New brake pipe for 911
Discussion
I've a friend who recently took her 911 to Kwik Fit for its MOT. Her email to me says:
I had my car MOT'd with Kwik Fit the other week. They called me up to say that during the test the brake pipe had snapped, made a big song and dance about how lucky I was it hadn't happened on the road.
I got a bit suspicious to say the least, anyway, after throwing down to all who would listen, the area manager contacted me later to advise that they were legally advised to fix it f.o.c as it happened during testing (I think there was some mention that it wouldn't have been the case if they had spotted it during visual inspection - the implication seemed to be that the guys there were being lazy and not going through all the small steps).
So they changed the brake line replacing it with a copper rather than a steel one. I took it to my (trusted) Porsche specialist after who advised the copper was inferior and I needed to replace it back to the original steel. So he did, but it was £283.14.
She's asked me if she can recover the costs from Kwik Fit, but before I saddle up my white charger what I really wanted to know is whether her dealer was correct, or just charging her a couple of hundred quid because he could get away with it (excuse my cynical view of Porsche dealers!)
Thanks for any assistance.
I had my car MOT'd with Kwik Fit the other week. They called me up to say that during the test the brake pipe had snapped, made a big song and dance about how lucky I was it hadn't happened on the road.
I got a bit suspicious to say the least, anyway, after throwing down to all who would listen, the area manager contacted me later to advise that they were legally advised to fix it f.o.c as it happened during testing (I think there was some mention that it wouldn't have been the case if they had spotted it during visual inspection - the implication seemed to be that the guys there were being lazy and not going through all the small steps).
So they changed the brake line replacing it with a copper rather than a steel one. I took it to my (trusted) Porsche specialist after who advised the copper was inferior and I needed to replace it back to the original steel. So he did, but it was £283.14.
She's asked me if she can recover the costs from Kwik Fit, but before I saddle up my white charger what I really wanted to know is whether her dealer was correct, or just charging her a couple of hundred quid because he could get away with it (excuse my cynical view of Porsche dealers!)
Thanks for any assistance.
I doubt it is pure copper it will be copper / nickel or cunifer and it is perfectly fine - most people use this instead of the original Porsche steel brake lines as they are easier to handle and install (without having to drop the engine etc) They *should* last longer than the steel ones that Porsche fitted. The Porsche steel lines are preformed and very hard to fit as they are not a maleable as copper / nickel.
If in doubt go to a qualified mechanic who your trust and get him to check the work that Halfords did.
Also I should ask - why did they take a Porsche to a Halfords Auto Centre in the first place? next time might be better to take it somewhere that regularly MOTs exotic cars.
If in doubt go to a qualified mechanic who your trust and get him to check the work that Halfords did.
Also I should ask - why did they take a Porsche to a Halfords Auto Centre in the first place? next time might be better to take it somewhere that regularly MOTs exotic cars.
She got done by her Porsche specialist.
As Whitenight states, the originals are made from steel which corrodes over time from both the inside (dpending on moisture absobed by the brake fluid) and the outside. They are hard to replace as they are very difficult form to the original shape and difficult to splice to as the are not readily flared.
It's lilkley Kwik Fit used Kunifer which is copper nickle. Easy to form, easy to flare and will outlast the original. If the new lines looked light, nickle coloured they were kunifer. They were not inferior and perfectly acceptable.
Porsche Centres have used copper nickle before too.
As Whitenight states, the originals are made from steel which corrodes over time from both the inside (dpending on moisture absobed by the brake fluid) and the outside. They are hard to replace as they are very difficult form to the original shape and difficult to splice to as the are not readily flared.
It's lilkley Kwik Fit used Kunifer which is copper nickle. Easy to form, easy to flare and will outlast the original. If the new lines looked light, nickle coloured they were kunifer. They were not inferior and perfectly acceptable.
Porsche Centres have used copper nickle before too.
WhiteKnight said:
I doubt it is pure copper it will be copper / nickel or cunifer and it is perfectly fine - most people use this instead of the original Porsche steel brake lines as they are easier to handle and install (without having to drop the engine etc) They *should* last longer than the steel ones that Porsche fitted. The Porsche steel lines are preformed and very hard to fit as they are not a maleable as copper / nickel.
If in doubt go to a qualified mechanic who your trust and get him to check the work that Halfords did.
Also I should ask - why did they take a Porsche to a Halfords Auto Centre in the first place? next time might be better to take it somewhere that regularly MOTs exotic cars.
Thanks for your reply.If in doubt go to a qualified mechanic who your trust and get him to check the work that Halfords did.
Also I should ask - why did they take a Porsche to a Halfords Auto Centre in the first place? next time might be better to take it somewhere that regularly MOTs exotic cars.
However, you ask why she took it to Halfords rather than a specialist. It would seem from what you and guards red have said that she was actually receiving a better (and certainly a lot cheaper) service from Halfords than her Porsche specialist.
Having purchased a low mileage 1 owner 911 '03 model I was advised the brake lines were heavily corroded and needed replacing, used an independent specialist in Horley as the rear lines were over the engine and the engine and gearbox had to come out to replace, they replaced with Porsche parts and also replaced the lines that run down the chassis. She had a great deal to have porsche replace the parts for a couple of hundred pounds as my bill was several thousand. (I also had some other work done while engine out)
I have known the car from new and aware car garaged all its life - i put it down to just one of the those things that have to be replaced due to age, along with brakes exhaust etc.
Hope her car is going well and she is enjoying it.
I have known the car from new and aware car garaged all its life - i put it down to just one of the those things that have to be replaced due to age, along with brakes exhaust etc.
Hope her car is going well and she is enjoying it.
The copper/nickel pipes will out-last the steel ones as they don't corode and rust....Porsche should have made the brake pipes from this material from the start...it's more expensive during manufacture so they didn't.
The Porsche garage now replaced the perfectly good and long lasting one back to the inferior quality and charged not-a-little fee for the privilege!!.
SS
The Porsche garage now replaced the perfectly good and long lasting one back to the inferior quality and charged not-a-little fee for the privilege!!.
SS
Edited by silver surfer on Thursday 11th October 22:17
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