911Dave

That viewpoint is diametrically opposed to that of practically every 911 owner on this board and the other boards I frequent. Don't you understand that this is a HOBBY for us? We work on our cars and pour money into them because we want to, not because we need to. We are meticulous about our cars because we are obsessed with them. It is very common for us to buy a car for 15k and then spend an additional 30k making them perfect over the next few years. That's what a hobby is all about. It's an expensive one, but if we can afford it and that's what we want, then that's what we should do. Financial wisdom is irrelevant - it has nothing to do with that. I bought my car 2 years ago. Last year alone, I spent 11k making it better.

So, why DID you buy an old, worn out car instead of a new one? And what's this about us telling newbies that they have to do things? I've never seen a post like that. We're only advising you that your bushings, shocks and other stuff are heavily worn after 20 years and that your car will be improved greatly if you replace them. What's wrong with that? Nobody's forcing you. If you want to drive your car with worn out parts and old black brake fluid, go ahead. Do whatever makes you happy with your car. But if you com to this board we are going to advise you on how to make your car better. That's what we do here. That's what we're all about - helping you increase your enjoyment of your HOBBY by making your car better. I really don't understand why someone who thinks the way you do about maintenance would ever want a car like a 20 year old 911. Every 911 owner I've ever known (who has an older car) is a "car guy", and car guys are meticulous about maintenance.

art

When you guys speak of replacing bushings, what do you use for the A-arm on the front since the rubber original spec is not (?) available? What rear bushings do you use? I am leery of the plastic and urethane bushings due to their higher duromater.

KC911

Art, I went with Elephant Racing's (Chuck Moreland) polybronze bearings both front and rear. I've had them for a couple of years now and I love 'em! Chuck is extremely knowledgable and has created a great product ...pricey, but worth it imo. You can do a search on 'polybronze' both here and on Pelican and get lots of info and other's feedback.

Keith

edited: ps: Oops, I meant to add a link: http://www.elephantracing.com/

Jay H

Rico,

I'll stay out of the fray, but will add my $.02 based on my experience.

I bought a 1986 911 coupe in January of 1997. It had 91,134 miles on it when I bought it. The previous owner maintained it well, however it was overdue for a major 15k service when I bought it. I sold it with 114,000 miles on it 4 years later.

Over the course of 4 years and 24,000 miles, I did the following on a very limited budget:

Replaced all shocks and suspension bushings with Boge shocks and OEM bushings. Worth every penny I paid in improved ride quality. Not all that much change in handling on normal roads doing normal speeds from my leaking original shocks and very worn bushings. Could I have skipped it? Yes, if I didn't care about high speed driving or ride quality. High speed driving was greatly improved with fresh shocks (even OEM quality Boge's) and bushings.

Replaced old tires due to age and wear. Front were near new, rears were worn bad. Rears needed to be replaced, but I could have run the fronts yet. However, with fresh front tires, handling and ride quality was greatly improved.

My original clutch failed at 110,000 miles. New OEM sport clutch was a vast improvement. Much lighter feel on the pedal. This helped for driveability issues in rush hour.

Changed the brake fluid every 2 years. Definitely felt a difference in pedal feel after each change. No change in braking power for street driving. Could you skip it? Yes if you didn't care about brake pedal feel or longevity of the brake system.

Transmission fluid flush every other year. No difference in feel on my car. Could you skip it? Probably. However, I would assume longevity would be reduced. I didn't keep the car long enough for this maintenance item to be an issue to me, but it helped slightly with resale value to show it had been done on a regular basis. Who knows if my car is still running yet...or if the transmission needs a rebuild yet...it's not my problem anymore, but I do hope that I extended the life of that car for the next guy.

Valve adjustments every 15,000 miles. The initial adjustment I had done when I bought the car definitely reduced the very slight valve chatter my car had. The second adjustment did nothing to driveability or noise (valves were still quiet anyway). Could you skip it? Probably, though Porsche's recommendation for valve checking every 15,000 miles on the 3.2's would make me think otherwise. Again, no skin off my back, but maybe the car will last longer by me doing that maintenance.

I changed the oil every 7000 miles. No change in driveability. Could I have gone 15,000 miles between changes like the owner's manual said? Yes, since I dumped the car after 25,000 miles and it was running perfect when I sold it. But, I changed it twice a year anyway since I don't mind doing that myself and again, it helped for some resale value.

That's about all I did to my car. I spent $16.9k for the car and $5000 on maintenance and repairs over those 4 years. Other than the clutch, I could have skipped everything else I suppose. However, my car drove very well and I didn't want to put up with a sloppy old 911. It sold quick too due to the way it drove, the maintenance I did and the prior owner's maintenance schedule.

Just my $.02.

Jay
90 964

Bigman_99

Remember, people on this board and every other "enthusiast" board I've ever been to will tell you the same things. Stick to the recommended maintenance schedules. Why would you expect anything else. You could always troll many of the other car maintinence boards available on the web. They may give you the advice you are looking for Rico.

theiceman

Rico

I think the bottom line here is that there is validity to your question , but really this is not the place to ask it and get an unbiased reply. By nature of the fact this is an enthusiasts board you are dealing with people who tend to be emotionally atatched to their cars and care for them as some people would for their own children, might sound silly but that is the bottom line. Belive me you don't want to know how much maintanance I do vs how much I drive :-) , but i am said enthusiast and love working on my car as it takes my mind off everything else for a few short hours. My recomendation ? consult a dealer ..and ask them.

Hopefully no one here has offended you as that is not why we exist, we are all just passionate about our cars and want to share our experiences.

ice .

Crivens

Personally - id do the oil as often as you can manage it, 911s love nothing better than clean oil.
Do the plugs every 12k. I dont like the idea of leaving a cheap part sticking inside my engine in a critical position for years on end regardless of mileage.

brake fluid every 3 years at the latest, 18 months avg, but I guess temp and use will determine life.
everything else just needs a bit of spit and polish every now and again.