lmwest

I need some feed back on where to get a good front seal kit package for my '85 944. A couple of years ago I ordered a kit from Zim's and I was not happy with the collars for the balance shafts as they were too small and would not go on. I was forced to reinstall the old collars and as a result I still have my oil leak. I'm getting ready to replace the belts and will replace seals again to try to fix the oil leak. Let me know where you have had a good experience at getting these parts. Thank you!

Larry

Skip

We've recently started *trying* to sell these as a kit - maybe have a try and tell us how we did...

<a href="http://www.smartcart.com/Paragon/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=944_ft_reseal" target="_blank">944 Front Reseal Parts</a>

<a href="http://www.smartcart.com/Paragon/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=944_tbelt" target="_blank">944 Timing/Balance Belt Parts</a>

Unfortunately, selling kits is a bit of a gamble sometimes - the kits are designed to appease the majority, but there's always a few special cases out there. So far, so good - keeping our fingers and eyes crossed.

Good Luck!

F18Rep

I've had good luck with Zims (better than with the others) and as it happens got those seals from Zims a few weeks ago and didn't have any problem at all. I don't blame you though for not gong back to them, its your choice and the customer is always right.

I've been ordering a lot of parts lately and I take a peek in on the little things they do right or don't do right. For instance shipping costs or delivery times. One quick comparison: Zims - for an order including head gasket set, main & rod bearings, oil pump seal & rings the s&h came to $9.50

Pelican - inside distributor dust cover, dust cap for bell housing - s&h 9.82

Zims delivery came in 4 days, Paragon 7 days.

For me Zims is still number one - just my view though...Bruce

avainio

I bought my kit from 944online. I did get a good price, Ian was very helpful. I thought I checked everything multiple times, but when I got to the crank seal it was the wrong one (early size for my 1986 951). By that time it was Saturday, I was on day 5 of my week for having the tool club set. I had to drive 160 miles one way to be overcharged by the Porsche dealer in Minneapolis. One trick you can use with the collars is to not set the seal as deeply as the old one. If you stop even 1 mm shy of bottoming the seal, it's still deep enough to seal, but it makes the collar ride on a new part of the collar, not in the old groove. I learned this trick from a friend who's been a professional mechanic for longer than I've been alive (and I've had reading glasses for the last 4 years).

Arne.

avainio

That should have been "it makes the SEAL ride on a new part of the collar". Sorry.

Arne.

sm

Hmmm, Arne, I have an 86 as well. Can you post the CORRECT part number for the crank seal?
Thanks.

avainio

sm-
I think the part number is 999.113.331.50. I'll check in my garage in the morning, I'll get the part number NOT to get (the seal that was in my kit). I'll also see what is on the bill from the Porsche dealer, I think the number was superceded.

Arne.

avainio

sm-
Look on clarks-garage.com/shop-manual under Crankshaft oil seal replacement, there's a list of the seals and correct sizes. The part# I gave you is correct (999.113.331.50), the seal dimensions are 38x52x7 mm, the INCORRECT one (999.113.268.40), (1982-1984) is 38x55x7 mm. The part# on my bill from the dealer is P999-113-331-40 ($18.98), which looks deceptively like the early part number. It is the right seal, but I didn't like it as well as the style I got from 944online. It seemed like it wanted to bind as it went in.

Arne.

sm

Thanks Arne -

P999-113-331-40 is what I received from Sunset.
If it makes you feel any better, I only paid a few bucks less than you.

BTW, what kind of wrench did you use to position the tensioners with? Offset wrenches, maybe?

Thanks,
Simpson

avainio

sm-

I used the tool club set, there are 2 offset thin wrenches in there. You could get by without these wrenches if you had the right sized wrench, but it might be a little tight. It doesn't have to be an expensive (read factory) wrench as there isn't any real pressure on these, you're just setting the tension (moves easily) and holding it still while you tighten the 17 mm locknut. I didn't check the sizes of the tensioner adjuster nuts, but I was just going to get 2 cheapo wrenches, heat them with a torch, bend them to fit and cut off the box ends to shorten them. The new tensioners I got had different sized tensioner adjuster nuts than the old ones.

Arne.