SanDiego928

I just put in a used radiator and my car is reliable now until the next thing I need to fix.

Seriously, I found out that within the first 4 thousand miles or so on my car things that were marginal reared their head within that time.

After 1.5 years of going through the car. I can now drive to LA, LV or SF without thinking twice about it. But I carry tools, fix a flat, spare tire, jack, fuses, relays, AAA card, cash, credit cards, cell phone, extra water, food, warm clothes, boots, rain gear, condoms and oil......and whiskey.

whatudrivin

Hahahaha now that is one hell of a check list.... Is there even room for you to sit carrying all that stuff?

cali4sun

"condoms" - good idea just in case you have suction issue aka (vacuum leak)

'89 S4 GP White/Black
'76 912E Silver/Black

jeff spahn

Perfect answer.

danglerb

My biggest rule for a trip, change NOTHING for a good week or so prior to the trip. I fear nothing more than my own repairs.

H2

Properly maintained...the 968 and 944s are reliable daily drivers.
Properly maintained...the 928 might be.

fbarnhill

Come on guys, I have had a shark as a DD since the late 80s. I have never hand one that wasn't reliable. Yes out of all those years, I have maybe 10 days total leaving me without a car. Keep up the maintenance. Try to konw what is likely to happen before it does. Get to know your car. If you have an earlier car, get to know Dave's (sharkskin) website. Look at the way he goes about keeping his car on the road. I have probably somehwere near 425k miles between my 2 79s and a bunch more on my 83s. You are going to spend some money and some time but for God's sake, don't be afraid it is going to leave you stranded. I have taken my sharks on many long trips and have only been stranded once. That was when a rebuilt waterpump went out commng through DC. It wasn't fun but was a pretty easy fix and I chaulk it up to my own fault for not buying a new WP to start with. I replaced it with a new one and it is still going for the new owner.

Good luck,

dr bob

Had mine serviced at purchase by the PO's dealer. Stayed ahead of maintenance so far with all DIY. I'd drive the car anywhere tomorrow. It's a well-maintained twenty some year old car. Cared for well, it's been reliable enough to be my DD for more than a few years.

I do admit to 928 maintenance OCD. But I can quit any time...

928mac

I looked it over.
Drove the **** out of it, made it home and checked it again.

ha ha I inspect it from top to bottom every winter but you can never be sure.

Kalspeed

Follow all the advice from the folks here, maintenance is important........GET your brakes done...

and just drive her............................(have a towing service available).

My 82 is really mechanically well maintained (even before I got her), I used advice from here since then.

I did all the fluid/filter changes, vacuum leaks are minor (this coming weekend project..again)

Tune her up, check that timing belt, search the threads for fuel lines

BRAKE job....

I feel comfortable that I now concentrate on stereo and cosmetics!!

whatudrivin

Good information guys! I will be changing the brakes for sure and flushing the brake lines. I have already replaced all the old fuel hoses, except the ones in the rear of the car. And those will be replaced when I drop my fuel tank to have it cleaned. I will be changing all the fluids in the car as well. Already have them, just need to do it. I keep finding out other things that are wrong and just haven't gotten around to the fluids yet. But I should get on that so that once I get the fuel level sender in I should be able to try and start her.

longleader

Good one Dr Bob

Nightfly

As someone else mentioned, these are all OLD cars. Everything is suspect; every wire's insulation is brittle. Every rubber hose, belt, seal that hasn't been recently replaced can fail at any time, without any warning. These cars have open deck blocks; the head gaskets have less between them than closed decks, and years of acidic antifreeze can possibly leave only a little bit between chambers (I change antifreeze every two years, no matter what the recommendation). Press fit electrical contacts can be only a tiny bit of corrosion away from heating and failure; take them all apart, and clean the connections, it's cheap and usually pretty easy, just tedious work that you can enjoy while listening to the radio.
Make it reliable? The best you can do of course, is replace everything and rebuild everything. Barring that, replace every hose and belt. take apart and clean every electrical connection. Replace every filter. Lubricate every joint. Make sure the 'rolling stock' is good; recent wheel bearings and seals maintainence, brakes bled (and checked for any leaks afterwards), Newer brake pads (mine were so old they were brittle and one cracked suddenly, fortunately I had new ones ready to go in). Zero leaks, from anything. And listen; listen to your car. Anything that EVER sounds not quite right is a potential problem hours away from home. Of course, don't go any further away from home than you can afford to have it towed home, it would be a shame to have to leave one of these beautiful cars anywhere because you can't afford to get it back to be fixed.