avainio

What is the best place to buy a complete kit for my 1986 951? The car runs great, no leaks anywhere, but I don't know the history for timing belt or other changes. The car has 107,000 miles, the PO had it for 4 years and didn't do anything other than oil changes, tune-ups and frequent washing. I plan on changing EVERYTHING that has to do with the belts, including rollers, seals, waterpump... What exactly do I need? Do I need a new waterpump, or is a rebuilt pump OK? What anti-freeze is OK? I'll be buying online, I live in a relative wasteland when it comes to Porsche parts. The closest dealer is 2 1/2 hours away, even driving the 951. GURU chips will follow this maintenance. THANKS!
Arne.

User 41221

My recommendation would be Ian Riley at Europarts, 954-968-3766. He's always been top notch for me, as far as price and service. Lots of other folks from the list will agree.

I don't have a financial interest in referring you to Ian, however, I AM biased. After dealing with Ian for as long as I have, I regard him to be a friend, not a vendor.

Regards, ...Scott

James Hamm

Scott's refferal of Ian is a good one. I've done business with him several times and never been let down.

I just did this a couple of months ago but I ordered my stuff from VERTEX. I also did sealed up the front of the engine (balance shafts, crank shaft, oil cooler at the same time I did the belts, rollers and waterpump. Dave951 helped me do this at his house and all the parts they sent me were right except for a wrong size on the crankshaft seal. Since I bought the correct size at a local euro parts place in Winston Salem NC, Sydney from Vertex refunded me the price of the seal I paid for from them and credited my card with the seal price I paid at the local dealer. Not a bad deal.

James....

James Hamm

Antifreeze should be normal Prestone type. I've used it and had no problems. You might also want to get a low temp thermostat and new themostat seal. It will help your car run a lot cooler. If you don't have access to the special parts to do this job, you can get on the 9201 tool club list for just $20 and when you recieve the tools, it will have every special tool you'll need to do the job at home. This saved me a hell of a lot of cash and made the pain and suffering of this job acceptable. It also made it a hell of a lot easier. When I first did it, Dave and I used the Kriket tool and when I retensioned, I used the 9201. The Kriket tension was dead on but I'm sure that's because DAVE951 is a hell of a lot better mechanic than I am and I think I'm pretty good. He has a lot more experience with the Kriket than I do but if you can do it, it's affordable to buy it for yourself. Jay, the Rennlist toolmaster cotrols the 9201 tool club and I beleive he moderates the 944 list with John. I hope this helps.

James...

Thaddeus

I wouldn't put regular Prestone in an aluminum engine. YMMV.

Thaddeus

rfuerst

I would call Zims or Paragon Products. <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Peckster

It might be a good marketing tactic for a parts supplier to bundle all the required parts and offer a discount. Does anyone do this?

[quote]Originally posted by Hammbone:
<strong>Antifreeze should be normal Prestone type. I've used it and had no problems.</strong><hr></blockquote>

How long have you been using it for?

User 41221

Ian does this, and I believe Zims does too. As a matter of fact, I bet Jason from Paragon probably does and George B from 944 Ecology might as well. I suggested Ian, but in all honesty, any of the folks I just mentioned will treat you right.

As far as your coolant... DON'T run regular Prestone. It will do VERY bad things to your engine block and cylinder head, and I have the pictures to prove it. Seriously. My current favorite is Autobahn Summer (the pink stuff) that I buy at the local VW shop. Not the cheapest, but it won't eat away your aluminum engine parts and head gasket. No need to run Water Wetter with it, either.

Regards, ...Scott

User 41221

Oh, a couple of other things I should have mentioned.

First, lots of people like running the low temp thermostat/coolant temp switch in their cars. I don't... I tried it in my '84 and didn't like the way the car ran, so I switched back to the regular equipment. Its a bit disconcerting to watch the temp gauge on my 84 hover betwwen 1/2 to 3/4 at normal operating temp, but the factory desinged it to operate in that temp, and it works well.

Secondly, maybe I am just fussy, but I premix the Autobahn antifreeze with distilled water, then pour it in. I have also been told if you can find "de-ionized" water, its even better, altho I have to claim ignorance on that one... I don't know where you would find it. My main point is that your local tap water may not be as clean as you think, altho I am sure it varies greatly by region, so the extra $2.00 in bottled water is cheap insurance, in my opinion.

Regards, ...Scott

jason952

I usually run the distilled or prestone's (I think) "scientifically purified" water. However, I have also heard that the AF sold in diff parts of the country is "tuned" to work best with the prevailing minerals in the tap water in that area. Anyone confirm this?

Jason

avainio

Thanks for the info and discussions. There is no way I could ever get all that information locally. I also wasn't aware of the fact that the other tools came with the tool club belt tension tool. I actually bought 2 Kriket tools to see if they're consistent with each other. I'll get the tool club set when I'm ready and see if my Kriket tools are accurate. What other tools are used for setting the tension? When I change my belts I would be willing to check anyone else's belt tension tools against the P201 if you send it labeled and with a return shipping box with shipping paid (so I can just drop it in the mail). Also, is a rebuilt water pump OK, or should I use a new pump?
Arne.