Just got a 1986 944 turbo with 43000 miles. Overall in great shape but needs a few things addressed. Timing belt, water pump, oil leak etc. Thought about taking it to the closest Porsche dealer, about an hour away. Thoughts about dealership repairs vs independent repair shop. Both places would require at least an hour or more of travel time. Are the dealers still in tune with 30 yr old car? appreciate any advice

 

That would be no. Where are you located as many here may be able to recommend a competent independent shop.

 

I am located in Florence South Carolina. Cities within a 2 yr drive would be Myrtle beach, Charleston, Columbia, Charlotte NC. Thx

 

no no no no no no no no no no no...just say no to dealer service! to have a good relationship with this car you must find an honest and talented indy mechanic. or better yet learn how to do it yourself. very little on these cars can't be done with some patience, internet help, and a set of swivel impact sockets!

 

Hendrick Porsche in Charlotte has a very good mechanic that has been trained on these cars and knows them very well. His name is Jim Burton. I would generally agree with everyone else, but in this case I know that he knows these cars like the back of his hand.

 

I would also agree, that if you are going to enjoy this car than you are much better off learning how to work on it yourself.

 

Congrats on the new to you 951!

If you plan on bringing the car to a porsche/indy shop that knows how to work on older porsche mechanics, be prepared to spend upwards of $3-4k to fix what you have mentioned.

With the 3 items you have mentioned timing belt, water pump, oil leak, I would think that since you have 1 leak, you'll have more coming down the pike and to bite the bullet and redo all of your front of engine seals while doing the water pump, belts, fluids flushed, etc, etc.

If you have the time, effort, and basic tools, you can save a boatload of $$$ by fixing and learning how to fix the car with your own two hands.

Buy your foes(front of engine seals, belts, rollers, tensioners) parts from pelican parts, zims autotechnik for the water pump/gasket. Paragon-products sells a boatload of replacement/tune-up/upgrade items for our 951's/944's and Lindsey Racing does also.

Familiarize yourself with Clark's Garage to see what is involved doing any repair job yourself. Clark's Garage Shop Manual Index

Most important thing to do with the car if you don't have any maintenance records for the waterpump/timing belt, is to replace these before the belt snaps and ruins your engine. 2nd thing is to replace your 25+ year old fuel lines(jumper line, fuel return/supply) under the hood to prevent a ruptured fuel line which will cause a catastrophic engine fire.

Finally, use rennlist and pelican 944/944T forums for help along the way, both boards are full of avid owners/diy guys who work on their own porsche and have been there, done that, and can offer tons of advice and helpful tips to keep your 944/951 on the road.

 

Thanks for the mention fiily. Just wanted to add for the OP if you buy those parts from us right now until October 6th we have a 10% discount on a lot of major brands, such as the timing belt kit TB-107-293. When you have all that you want, just add RRV promo code at check out. Good luck and welcome to Rennlist.

 

I'm in Charleston SC and have not found a single decent shop. One shop wanted 2000 to bleed my clutch and another claimed my timing belt was broken and also wanted 2300 to change those front seals. Clarks garage, rennlist, YouTube and some patience and I managed all of those same jobs myself about a month ago. If you need any help or have any questions let me know but you can get all that done for hundreds instead of thousands by doing it yourself.

 

Yep, a shop will screw you over because they see "porsche". Most people buy their 944 on the cheap and when they see $2500 for a timing belt change, they either sell the car, or do what you did which was learn to fix it, save $$$$ by diy'ing it, and enjoying the fruits of your labor.

 

jesus...
i only charge $900 to do front seals, water pump and belt job, including the parts...

ya'll gotta move out this way

 

If you are on Facebook, join the local "NC/SC Porsche 944 owners group" page and ask those guys. They may be able to help as well.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1284970838308192/

 

Not bad pricing... Gotta move near you lol. I usually do it myself but I get lazier as I get older