52 replies to this topic

[hk968]

Hi all,

The car checked out fine except for a few minor things - and a timing belt and seal change which I expected. So decided to go ahead and purchase the car

Now, only money and the DMV stand between me and my Porsche, can't wait until I have it in my garage


Thanks for all your advice, I appreciate the knowledge and helpfulness of all the people in this forum!

hk968

[WJH]

That's great! Welcome to the club of the forgotten Porsche!

WJH

[Monstrous4Banger]

Hey congrats man! They really are great cars. Just keep her serviced, and youll enjoy it for years.

[Rap]

Great, now the fine begins and just in time for spring!

[JWahlsten]

Most excellent. Welcome to having one of the best all-rounder cars out there. Just won the local autocross in one against much newer, "faster", competition...

[tamathumper]

Congratulations!

[hk968]

Thanks again to everyone! As the last chapter of the story, I picked up the car yesterday and drove it home.

It is really in excellent condition and I am very excited! However, it is really due for a timing belt change since the current belt is 8 years old. In hind sight, I should have left it at the shop where I did the PPI and had the belt changed there. Oh well.

Does anyone know a good Porsche mechanic near Corning, NY. Watkins Glen is only 30 min from here so there must be someone here, right?

[flash]

oof - yes, it probably would have been better to have left it there. starting the car is the single biggest instigator in snapping an old belt. start the car as few times as possible between now and getting the belts done.

[robadams56]

I agree with flash....you should be as nervous as a first day inmate until you get the belts done. The cost of repairing a head is very prohibitive! Welcome to the forum and the 968 experience!

[hk968]

Hmm, interesting. I definitely feel nervous now ....

I drove the car quite a bit today, but now I will leave it in the garage until I have an appointment in the shop to change the belts. I hope everything is fine - but I guess I am OK since the car runs perfectly and I didn't notice any problems/and or noises .... so far

Strange: both owners were extremely meticulous in taking care of the car, e.g. doing a 90,000 mile service at 83,000 and such, and the car is spotless - but the first owner changed the belt after 55k and 5 years, and the second one after 5 years and 40k, but not since 8 years ago. Maybe he figured since he had only been driving 14k since then .... Also, the car was always garaged. I guess that also helps. I also had a compression test done as part of the PPI, and that was OK.

In any case, I will change the belts right away now, so I am keeping my fingers crossed ....

[robadams56]

I went through the same thing when I purchased mine. The car had only 46k miles but the belts were 7 years old. After hearing of the risk of driving it, I took it straight to the mechanic and spent $750 on the belts. Best money you can spend on these jewels.

You haven't done any damage, but it's the prospect that an old timing belt could snap at any time that is problematic. I believe the cost of a new head is something on the scale of $5 to $8k depending on what has to be done. Someone on the forum should be able to help you find a very good Porsche mechanic.

Don't feel bad that your car is costing you money this early in ownership. Once you have it done, you should be able to enjoy your 968 with peace of mind.

[tamathumper]

The general logic in the 80's and early 90's was that the belts should be done every 30,000 miles. Later, it was discovered by an unfortunate few that age and storage conditions also had a deleterious effect on the belts, and that starting was a particularly dangerous time for the timing belt, so the "3 years or 30,000 miles" rule came into effect.

Interestingly enough, if you were to search through the annals of this forum, you'd actually see some of that logic coming together.

When you do the belt(s), I believe many will tell you to go with Gates brand if you can. I just put on ContiTech belts, but I will probably be going back to Gates when it's time.

[flash]

it is a VERY common mistake to go by miles and not age. the owner's manual does not mention age. unfortunately when that was written, it was with the assumption that people would put at least 10k miles on it every year. now that more people are driving them less for whatever reasons, the years rack up but not the miles, but they don't realize that the rubber ages.

different belts behave differently over time. conti is among the most common belt used, and the most common failure. not just a coincidence either. almost every mechanic i know refuses to use conti on anything that is actually going to be driven. gates is the predominant choice. that being said, if you are religious about changing the belts BEFORE their scheduled repair, you could probably run anything and be fine. given the risk of expensive failure though, i'm not taking any chances, and will run gates.