Seat switches are not a problem...
But you are right, after 20 years and only 175,000 miles we've had to replace the window switches because the symbols were getting worn,
and a couple of HVAC vacuum actuators that wouldn't hold vacuum (but still worked). We blame it all on the PO. Now our S4, that's different...

 

Vacuum pods, sure... but they are lightweight, see. The alternative, a solenoid say, not so light. Multiply that by 4 or 5 of them and you have a weight issue.
Keep in mind the 928s weight was heavily scrutinized during development.
You gotta put yourself back to '73-'75 and think like a German engineer. There were logical reasons for everyrhing (well, most).
Hence, the bottle opener door latch. Don't think for a minute they didn't realize what they were doing!

 

IMO one of the exceptions in the 928 design is not using a serpentine belt to drive the accessories...4 belts and a tension device on each accessory just seems "wrong".

 

I actually do not want a single serpentine belt that runs all the accessories.
You loose a bearing in a air pump or a power steering pump with single V belts 200 miles away from home you can just cut that belt and be on your way, not so with a serpentine belt.

 

The 928 is certainly better than many cars of that era but Mercedes easily had them beat with regards to materials of construction and overall build quality.

As far as the comment about seeing mostly really nice 928's I can't agree. I think this is based upon expectations and we will all vary on what we consider "nice" so take it for what its worth....my opinion.

 

Fixed it for ya...

 

I think the build quality is very good to excellent, but the one thing that blows me away is the design of the int. and ext. You look at Ferrari and vets of the same year and they look like 80's design. Not the 928 the interior design looks 20 years ahead of its time.

my .02

 

I don't expect failure of either...In more than a million miles of driving I have never had a failure of either, nor a failure of an alternator that required cutting the belt...yet every time I touch the front of the 928 engine I have to loosen and remove 4 belts...just seems redundent, unnecessary, and lacking the vision shown in so many other ways on the 928....of couse if it had a serpentine belt it would require another tensioner.....

 

My neighbor growing up was a sports car fan with a 928 and a Corvette. He also did a lot of consulting for the auto industry. One thing he mentioned that has sat with me, was the method by which the workers fine tuned the fitting of things like frames, doors, etc. He said that in American plants workers used something along the lines of a mini-sledge, while at German plants they used something like a Swiss Style Mini Hammer. I can't say if this is 100% true, but based on how well my 23 year old 928 has held up I would have to say they were doing something different.

Dave

 

I agree. My wife's '88 W126 300SE used the absolute best materials and construction. For example, the interior leather-covered trim parts are thin, formed aluminum. Not pressboard, not plastic... aluminum. You could remove/reinstall them 100 times and they would hold up. And the sunroof switch is about the most intricate piece of engineering I think I have ever seen. Fully dis-assemble-able, with metal bearings even. The car was the last of the old-school tanks. It once had 3 fully grown 150lb. billygoats standing on the hood, clip-clop, clip-clop, without nary a scratch

My '92 W124 300TE is more on par w/ the 928. Except the interior is way more durable.

 

Golly, I dunno. Electrical wiring and connector concepts. #1 WTF by far considering the state of most of the rest of the automobile industry at the time.

The flexplate issue was no longer a secret by the mid 80s.


I cant fault vacum issues..thats just plain age, and hard to design better early on. But not the manner in which Porsche liked to manage electrical connections that dont seal out the elements.

 

Yet somehow the roadsides are not littered with this symptom across the tens of millions of vehicles on the road equipped with them. This is why when I get motivated to "do something" I stare at the AC belt on the bench..and well, damn, what a hassle...and it stays there.



But point very well taken.

 

I like my tow truck. A 1/2" long socket wrench, and I have the belt off and on in under a minute. Spring loaded on an offset..pull it back, belt falls of...re-route, pull it back again, wrap around tensioner, let go..done.

Hmm..I envision a project to remount/space gear, and adapt to a Vbelt somehow, but what do I know. I can weld pretty good, but fabricate, oh hell no. Im too dumb to create things.

 

I'm guessing your tow truck is a big block Ford. That IS an nice feature!
My 1990 Ford F-350 crew-cab 4x4 was the biggest piece of **** I have EVER owned! Except for the belt feature.

 

Yup..this is how I roll, and a few examples of how others accomplish the same during my weekend fun job:













(Extremely lit up camping out @Motogp Laguna Seca last summer)