al996

I have 65k miles on my 89 coupe. It runs great, but since last year it has been consumming a lot of oil. The mechanic the I worked with sugguested a change of oil and filter, and watched for oil consumption for the next 1000 miles. It consumed about a quart in the first 400 miles. We top it off and it consumes another 2 quart in the next 600 miles. Based on this test, my mechanic concludes that it has valve glide wear and quoted me a $7500 fix. What should I do?

fixnprsh

try to find a clean 89 coupe with 65K miles on it for less than $20K. theres your answer. if at this time you go through the top end and put good guides in, you will have lots of miles of happy motoring. I'm rebuilding my 3.2 crank out myself and my machine work alone is almost $7000 for the whole motor + a few of his goodies. I used my friend at Performance Developments, Neil. I send him all my 993 heads, flywheels, motors, everything. But when your dealing with the precision instument that is a 911 motor, be smart and pay for good quality precision machining VS. production house machining that deals in high volumes of general rebuilds. there is about two hours of work in EACH head by the time you clean each one, pull the studs, measure everything, check for cracks, check spring tension and coil bind, press in new guides, maybe more if you need seats but at that mileage I seriously doubt it. valves will be fine. 12 hours atleast for the heads at the machine shop at $100 an hour is $1200, guides are around $500-$600 good ones, not OE porsche, springs and retainers are around $400. plus I would upgrade to stainless exhaust studs if you live in a beach or damp climate if you want to keep the vehicle for a long time or add some 964 cams at this time. so figure with tax and other odds and ends $2500 at the machine shop for a good quality valve job, but then you have the actual shop which is probably getting 40-50 hours to R&R the motor, disassemble, clean all parts that aren't going to the machine shop, buying seals, hardware, reassamble and install. your motor should look like the day it left the showroom if not better as thats how I do it. and there is the other $5000.

long_beach_968

my solution is buy a 968 it is the answer to all life's problems
120k and no problems yet
great styling
22mpg
240hp
G44 six-speed
I can go on and on

fixnprsh

bwahhaaa.......your funny cameron, you could trade a carerra with a busted top end for a pristine 968 and still wind up losing, atleast we dont have to worry about timing belts, water pumps, and balance shaft belts breaking and carry an extra 500 lbs around.

where were you/ we left at like 715 am? and they couldnt get away from me in the mountains at all and I had atleast half tthe HP of most all the cars. the closest was a 944 Turbo that was hopped up something mean, but we were held up by the cars infront of us. I'm going to order my sways when I recover from the 3.2 project as im over budget by alot. but you know how that goes.

TerryH

Hope you took note that it's valve guides not glides. Basically valve stem seals/guides that keep oil out of the combustion chamber. If it were my car, I would post my location to the subscribers here and at pelicanparts.com forum to get recommended local garages. I would get a second or third opinion before investing several thousand dollars in the repair. Take your time and make good decisions now rather than have regrets later.

Terry

al996

Thanks everybody! I'm in the SF Bay Area. Any good P-car specialist you would recommend?

long_beach_968

I was at the starbucks in glendora at 7:10, wrong one. but i was in the canyons by myself for 2 hours. i saw no porsches in the canyons and took some bad *** photos.

oh by the way, Im a huge 993 fan but ill take a water pump any day over replacing valve guides every 50-70K

special tool

You need another opinion, man. 65K??? El bull****arinio.

Of course, you are ALWAYS checking the oil HOT and engine RUNNING, right?
You are not doing something silly like checking it hot at your mechanic's shop, then checking it cold the next morning in your garage, are you?

Jaws911

from what i've read/learned (no technical/practical experience at all) 69k mught be when worn valve guides will show their face.

however, re-reading you post, a couple of things come to mind:
If you are really "topping off" the oil, this could account for the excessive use - oil should be filled up about to the 1/2 way mark between the 2 marks on the dipstick.
Also, a common sign of valve guide wear is exhaust smoke occuring on lifting after accelerating ( my mechanic thinks this is a very reliable sign).You might want to check this out on the highway with a friend (don't do it on a turn)
Finally, are you sure you are not just leaking oil somewhere?

caveat: i'm not a Porsche mechanic,( tho I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night...)

Marty916

I just had my valve guides done 20k miles ago at RMG Enterprises(408-738-2020) in Sunnyvale: http://www.realmeangarage.com/ Highly recommended shop, the best in the bay area in my opinion. Bob,Dan and Dan know their stuff. Give them a call and see what they recommend that you do. Best of luck!

g-50cab

Usually the 3.2 valve guides will show their face between 40-70K miles. Usually only happens with OEM valve guides. Put some decent guides in there - and the engine will last another 200K with proper care and feeding.

Kurt V

Obviously you are not well informed on 3.2 valve guide issues. 60,000 miles is about the time a premature valve guide wear issue will pop up. Definitely needs to be fixed, but not for $7,000. With only 65,000 miles you can definitely just get away with rebuilding the heads. If you do it yourself you will be looking at $800.00 to $1500.00 depending on what needs replacing.

special tool

I am informed enough. I can take the heads off of a 3.2 faster than anyone here without a lift. Guys who cant sketch the bevel of a 3.2 exhaust valve from memory should not be contradicting me.

In my EXPERIENCE, these cars are excellently maintained - some mechanics are less than ethical, and turkeys frequently get ripped off.

If he was to take the bottom covers off, he MIGHT find 3 or 4 that are a little loose, but no guide wear, unless it was maintained by a turkey.

All I'm saying is that it desrves at least a second opinion.

fixnprsh

I agree with Specialtool, I've seen hundreds of 3.2's that have well in to the 100k or even 200k miles on stock guides, mine lasted 180K and the only reason I'm replacing them now is because of the rod bearing that decided it would rather sit in the bottom of the case than in the rod itself and I'm too thourough to not replace them along with the springs and.........
but the motor has been well maintained by the customer that I bought it from and didn't use any oil at all!
But...65K miles is totaly possible, bad maintaince habits, ****ty oil running the crap out of it, hot climate (remember people...metal expands when it heats up and tolerances get smaller I.E. between the stem and guide combined with the fore-mentioned things are bad mixed) Remember, your car is a reflection of how you treat it

g-50cab

Read the article in Excellence "the sweet spot" it mentions valve guides and tight tolerences and inferior materials - and that there are a percentage of these cars with this problem (and not just from misadjusted valves)