Thumbs up to sunset porsche...

Got a crack in my overflow tank. Called the local stealer they wanted $250. Sunset has it for $164 plus $15 for 3 day shipping to VA. Could not be happier.... The instructions on renntech look somewhat straigh forward, can't wait to DIY this one.... The only part that worries me is getting air in, and not bleeding sufficiently. Anyone on here has done this before? Any last minute tips?

It's really easy with Loren's DIY. I found that the drain plug wouldn't budge however. I used a socket with an allen. I left it inserted off the ratchet and tapped it with a hammer and it freed it up perfectly enough that it came out no prob. Make sure you don't overtighten it - use a torque wrench.

Just pull the relief valve lever up and drive the car for a few days. It may take a couple of days to bleed the air completely out of the system. My tank has never failed on my 99 yet...I may jsut buy one to keep on hand with my extra ignition switch.

My overflow tank failed last year in August just before a local club driving event. I was around 38,000 miles then. Our local (PCA captive) mechanic replaced it for me on short notice for about $270 I recall. You will need the genuine Porsche coolant, about 3 quarts. Order that at the same time. My understanding is that the 1999 model year cars will have a tank failure. It is only a matter of time. We had a heat wave last summer that may have forced the issue. No heat wave in Oregon this year.

I just bought one last week (99610614756) and it was $255.79. It came to $230.21 with discount...I had a leak as well. I was charged $208.00 to install plus about $40.00 for coolant. What was the part number you purchased. I want a refund!!!

I remembered wrong. Werkstatt in Bend charged me $184.78 for part # 99610614756 coolant reservoir plus 3 quarts # 00004330078 Porsche coolant at $6.97 each plus $120 labor for a total of $334.46 Same guy charged me $256.90 total for oil and filter change, brake & clutch fluid flush, repair front hood latch, and replace front drivers mud flap ( in front of front left wheel). Parts were $86.90 and labor was $170. I got the two bills confused in my memory. Sorry for the error.

Dang. Jim, can you get back the breaker bar you hove through the front window at Sunset?

God. I love Sunset!

Plus...you'll be happy to know I changed out my side markers to the clear ones again. I have a new updated interpretation of the Vehicle Code that I could defend on.

Have you ever had your car serviced at Carrera Motors in Bend?

Yeah! Stick it to the man!

Jim, No I have not had Carrera Motors service my 1995 or my 1999. I got quotes from them on my 1995 and their quotes were higher and their schedule was further out. I've spent $800 ? at their parts counter. Stuff like programmable keys, manuals, locking lug nuts, and specific parts. Our local PCA keeps one of Carrera Motors ex mechanics busy rebuilding & maintaining our cars year around. That is Werkstatt. The owner of Carrera Motors is an aquantance. I've come to know him through various local PCA events, parties, and we had dinner with him once. Nice fellow. If I become irresponsible and buy a new Porsche I will gather my quotes and try to buy from him. I shopped Carrera both times I bought my used Carreras. Neither time did they have what I was looking for. It seems they like Cabriolets, and I'm a coupe/sunroof guy.

The reason why I asked is that someone I met a while back who owns a Porsche said he just enjoyed the ride out to Bend and would drive there just for fun whenever he needed an oil change. He was told by their service people that a number of people from Portland drive over the hill (big hill, like in in Mt. Hood) and do the same thing. So, I thought maybe if I drive over there in the summer with my wife I'd check them out. I also heard that they would beat any Sunset deal...Good old Yankee competition. Jim

If you are interested I'll tell you the defense. No charge of course.

Thanks. I'm sure if I get busted, it'll be for something more grievous. I enjoyed my last ride out to Bend very much. I hit 113 passing a line of campers with a blacked out lowered Merc in the middle. (don't flame me for punching it once in a while... we're all human)

HA! You punched it and only got 113 out of it! You need to take Paulina's training wheels off!

