Carrera GT 12 year engine out service (pic heavy)
Discussion
I have done this twice before now, both at 4 and 8 years, and so it seemed appropriate to keep the tradition going and post up some pictures of the 12 year engine out service on my Carrera GT.
The car has now done just over 20,000 miles. My use of the car has slowed somewhat, but I still manage half a dozen decent drives each year, and this year (2019) it will be going on what I hope will be an amazing trip to Europe with two other CGTs, owned by friends (yes, we will have a support car for the luggage!).
The CGT is still my all-time favourite car to drive. Every second behind the wheel is a joy and privilege. Every control reminds you of the depth of engineering that went into the car. Late in 2018 I drove it back to back (with some friends) against the 918. As stunning as the 918 is, all four of us clearly preferred the CGT as a driving experience. The relative lack of weight is obvious, and the chassis much more playful.
Since my last update the car has also become a tiny bit famous - it was photographed for an issue of Top Gear magazine. This is one of the shots they used.
Now onto the engine out service photos. As usual, I asked the brilliant team at Porsche Reading to go over the car with a fine tooth comb, and this resulted in a few parts being replaced (e.g. front springs which had just started to corrode at one end).
The engine mount at the bulkhead had also worn slightly, and so was replaced.
This is the underside of the car, with the carbon under trays removed.
All the under trays and wheel arch liners were cleaned.
I also had the front buttresses repainted as these had become a bit tired, even with paint film protection.
The engine bay was cleaned once the engine had been removed.
Suspension components were also checked and cleaned.
The wheels were refurbished. As they are magnesium, it is vital to ensure that the lacquer is renewed frequently to avoid any risk of the metal oxidising.
The details on the engine, including the gear drive for the camshafts, remain a delight.
I also had the seats removed so that my detailer could clean underneath, and we also repaired a couple of minor scratches to the lacquer on the carbon tub.
The one unusual piece of work I had done was a check of the gearbox. I had noticed 2nd gear becoming increasingly notchy when cold. Once up to temperature it was fine, but as the problem was getting worse I decided, in an abundance of caution, to have the gearbox inspected by HOR, the OEM. One of the lovely details of the CGT is that the gearbox can only be worked upon by HOR. There is even a little padlock on the gearbox housing, that if broken means that HOR knows someone unauthorised has worked on it!
This is the gearbox housing:
And here's what inside!
On inspection, HOR found a very small crack in one of the 2nd gear synchro rings, so this was replaced.
They also advised replacing the differential parts, as they have now designed strengthened (forged) components, to replace the milled originals. A not inexpensive change, but I have always chosen to maintain the car irrespective of cost.
The clutch, by the way, continues its magic trick of not appearing to wear at all - the measurement was almost identical to 4 years ago at just under 30mm.
Once reassembled, the car looked, once again, like new, cosmetically and mechanically. Thanks for the amazing Porsche Reading team and Richard from Refined Detail for their great work.
Thanks for reading - I do hope you enjoyed.
The car has now done just over 20,000 miles. My use of the car has slowed somewhat, but I still manage half a dozen decent drives each year, and this year (2019) it will be going on what I hope will be an amazing trip to Europe with two other CGTs, owned by friends (yes, we will have a support car for the luggage!).
The CGT is still my all-time favourite car to drive. Every second behind the wheel is a joy and privilege. Every control reminds you of the depth of engineering that went into the car. Late in 2018 I drove it back to back (with some friends) against the 918. As stunning as the 918 is, all four of us clearly preferred the CGT as a driving experience. The relative lack of weight is obvious, and the chassis much more playful.
Since my last update the car has also become a tiny bit famous - it was photographed for an issue of Top Gear magazine. This is one of the shots they used.
Now onto the engine out service photos. As usual, I asked the brilliant team at Porsche Reading to go over the car with a fine tooth comb, and this resulted in a few parts being replaced (e.g. front springs which had just started to corrode at one end).
The engine mount at the bulkhead had also worn slightly, and so was replaced.
This is the underside of the car, with the carbon under trays removed.
All the under trays and wheel arch liners were cleaned.
I also had the front buttresses repainted as these had become a bit tired, even with paint film protection.
The engine bay was cleaned once the engine had been removed.
Suspension components were also checked and cleaned.
The wheels were refurbished. As they are magnesium, it is vital to ensure that the lacquer is renewed frequently to avoid any risk of the metal oxidising.
The details on the engine, including the gear drive for the camshafts, remain a delight.
I also had the seats removed so that my detailer could clean underneath, and we also repaired a couple of minor scratches to the lacquer on the carbon tub.
The one unusual piece of work I had done was a check of the gearbox. I had noticed 2nd gear becoming increasingly notchy when cold. Once up to temperature it was fine, but as the problem was getting worse I decided, in an abundance of caution, to have the gearbox inspected by HOR, the OEM. One of the lovely details of the CGT is that the gearbox can only be worked upon by HOR. There is even a little padlock on the gearbox housing, that if broken means that HOR knows someone unauthorised has worked on it!
This is the gearbox housing:
And here's what inside!
On inspection, HOR found a very small crack in one of the 2nd gear synchro rings, so this was replaced.
They also advised replacing the differential parts, as they have now designed strengthened (forged) components, to replace the milled originals. A not inexpensive change, but I have always chosen to maintain the car irrespective of cost.
The clutch, by the way, continues its magic trick of not appearing to wear at all - the measurement was almost identical to 4 years ago at just under 30mm.
Once reassembled, the car looked, once again, like new, cosmetically and mechanically. Thanks for the amazing Porsche Reading team and Richard from Refined Detail for their great work.
Thanks for reading - I do hope you enjoyed.
Edited by stefan1 on Wednesday 17th April 23:51
Pericoloso said:
Good write up ,thanks for sharing.
May I ask how much this extensive service cost ?
It was more than usual because I elected to have some parts repainted and there were some one-offs like engine mount replacement.May I ask how much this extensive service cost ?
All told it was just over £20k for the service and a similar sum for the gearbox work (including shipping), which, as I mentioned, including some elective work to replace the differential parts with the forged components.
Cheers
Throughly enjoyed reading that, thanks very much for posting, the quality of engineering is just incredible. When you think a bog standard service can get to £1k pretty quickly and is less than a days owrk I really don’t think that cost was that bad ! Thought it would have been more to be honest.
Absolutely stunning piece of automotive engineering, thanks for sharing and for looking after it in the manner you do. It now looks factory fresh and a total credit to Porsche Reading and others for doing the work and to you for not scrimping on the costs involved. These cars are a high point in unfiltered involvement and a relative bargain when compared to F40s, 288GTOs, F50s, Enzos etc. I have spent a little time looking over a few of them and the level of engineering is exquisite, I would love the opportunity to actually experience one on track some day.
Thanks for sharing, again.
Thanks for sharing, again.
stefan1 said:
Pericoloso said:
Good write up ,thanks for sharing.
May I ask how much this extensive service cost ?
It was more than usual because I elected to have some parts repainted and there were some one-offs like engine mount replacement.May I ask how much this extensive service cost ?
All told it was just over £20k for the service and a similar sum for the gearbox work (including shipping), which, as I mentioned, including some elective work to replace the differential parts with the forged components.
Cheers
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