[MCL968]

Good for you! Drive it and enjoy it. Make sure you let us know how many miles you get out of that timing belt.

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[Roboman]

I'm pleased for you Rocco but, with respect, I think you should still change the belts soon, and of course the present down time is the ideal opportunity. You must have factored in that cost anyway and changing the belts will give you a reference date for future maintenance. But it seems like you've made a great buy, so have a great time!

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[Rocco968]

Thank you and thanks for the warm welcoming to the site BTW.

 

I am not skimping on the water pump from cheapness. I am telling this guy to please change it but he won't do it. He is a thick headed Eastern European but a great mechanic. He doesn't wanna replace the belt for me because he says it is fine. You think I wanna fix valves in the head? He won't do the belt for me. The belt does look good though. The rubber is in good shape and the tensioner too. I am scared shiteless of that belt failing. I had a 16v engine swapped in my MK1 Jetta and I worried about that belt too.

 

By the way speaking of MK1 VWs, will a key blank from a rabbit GTI work as a key in our 968's? I need to make some spare keys and I have an old VW blank someplace. Is is okay to put phone dials on a 968? I always liked those.

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[Waylander]

think you will struggle with 15" dials, one, wrong offset two, might not clear the brakes

 

dont let your mechanic tell you what you want its your car, that belt snaps you could be looking at 8-10k to fix it

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[ds968]

I am telling this guy to please change it but he won't do it. He is a thick headed Eastern European but a great mechanic. He doesn't wanna replace the belt for me because he says it is fine. You think I wanna fix valves in the head? He won't do the belt for me. 

 

I’m convinced he has a twin brother, separated at birth, and living here in California ; my former (  retired a couple of years  ago ) mechanic.   From Poland, but schooled and trained in Germany on Porsche, BMW and Mercedes, and who was as stubborn as can be, but nothing short of an extraordinary mechanic ..could fix anything and everything, rebuilt engines, rebuilt components whether mechanical or electrical , but good luck trying to tell him you want something done which he didn’t think was necessary .. The mechanic equivalent of Seinfeld’s   “ soup nazi “.    He worked on my Porsches and Mercedes-es for over 30 years . 

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[Rocco968]

 

I’m convinced he has a twin brother, separated at birth, and living here in California ; my former (  retired a couple of years  ago ) mechanic.   From Poland, but schooled and trained in Germany on Porsche, BMW and Mercedes, and who was as stubborn as can be, but nothing short of an extraordinary mechanic ..could fix anything and everything, rebuilt engines, rebuilt components whether mechanical or electrical , but good luck trying to tell him you want something done which he didn’t think was necessary .. The mechanic equivalent of Seinfeld’s   “ soup nazi “.    He worked on my Porsches and Mercedes-es for over 30 years . 

 

Yes he yelled at me today again when I mentioned the timing belt. It's okay and I know he would not change that belt for anything. He does beautiful work and he is meticulous.

 

I drove the car today on the highway for the first time and it felt amazing. I love the way it feels, it is so planted and solid. Driving this car is incredible. I am very happy with it and plan to keep it for a very long time. The acceleration was not bad either, I thought it was gonna be slower. 

 

By the way I saw that belt with my own eyes and it looked fine. The rubber is fresh. He showed me the tensioner and the piston that pushes out to keep the belt tight and it was not extended. 

 

The brakes have tremendous stopping power too. Where can I find halfway decent floor mats please? Something not too expensive. I thought that phone dials also come in 16 inch too, but I could be wrong. 

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[MCL968]

I am a fan of 17" wheels on these cars. 18's are a little harsh, and the stock 16's are a little too mushy. I am running 17's with 5mm spacers and I am very pleased with how it rides and handles.

 

There are lots of Boxster wheels out there in 16,17, and 18. Just make sure they clear the dust cap on the front wheel bearing.

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[94SilverCab]

When it comes to wheels everyone has their own personal opinion. Mine is that they make the car look dated. A funny thing to say about a 25 year old car, but that is my view.

 

I upgraded from stock 16' rims to 17" 993 wheels. They are 17" X 7" and 17" X 9". The "correct" 968 17" wheels would be 7.5" in the front, but much more difficult to source and $$$.

 

There are a HUGE number of wheel treads here, including sizing advice.

 

Regards,

 

Jay

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[Waylander]

Oh well, we have passed advice on the belts, it’s not about looks or mileage the material wastes away internally, if it was not an issue. I’m sure Porsche know best

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[Rocco968]

My mechanic just offered me 10k for it. Says he would sell it for 15. I would not make much on the deal and I really like the car so I am not gonna do it. I would never find another one so clean again. 

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[Rocco968]

As far as the wheels I am planning on staying with 16 inch wheels. The roads here are horrific with crater like pot holes. Mushy will do just fine. I am not trying be speed racer anyhoo. The 968 is for taking my boy to school in and pick him up afterwards. Its like a half hour drive depending and I wanna cruise there in style. 

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[Roboman]

".... he yelled at me today again " I burst out laughing when I saw this. I had this vision of a crazed mechanic waving a spanner around yelling DONT MENTION THE BELTS, DONT MENTION THE BELTS! Does anyone remember John Cleese and Fawlty Towers??

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[ampegboy1]

I had a 16v engine swapped in my MK1 Jetta and I worried about that belt too.

Any pictures of the Jetta? My first car was a Mk1 Jetta, lots of happy memories

 

Michael

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[ds968]

".... he yelled at me today again " I burst out laughing when I saw this. I had this vision of a crazed mechanic waving a spanner around yelling DONT MENTION THE BELTS, DONT MENTION THE BELTS! Does anyone remember John Cleese and Fawlty Towers??

 

Love  FT !!  Pity they made only so few episodes,  I must have watched each one more than ten times, perhaps even more .. I bought the series on tape ( on VHS for those of you that remember that relic .. ) .   

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[MCL968]

Would it be possible for you to slowly rotate the motor with the top cover removed and look for the build date on the belt? this could prove to be important in that we see very few failures of Gates belts.

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[Waylander]

Just give it a good thrashing with a branch, it will be fine

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[ds968]

Here’s one of my old thread starters with reference on Gates belts mfg date coding 

 

 http://www.968forums.com/topic/12856-tim...-life-psa/

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[Rocco968]

Any pictures of the Jetta? My first car was a Mk1 Jetta, lots of happy memories

 

Michael

 

I have pics someplace. It was a white GLI and it hauled butt. I drove that car into the ground. It leaked and burnt oil.

 

Anyway maybe I will take it to another Balkan mechanic for the belt then. I had the car detailed and it looks amazing. I just can't drive it yet because of the DMV being closed still. I will look for the date on the belt and report it asap. This car is so beautiful that I would hate to do something foolish with it. 

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[Chris Vais]

Roco968

 

With all due respect, find another mechanic. Unless, of course he is willing to cover your engine rebuild should the belts break before he thinks it needs to be changed. You're taking a huge risk driving the car without the belt change. Why would you risk a $6,000+ engine rebuild?

 

My recommendation is that you find a mechanic who understands these cars, get all the deferred maintenance brought current and then keep it that way. My 94 coupe now has nearly 170K miles on it and no mechanical issues. I do belts every 30 to 35K or after 3 years, water pump every other belt change. I have had no belt failures and no water pump failures.

 

I had a career in military aviation and that made me very OCD about the material condition of every plane I ever got into. I'm the same way about a three of our cars.

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[MCL968]

Yes, I agree with Chris completely. Also important to remember is that sometimes the balance belt fails and takes out the timing belt. We have seen that happen in this group.

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