Weaver

I just had an 88 Targa with 77K miles on it inspected yesterday in Atlanta (i'm in Indy). I have not talked to the shop yet about the results, but I wanted to ask y'all what you think about some of these points:

Leak down: 1-5%, 2-5%, 3-3%, 4-8% ,5-5%, 6-7%
Don't these sound alittle too good?

Compression test: 1-115, 2-115, 3-115, 4-120
5-120, 61-120
Is it odd that these numbers exact along each bank? Do they seem low compaired to other 3.2 litre engines.

Left timming chain cover has small leak.
This is common, isn't it?

Rear main seal has small leak.
The owner swears there is no oil on his garage floor and I tend to believe him. Should I worry about this one?

Both outboard CV boots are torn.
I never had that with my 86 with 110k miles, just a fluke?

Sway bar mount repaired
I wish I knew some info on this!

Thanks for your time in reading this post

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Weaver:

From the above data, it looks like a pretty healthy Carrera to me, if the mileage is to be believed. I'd want to see where the leakage is coming from, not simply a raw figure which is out of context.

Compression numbers are always relative and do vary with engine temperature. Further, you would likely see improvements in everything if you ran a few bottles of Techron or LubroMoly through it.

The oil leaks are not uncommon, given its age. CV joint boots torn up at 77K is not unusual if oil has leaked on them, too. German rubber parts are not known for long-term durability.

The swaybar mount repair can indicate many things and I'd consult with the former owner about how he used the car.

Weaver

Steve, thank you so much for your reply. Your statement make me feel better about flying in to look at it.
Thanks

Carrera GT

I'd say the leak-down percentages are good but not great.

The compression is even on each bank, so let's say there's no evidence of one or more suspect cylinders (rings, valves, gaskets)

The 115 and 120psi numbers are seemingly low, but would expect 150 for say an 8.5:1 compression ratio.

But I'm no authority or expert -- just another poster who could be a 70 year old grand-mother using the wrong medication or I could be a 12 year old boy living in Alaska, wishing he could download more pornography than his dial-up connection can deliver.

The leaks are no big deal as long as there is good documentation on maintenance -- equally true for any car.

The torn CV joints are just plain money and reflect on the owner and his mechanic for simply being wrong to not replace the boots. Now, you MUST replace the CVs because those boots are now full of road-dirt, water, any amount of junk. Just deduct the cost quoted to repair.

Otherwise, if this is all that came up on a thorough, expert PPI with no mention of trouble with a/c, steering, springs, dampers, clutch, syncro's, transaxle, brakes, electrics, chassis, body, paint, targa panel leaks, rust or outstanding maintenance or repair work, well, then this would be a viable proposition as long as you hold a thousand dollars (or whatever it takes) in reserve to immediately fix the constant velocity joints and get a trusted mechanic to quote you on the work needed to bring the car to a "very good" standard of repair (and he should be a good friend or you should be happy to have him become a good friend because you'll be putting his kids through college or helping fund him sort out his own Porsche track car) so that the car is fit and reliable to do whatever it is you're buying it to do.

Cheers,

ps. Why '88? I don't know the US build years, but in Australia, '86 was a great year because of the engine (last year before emissions sucked the life out of it.)

Jim Florance

Hello:
Some time back, on my first 911, The Driver's side rear sway bar mount tore away from the sheetmetal it was welded to. The mechanic that fixed it told me that it not an uncommon problem... especially if the car is used for autox, time trials or just plain hard street driving. The mechanic installed new factory mounts and welded a re-enforcing metal piece that increased the strength of the mount. I think the re-enforcing part was made by Weltmeister, but it's been several years since the repair and I cant be sure. I can tell you, it worked, I never had a problem again. If this is the repair your inspector found, the repair held up for my car. Good luck.

Weaver

Thanks Jim for the info on the swaybar mount. The car has never been autocross or tracked. As a matter of fact the owner bought it from his father the original owner. Doesn't sound like he is a car guy at all, just liked the looks I guess.