Hi all.

Bought a 911 sc 1979 3.0 targa over 1 week ago.

Mechanic came round yesterday to fix the handbrake and noticed the car leaning. He had a look at the suspension on the front and showed me with it on ramps. The anti roll bar and other bars have snapped. He says it is a death trap. It is going to need a complete suspension strip!

Furthermore, the back box has gone.

The brakes need seeing to.

This car has supposedly passed its MOT before i bought it.

The car is now a non runner and i am very very depressed that my first porsche ownership has ended in disaster. The garage that sold it to me does want to know and now trading standards have said it will be very difficult to prove that it was a death trap when i bought it.

Words of wisdom needed.

Yours fed up

Ian

 

I don't know how any of this is possible without some serious effort to hide some previously existing terminal condition. These cars are incredibly sturdy. I have seen them crashed into all manner of obstacles, one went backwards up a dirt embankment at over 90 mph, probably 20 feet in the air and came down on its wheels, another lister has a personal experience from rolling at VIR. The only common malady that I can think of is the rear sway bar mounts cracking which is common when upgrading bars with stock mounts -- also that is a relatively easy and inexpensive fix.

Now if the car were left parked in sea water and rust ate away critical areas which were subsequently masked with heavy duty undercoating, then all bets are off. To test the rust theory, take a phillips head screw driver and jab around the failure areas. The screw-driver should not penetrate the areas. Although, I still cannot imagine a condition that would snap the anti-roll bars and not destroy the car. Which other bars are snapped?

On the other hand, if the car is leaning because one of the front torsion bars has snapped, this is a very easy fix, and not a totally uncommon problem. The torsion bars are painted and covered with a heavy coat of grease before installation. That seals them from corrosion. If the seal is broken, the torsion bars are in an area that will collect moisture, the exposed area (or scratch) will corrode and the bar will fail in that area.

 

Hi
Thanks Alan, you have laid my fears to rest. I know the previous owner lowered the car and that may have caused the torsion bar to break or it may be that the bolts have sheared.

if it is easy to fix and not to expensive then yahoo.

lets hope eh.

many thanks again

Ian

 

Ian nothing you have mentioned is that expensive or too difficult to fix yourself with simple tools. Get the Bentley manual for the SC. Not only will it show you how to fix your car's problems, but will educate you so you know if your mechanic is telling you the truth.

 

Well, if a mechanic really told you "this car is a death trap" I think you should dig a little deeper before feeling reassured.

The problem is that either your mechanic's description, or your description of his description, is pretty vague. What bars are "snapped"? - a broken antiroll bar isn't going to make the car lean. What is the "back box"? Does "brakes need seeing to" mean new pads, new rotors, new calipers, or what?

I think you should have your mechanic list very clearly and specifically what components need to be replaced, and why. Maybe you could post that list here, along with details of how the car drove during the 1 week that you've had it, and ideally pictures of the "snapped bars". That would probably get you some more responses.

Also, do you have any experience working on cars? Do you own tools, have a jack, someplace to work on the car? Replacing suspension pieces isn't everyone's ideal DIY job.

 

Hi all.

Thanks to everyone replying and i have noted every ones comments.

The torsion bar has snapped and he showed me this on the day. The mechanic recommends stripping the suspension and seeing what else has gone.

The drive in the first week was interesting. When turning left the car was relatively smooth. When trning right, the car was all over the place, and the feel throgh the steering whhel was that the front end was boncing.

I have had someone else look at the car and he again says there is something very wrong with the front suspension.

As for the brakes, the handbrake needs adjusting - rolls down a slight incline. The front brakes discs are a little low aswell.

The exhast box that runs the width of the car near the bumper and where the exhast pipe comes ot is blowing badly. if you put your hand underneath the car you can now feel air blowing at various points on the rear box.

I have no tools and i am not mechanically minded. I am one of those that breaks anything i go near!!!! I broke the targa release catch.

Regards

Ian

 

Thanks for the clarification. It is very easy to remove and replace the front torsion bars (as a pair). They are not expensive and the job should not be expensive. But, since you are going to have someone go in there, what are your intentions. Are you going to take this car to the track? Will it be a daily driver? Regardless, the car will need an alignment and if you want to upgrade to more aggressive suspension, you should do it now. Let us know what your desires are. How old are your shocks/dampers?

The engine fan blows air over the cylinders and it exits under the engine. Cover the tailpipe opening while the engine is running. If your muffler is healthy the exhaust noise should quiet significantly, if there are leaks in your exhaust system, the noise (and air) from the leaks will be more pronounced. Warning! Tailpipe and exhaust parts may be hot.

Take some pictures like John suggested.

 

Ian,

I replaced the front torsion bars on my car in less than 15 minutes a side. There are descriptions on this board and other Porsche web boards as to the process. If you replace with used parts (which shouldn't run run more than about ~100 quid) just make sure they are not rusty. Once the t-bars are replaced you can get a better assessment of the condition of the rest of the suspension.

Good luck!

 

It is important to ask these mechanics if there is "something very wrong with the front suspension" other than the broken torsion bar. They should be able to tell if the shocks are shot, ball joints are dangerously worn out, without first "stripping" off all the suspension bits. It's all fairly accessible for inspection.

The brakes sound like no big deal. If the muffler has "big" leaks, I would think you would be able to see cracks or holes or badly rusted areas? Mufflers are rather expensive so it would pay to be sure.

I wonder if what you might be in most need of now is some trustworthy advice from someone -- like a local p-car owner who works on his cars and also knows which are the reliable mechanics in town. Do you have a local Porsche club?

The reason I say this is because if you are not mechanically inclined, it's easy to be taken advantage of by the wrong repair shop.

 

I'm VERY surprised you have no come back on the garage - surely you had a proper "blue ticket" receipt from the garage which does give you a limited gaurantee - after 1 week I would have expected the garage to have taken some responsibility. I assume you have hardly put any mileage on the car in the time you have owned it. It is also depressing to see the reaction of Trading Standards.

I'm afraid some things do not surprise me - I had a 911 sale through an MOT with two leaking shocks.

Bite the bullet - put the bad feeling behind you and get cracking - as other guys have said nothing listed is that bad, or e=over expensive. Shame you live in Devon otherwise I would be prepared to help on the DIY front. Join the Porsche Club GB and you may find some guys around your area that can help out with advice, parts etc.

Good luck - your 911 has the potential to be a great car.

PJC

 

This is proof positive why you should absolutely, positively never buy a Porsche without having a pre-purchase inspection done.

Relying on a car having passed inspection is a recipe for disaster -- the threshold for passing inspection is quite low and will miss lots of expensive things (as you are discovering).

While you're pursuing whatever recourse you have against the seller, before any implied warranty runs out, I would strongly recommend bringing the car to a shop that knows air-cooled 911's for a complete inspection. Then you'll know what the car needs to get it into shape -- if one of the torsion bars snapped while driving, I suspect that the car needs work in other areas (none of which will be readily apparent to the untrained eye).

Good luck!

 

Too bad you dont live close to me, I would help you out and get your car sorted. A broken torsion bar would make the car utterly undriveable, as in total suspension collapse.

No worries, if this is the worst problems the car has, you'll be ok. Find someone you trust do the work and possibly source used bits to fix your suspension. Prolly many people around who would be willing to sell their OEM, take off suspension parts.

Brakes shouldn't be too expensive either. Just think, these fixes will improve the drive quality ten-fold.

Good luck!