I got my first Prosche about a week ago, an 89 944, and what I've gotten from reading the forums constantly is that keeping up with the maintenance is very important. I dont have any paper work on anything being done so I want to do Everything fresh, but have no idea where to start and whats most important. Also what is the best brand of belt or wire or plug or filter or whatever I should use.

Thanks for any info.

 

For a basic tune up, such as stuff that should be done on anycar. I would do these items if you are unsure of when they were done, or done at all.

Fuel Filter
Spark Plugs
Ignition Wires
Air Filter
Distributor Cap
Ignition Rotor
Transmission Oil

and the more obvious being oil change and oil filter.

You can go even farther with replacing...

Fuel pressure regulator <-- worth doing if you get subpar fuel mileage
Flushing the cooling system
Flush brake fluid / bleed clutch

Other more important items that should be checked on and replaced as neccesary are things like...

Timing belt
Water pump
Balance belt
Timing and balance roller / bearings

These items are really important and if you are not sure when or if they were ever changed, its important to do them. Failure or breaking of any of these parts will likely lead to bent valves and damage to your head / pistons and wallet. If you have no records of these items being done, plan on doing / having this done imediatley! The recommended service for belt change intervals varies from person to person, most will say between 35 and 45k miles or every 3 years.

Im sure there are things i left out as well. Others will chime in.

 

Thanks for the reply, any suggestion on what brands I should use for all those things or is one just as good as another?

 

Fuel Filter - Mahle is OEM, available at any of the online parts vendors.
Spark Plugs - Bosch or NGK are popular choices.
Ignition Wires - Anything with the Beru type connectors are good
Air Filter - Mahle for stock replacement or if you believe in it, K&N reusables
Distributor and Ignition rotor - Porsche OEM parts, also available from online part vendors
Transmission Oil - Some swear by Swepco and Redline. I personally used Redline, helped reduce the amount of grinding from a worn 2nd gear synchro

As for the timing belt and waterpump stuff, id go with all OEM Porsche parts as well. However a good (cheaper) alternative to the timing belt is made by Continental, which is $15 as opposed to more than $30 for the OEM part. For the waterpump, i would only go with a brand new Porsche branded pump, rebuilts are not always up to 'par' so to speak.

 

I think most here would agree the Porsche recommended Bosch WR 7 DC or Chanpion RN 7 DC will work fine for an NA. Avoid the "exotic metal" plugs and save your $$ for parts that are hard to get to.

 

I called my local shop today for an estimate on these things:

Timing belt
Water pump
Balance belt
Timing and balance roller / bearings

$700, sound fair?

 

$700 doesn't sound bad. Might want to consider having them replace the front seals while they've got that all apart.

 

Where are you located?

 

Front Seals, ok.. anything else while they are at it? What about Back Seals(no idea). And all these needs to be done every 3 years on average correct?

 

Gulfport, Mississippi