The saga continues... Well, I spoke with Sunset today and Siberian is exactly correct. He paid $164.00. The expansion tank 99610614756 has at least three prices. Here's what I found out: If you walk in off the street and say you want to buy the expansion tank 99610614756 the retail is $255.00 and change with no discount. If you walk in off the street like I did and buy the part with the PCA discount its $232.00. If you did what Siberian did, i.e., call them up and ask for the Excellence price its $164.00 plus shipping. So that part would have cost me $70.00 less and about $5.00 to ship it 8 miles if I ordered it by phone. I would venture to guess, and of course there is no way that I can be certain but the expansion tank must cost the dealership about $75.00 or less. How's that for bending you over the ol' cracker barrel!!

Jim, Bet you they won't ship you with the excellence price locally. (But that's a great discovery if they will).

Hi Jim, Just checked back on the board and saw your response. For whatever reason Sunset will only offer discount to buyers outside of Oregon and Washington State. go figure....

OK....So can we get the Excellence price from Brandywine?

Dunno...but you could always have us East Coast folks pedal the parts for you...

That is definitely a thought. Q2 bonus season is nearly upon us...

We need an out of Oregon and Washington proxy.

I did the install a couple of months ago, and the part of the renntech instructions about cutting off the funky radiused flange on the side of the bottle is the key. After trying to get the bottle in without trimming down the unused flange, I cut about 1.25" or so off with a pair of tin snips (a hand saw would work also). Much easier to slip into place. IIRC, the flange is for something on the Turbo..... Took about 2 hrs.

Thanks Kevin, I'm looking to do the swap this weekend among other things in getting ready for an event at Watkins Glen

Lee, if you need to order anything feel free to contact me I would be fine being the go-between and FWD any package same day. Might be worth it especially if you are placing an order for a pricey item(s).

Thanks. I've been toying with the ROW M030 idea. I've checked by driveway and I think I have 2" with the US M030. Now there's just the matter of the bonus...

Here's my front end with the RoWM030 installed (also the Supercup lip). You can see that I have about 6 1/8 inches to work with. And the slope of my driveway creates a clearance of about 2-3MM!!!! Talk about cutting it close.

I was over at my local dealer today. Needed to pick up a few clips. Its really very interesting how the pricing appears on their screens. They can code the purchase as a PCA member, code for an excellence discount and a few other codes as well. Each code then shows their margin, i.e., their %age of markup. Its interesting as well because I take my car for servicing to a local independent shop. I have been told repeatedly that they are giving me their cost on the parts that they get from the dealer. Not always so!. An independent buys the parts at a different price (different code) and then, can and frequently has jacked the price to the full retail price. So when they tell me they are making no money on he parts well, frequently it is a crock of puckey but it is also a potential negotiating point. So a part lets say, I buy a low note horn...all depending what coding is used, it can go from anywhere between 32.00 and 57.00$ (appx) but most likely if you have the dealer or an independant shop put it in you'll pay $57.00. But I have to say this...its not just Porsche, its the same way with my Volvo's as well...if your not careful and don't ask the right questions you get it without the Crisco.

Jim, There are generally several levels of pricing. Most are structured in 20% increments. Dealer cost + 20% is generally the lowest they will sell the part, and this is mostly to very established shops, etc. Retail - 20% is usually what most shops get as their cost... You'll be surprised to find out that there is a different value which is called "counter retail" it's about 10-20% higher that "true retail" and that's what the customer get's hit with when they call or walk through the door. It's often refered to as "extended price" The PCA discount is usually given off that price.

That is precisely how the local Volvo dealership does it. They discount off what they call "counter price" which is 15% higher that the what the parts are normally retailed for if. This was told to me "in confidence" by the service manager when I complained about the price for a front lens needing replacing. I ended up with a discount off the the standard list price. But who the hell knows what price your getting... Anyway...I'm glad you got a good price on your expansion tank and I learned a lot from it as well. Later... Jim

On second thought, I'm not going to say a word!....

Oh Tim.....you are so bad! Get your mind out of the gutter.

Ok...just finished swapping out the coolant reservoir. Looked like mine was leaking at the sensor. Putting the new unit in was a lot easier without the tab!!! Pretty straight forward overall, just a lot of crap to unscrew and loosen.... To bleed the system I'm planning on just leaving the valve open for a week, hopefully it'll do the trick...