cfc928gt

The belt is just starting to crack and get a little stiff but what really amazed me was that the tensioner and idler rollers are still smooth as silk, the water pump is tight with no movement or play (coolant has never been changed) and the tensioner isn't leaking and works flawlessly! I just changed the TB and buttoned it back up. BTW, this is my son's '96 Isuzu Rodeo...

rixter

29th 928 Euro...
the tb/wp HAS NOT BEEN CHANGED

SharkSkin

Niels Jørgensen

Most 928s probably have their TBs and WPs replaced way too often.

They're generally not replaced because they are worn (mine still had readable print on it last time), but for peace of mind - a Porsche V8 *is* slightly more expensive that whatever mousetrap drives an Isuzu . WPs are replaced because they are cheap compared to the cost of getting to them.

FWIW, I disagree on the WP part. I feel the chance of causing a leak during R&R (or by getting a bad replacement) is probably larger than the chance of the old pump leaking before the next belt change. And if it does, replace it then.

Ed Scherer

That's kind of like a cheap old geezer coming up to you and announcing, "yup, same old batteries in my pacemaker, goin' on 10 years now..."

F4GIB

As I've been reading this board over the past 4 months, I've been amazed at the little crap that seems to regularily go bad on these very expensive cars. For $100,000 you should get more reliability than Kia supplies.

One does have to wonder about Porsche's inability to get the little things to work flawlessly and nearly forever.

I have an 18-year old FORD Taurus. All the switches work, none of the electrical grounds have failed, the lights shine, no fuse or relay has needed to be replaced, the radio/cassette player sounds like it did on day one, the a/c blows cold, the transmission shifts flawlessly even under hard acceleration, the 3.8L engine has never been opened, etc. Stuff subjected to hard wear and intended to wear out has (surpentine belt, brake shoes once, battery thrice, tires once) and all suggested lubrication and maintenance has occurred as scheduled (never more than $500 at a time).

Why doesn't Porsche buy the "behind the scenes" stuff from Ford or GM (even VW), standardize on 10 screw sizes/styles and concentrate on the performance parts that really make the car a Porsche?

It would even reduce their costs and increase their PROFITS. Oh, but not the Dealer's repair shop profits.

Niels Jørgensen

A 100 year old bicycle will, with proper maintenance, ride another 100 just like it did the first. Real slow and with a sore butt .

I think that a large part of the problem is (and I'm guessing, as I have no idea what an 18 year old Ford Tyranosaurus even looks like) that the 928 is quite a few steps up the technological ladder. That means more gadgets and gizmos that are too new to have been tested for decades, and thus, more likely to break.

Another aspect is that you tend to notice when perfect becomes less-than-perfect much easier than when crap becomes utter-crap. For example, a dead window relay in your 928 is probably a thorn in your eye long before you even notice the 2"x2" rusted through hole in the side of the Ford.

I think you'll find the same results if you compare any other run-of-the-mill car with a high-end sports car of the same era.

Other than that, I agree - these cars require attention and $ to keep them alive. But we must be doing it for a reason

F4GIB

My post isn't about anything "high tech." Neither are many of the threads on this board. Porsche ought to be able to get SIMPLE electrical switches and relays to work forever. The technology is "ancient." I have some working in my house (on/off 20 times a day) for over 60 years. They work in my MGA (of all things) after 45 years. Earlier today I read a thread about the poor design of the 928's window switch (on/off; real high tech stuff) and the Xacto knife fix (do they teach whittling in Stugartt?). At 10 years and 28,000 miles, the markings on all the switches on my central panel are invisible (not on my Taurus), everyone complains that the 14 pin connector falls apart (that's not high tech, they could have used WWI-era bakelite), etc, etc. I notice little crap on all my cars because it infuriates me when SIMPLE stuff that should be flawless forever fails.

Daniel Dudley

I got my 89 S4 back after serious sorting and had to top up the coolant and the oil. I used the coolant and oil I bought for my Bimmer. Even though it has 230,000 miles on it, it uses no fluids. The switches and controls work smoothly and flawlessly.

I have several very well off friends who will never own another Porsche. It is not about the money for them. I guess if you buy the Porsche, you buy the package. I have heard that others have had different experiences with their Porsches, and that 928s with 400,000 miles are not uncommon.

Indeed ,my 944S has been admirable in it's functioning. It made it 17 years and 40K with the original belt. The 928, on the other hand, has the worlds longest production timing belt. They tend to sit and the water pump languishes from lack of use, as do the AC the switches and the relays. Even the water pump on my 944 expired from sitting, about an hour after start up. What's a mother to do?

My biggest problem isn't the car. Its time, and what I want to do with it. I really admire the people on this site that make the time and have the enthusiasm to become intimate with their drives. They seen to look at maintenance as an experience rather than a problem. I think this shows in other areas of their lives as well, and it makes life an intimate experience of involvement, living a life that they love. That's what I love about this forum.

F4GIB

Until I bought the 928, the Taurus was our summer car. It sat 5 months a year in an off-site garage (where the 928 will go when the snow comes). So it got lots of inactivity too. But nothing simple, like an up/down electrical switch or relay (and nothing complicated either) has ever failed to work in the Spring. For 18 years!

Why does Porsche poorly design (from scratch and overcomplicated) a simple switch when there are dozens of 10,000,000 mile proven switches waiting at Ford's suppliers?

FlyingDog

F4GIB, as much trouble as I have with my multiple owner disaster of a 21 year old car... more of its electric items work than my father's one owner unmodified 2002 Chevy Malibu. From my experiences, Ford is marginally above GM in terms of electrical items and A/C which are by far the best qualities of a Ford product.

Daniel Dudley

This thread was starting to make me feel like Bruce Banner, atomic scientist just before he becomes the Amazing Hulk. So I took a drive in my S4. I met a friend of mine for dinner. He has a Sunbeam Tiger, a modified Fiat Spyder, a late model 3 series BMW and a series one E type Jaguar.
I let him drive my P car. He was impressed. I have thought about other cars and other Porsches, but for now I am sticking with the devil I know.
Hulk tired, must rest...

DANdeMAN

Talking of switches, I cleaned 2 of the passenger seat 2 weeks ago. It took 1/2 hr easy time - 2 screws, pop the switches, clean contacts, rescew. The bad design lets dust stik to the internal parts. Soon I'll have to clean the center consol window switches. But dam, the look, feel and sound of them is real cool though. I also agree with Niels Jørgensen's "Most 928s probably have their TBs and WPs replaced way too often" (I hope the devil is not listening).

The 928 with all its "cheap" switches, will impress anyone who drives it. I certainly was....

As a side note, my neighbor toled me today tha one of the street resident thought my 928 was a 2005 and said I must have paid $100,000 for it.

jheis

F4GIB:

I have a friend who has an auto repair shop. He absolutely LOVES the Ford Taurus. It paid for his house and keeps him in business. You must have the good ONE. Because everyone else who bought one got a real POS.

James

jsherid1

The Taurus just has a different set of issues:

Automatic Transmissions that fail.
Brake Rotors that have been affectionately dubbed "potato chips" due to their tendency to warp.
EEC failures

These are just the top three...every car has its problems. Ever notice that you don't see too many 20 year old Japanese cars? They do not have little niggling issues along the way but when they have a failure it is time to junk the car...