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Posted by: patssle Mar 14 2011, 12:57 PM

I'm going to take my 914 in this week to the shop to get the transmission rebuilt. I've never had anybody work on that car before, so it'll be a first.

The tranny is pretty gunky at the botton due to leaks and my attempts to plug the leaks. Is it appropriate to clean it before going in, or is it expected for old cars to be full of crud? Only thing I worry about is cleaning will open up the leaks and create a gusher - the shop is 60 miles away.

Might sound silly, but just curious what others do.

Posted by: montoya 73 2.0 Mar 14 2011, 01:04 PM

I would ask the shop what they prefer. Some shops will charge you for cleaning up.

Posted by: jimkelly Mar 14 2011, 01:05 PM

must be pretty bad : )

to be considerate - call the shop and/or send them a few pics.

i can't imagine any shop asking you to clean it before bringing it in.

jim

Posted by: Sawfish Mar 14 2011, 01:08 PM

In my opion it is in your best interest as well as being the right thing to do. Your mechanic may not complain about a dirty engine however in order for him to give you quality work it must be cleaned. If you clean it as much as you can first then your ulitmatley payng your mechanic for his experience and knowledge rather than paying him to do the dirty job. Just my two cents. the flip side is does the mess underneath streamline the mechanics abiltity to diagnose and isolate your specific issue.
Good luck

Posted by: markb Mar 14 2011, 01:11 PM

Posted by: Spoke Mar 14 2011, 01:15 PM

I'd pull the trans out of the car in my garage then clean the case and take it in.

Posted by: JRust Mar 14 2011, 01:36 PM

. If they are only doing your transmission. Pull it clean it & take it in. IF you plan to have them do other work then take it in. While cleaning it up some would be nice it isn't critical. The points made above are sound. In the long run it will cost you less if it is cleaned before hand.

Posted by: rick 918-S Mar 14 2011, 01:37 PM

If it were me I would at least give it a quicky. $ 10.00 at the self serve car wash vs what... $90.00 hr.shop rate? I would have to charge you shop labor rates to clean the thing in order to fine the leak. I doubt your mechanic will care if you clean it first. Your not going to make it perfect at the self serve but getting the first layer off will help.

Posted by: orange914 Mar 14 2011, 02:10 PM

40 years of baked on engine and trans oil doesn't clean off easily. unless you want to pay a fortune or be dissatisfied with a bad clean up (grim hides leaks), i'd do it first.

more often than not, i've found a dirty car (exterior) even encourages that level repair.

Posted by: patssle Mar 14 2011, 02:15 PM

Thanks guys!

Is using a pressure washer ok or does that force water into the tranny, especially with it being a leaky tranny? *goes to search*

Posted by: orange914 Mar 14 2011, 02:23 PM

if your taking it in right away, i wouldn't worry about a carefully blasted case. i used to always soak really grungy areas with wd40 an hour or two before steam cleaning, you'd be surprised how well that soaks in and loosens the touch stuff. just get it off before it dries.

Posted by: Cairo94507 Mar 14 2011, 02:30 PM

Personally, I think it is the right thing to do to make it easier for the mechanic to see what he has got and make it a cleaner job for you.
If he pulls the transaxle, I would ask if he has the ability to clean it up nice, all the areas you may not be able to get while it is in the car, before it goes back into the car. Then see if you can come in and clean the area of the car above the transaxle yourself while it is out of the car.

Posted by: SLITS Mar 14 2011, 02:34 PM

If pressure washing, wrap vent with tape to avoid getting water inside tranny.

Posted by: GeorgeRud Mar 14 2011, 03:05 PM

I can't think of any mechanic that wouldn't appreciate you cleaning the junk off the trans.

There really aren't all that many places that trannies leak from, and I assume he will be addressing them all wwhen he's working on the trans.

Posted by: McMark Mar 14 2011, 03:35 PM

Cleaning is expensive. I don't expect people to clean up, but it sure is nice when I get to work on a clean engine/trans.

Posted by: zymurgist Mar 14 2011, 03:40 PM

I had a well respected musclecar guy go over the T-10 in my Corvette. I cleaned the tranny before I handed it over to him. Of course it was out of the car at the time.

Posted by: Root_Werks Mar 14 2011, 03:50 PM

In my experience, the nicer condition something is before you do the hand-off, the better the other party will care for it.

Took my POS squareback in to get it aligned months back. Cleaned it, spottless, nothing anywhere. Looked great. Got it back that way. The shop guy had put a seat cover and floor mat cover in it. Made sure to leave them in the car so I'd see them.

Toss a mechanic a greasy heap of parts or crusty tranny, they'll think you don't care THAT much about it. So what's the big beef if it comes back to you not 100% clean or if it get's kicked around the shop floor for a while? Or sits outside until they have room and time to work on it?

Posted by: monkeyboy Mar 14 2011, 04:48 PM

Since you don't want that crud inside your trans, someone has to clean it.

I know my old ATV engine builder would tell you up front that if you brought it in dirty, you would be charged for a cleaning. He needed clean parts.

Posted by: Dr Evil Mar 14 2011, 07:11 PM

Knock off the chunks. Most people do that before they send their transmissions to me. If you are paying a shop to pull and rebuild your transmission then you must have $$ so dont worry about a dirty box Shops charge a huge amount for the build.

Posted by: ripper911 Mar 14 2011, 07:16 PM

I once got a complaint from the shop that "you couldn't even tell there was an engine in there".

I do drive my car everyday, no matter the weather.

Posted by: hot_shoe914 Mar 14 2011, 07:35 PM

I'd pull the tranny at home and dump the entire thing, gunk, grease dirt and all into a large rubbermaid tub, tape that bitch shut, drop it off at Greyhound with the Evil doctor's address on it with a note that say "Fix this bitch" and sit and wait for an awesome tranny to return. I'm sure you will save a ton of money!

Posted by: jsconst Mar 14 2011, 08:08 PM

Posted by: patssle Mar 14 2011, 08:17 PM

Actually the price is about the same as Evil. And the guy is one of the top rated Porsche guys in Houston by other air cooled folks. Otherwise I probably would send it off.

Went through and cleaned a bunch of crap off tonight. It wasn't too bad, most of it came off surprisingly easy.

Get r fixed and back on the road for this awesome weather!

Posted by: Dr Evil Mar 15 2011, 03:49 AM

That is good news Happy motoring!

Posted by: sean_v8_914 Mar 15 2011, 07:36 AM

from my shop's point of view:
if your engine is nasty I will ask you to wash it, giving you the opportunity to save labor costs. I will also offer you a hands off option if you dont want to get grease splashed in your face

in san diego there are only 2 legal car wash places with legal engine wshing station. one is at 52nd and El Cajon, less than 2 miles from teh shop. the water is recycled, oil separated and also recycled

if the trans is coming out than its a waste of time since I load the whole thing in my parts jet wash machine.


...car comes in super clean, inside and out. I know this guy loves his car. Im going to make sure I mask, glove, cover and clean. I can see everything on a clean engine. I can trace leaks. I have a more positive attitude wile working on a car that does not get me gooey and does not chunk up my shop floor.

we all have time and money. some have more of one than the other. how we spend it should be our choice. I try to give my customers options. some of my customers work with their brains all day and welcome the oportunity to go primal under a greasy car.

some of my customers tell me to "handle it" while showing me their manicured polished finger nails....and I see you reading this

Posted by: sean_v8_914 Mar 15 2011, 07:37 AM

PS> ask him if he has a patrs washing machine