dance:

What I recommend is that you do the rear struts yourself since the axles do not need to be removed. Then take it in for the engine oil leak. Make them align the car after the oil leak repair. Done.:cheers: If you get the Bilsteins, measure the rear fender to ground before and after, then adjust the rear height to match the original height. Also use a paint dot to mark the toe and camber settings before and then reset to those same marks. That will get the alignment close enough to drive it to the dealer for the other work and new alignment. If you choose to lower the car, have the dealer make that adjustment only if they have corner weight scales. If they do not, then call race prep shops and have one of them do the lowering and alignment after the dealer does the oil leak repair. Have the dealer remove the alignment cost from your bill and not do the alignment. Again, reassembly will be close enough to drive from one shop to another.

You're far better than I. Even with a helper, I couldn't figure out how to get enough downward travel on the rear hub to get my PASM shocks out. Ultimately, I had to disconnect the axles. And I spent considerably longer than 3 hours trying to sort it out.

I still have my H& R springs in a box in teh garage, because I can't find a reasonable installation cost.

It took me 4 hours for both fronts when upgrading to Bilstein B6 with stock springs. Let’s see how long to rears will be.

@512TXS - Did you do the spring compression / R&R yourself or take them somewhere for that part? Also, an update on the B6 vs stock would be nice, I'm considering upgrading to the same setup rather than just getting B4s when my factory struts let go.

I compressed the springs from my old shocks to the new B6 shocks. The spring tool was purchased on Amazon for $30 and comes in a red box. What does R&R mean? I’ve only done the front shocks so far. Probably doing the rears today or tomorrow. Impressions so far is that it’s more stiff in terms of damping travel range. Mine is noticeable instantly since my old shocks were leaking oil already. I’ll upload the DIY soon on YouTube if you decide to do it yourself. Search for “512TXS DIY” and you’ll see my content.

R&R would be "Remove and Replace" Thanks for the Youtube info!

Ohhh. Yes. R&R makes sense now. I just did the rear shocks... what a pain in the butt. Still need to get alignment tomorrow or next week.

This project is exactly why I would recommend to upgrade to Ohlins coilovers first rather than down the road, doing the R&R all over again after the H&R spring rate is not high enough.

Ohlins coilovers are nice for sure. I think it depends on what you’re wanting to achieve with the upgrade as well. In my opinion, nothing rides as nice as a shock/spring combination in terms of street performance and comfort. Coilovers are great for a track application. R&R isn’t difficult, especially with a helper and saves you thousands if you do it yourself.