amirpc

I had a PPI done on a 951 I'm buying (and then subsequently driving 1600 miles to Texas from NY)

I spoke to the tech his general feedback was: The car is unbelievably clean and he would feel very comfortable driving it to TX. If it was him he wouldn't do anything to it right now.

The specific list of concerns he found:

- Some seeping from Oil Pan Gasket, Front Cam Seal, Rear Cam Seal, Valve cover - not a full leak, but definitely seepage
- Dampness on oil cooler line & oil filter to cooler line
- Some small leakage from AC compressor
- Vacuum line on intake is collapsing a little bit
- Some wiggle in the rear differential mount
- Exhaust gasket on the head is seeping a little bit

They sent me an "if I wanted to fix everything" quote, which I've attached.

I am generally happy with the price I'm paying for the car and don't want to renegotiate - unless there is something that I *absolutely* will have to spend a few thousand to fix very soon. So if I have to spend $2k within 3 months, I'll need to negotiate on that. If I can do this stuff at my leisure over the course of a year or two...screw it, I'm fine.

What do you guys think? Which of this stuff really matters, if any?

pcleary1210

How much are you paying for the car?

Does the odometer work?
When was tbelt/balance belt/water pump done?
What about the clutch?
Turbo shaft play?
Oil pressure is good, I assume?

I don't think most of the rest of that really matters. Take care of it when you can, but I certainly wouldn't spend $4k to fix "seeping" oil spots. On a car from 1986 it's going to start seeping from alot of places until you pull it and rebuild the everything.

Oil seeping isn't really bad thing until the oil starts destroying CAB's, rack mounts or other rubber bits. For the most part you can just fix the seeping areas when you're in there doing stuff. IE do the cam seal while you're doing the t-belt. Do the oil pan gasket while you're doing the pickup tube or rod bearings. Etc.

Auto_Werks 3.6

well...the air conditioning isnt critical for running. you will eventually want to take care of all that, but when is a bit of a crap shoot. if the car has more than 100k miles and you pull the oil pan, dont forget to do the rod bearings and check the oil pickup tube. i would be inclined to ask the guy to split the repairs with you of you arent a do it your self wrencher. skip the ac, and put 1500 in it now so you dont have to eff with it later. that being said, my car has had small oil leaks for years that dont get any worse. its a 30year old car....

bumflick

I don't think any of that is urgent.

Depending on your pain threshold - the AC might be worth looking at if it's not holding a charge at all. If it works enough to get you through Texas, that can wait as well.

amirpc

Thanks guys, it seems like you're echoing my thoughts. Normal wear and tear, do it when it's convenient (aka I'm already in there).

The car is in awesome shape, and it just had all of its belts, clutch, etc done 6k miles ago.

Auto_Werks 3.6

i forgot from the first time i read your list... if the exhaust gasket at the head is "seeping" it will never run like it should, and also what ever the vacuum line was should be fixed. the car may seem plenty fast, but an exhaust leak at the head will kill the spool up.

amirpc

Yeah I'll fix the vacuum line myself, that's easy. I'll have to investigate what the exhaust gasket thing is. I don't really know how bad it is.

Auto_Werks 3.6

any leak there is bad! my guess is maybe oil is leaking down from the cam tower making it look like the manifold is leaking. it takes several hours and some swearing to get that thing off

fasteddie313

25.5 hours!!!! WHaaaaa...

Is there mechanic a snail or are 951s really that hard to work on?
Rediculous..

Auto_Werks 3.6

He's probably a little slow for a "pro", but if they work on lots of cars and aren't doing a ton of 944s that is probably a fair estimate. It would probably take me about that long if I was doing a thorough job and not in a hurry. The oil pan gasket is one of the worst jobs on the car, Including removal of crossover exhaust to turbo, and the entire front subframe and power steering.

Spidey944

Oil pan gasket/reseal is 14 hours by the book. So 10hrs is a decent break.

lee101315

And god forbid any profit be made. Its ok to pay outrageous mark up on a pair of sneakers or a nice designer t-shirt, but to fork over a reasonable sum to a guy who's working his fingers to the bone? What a ripoff, right?

It is no longer cheap to operate a repair shop anymore, and 944s are not the easiest cars to work on. I'd say the quote is more than fair.

If thats all the work your car needs, I would buy it. You can probably get an AC compressor for a fair price and install it yourself.

Spidey944

I assume you were not saying that my post was out of line there?

I run a EURO repair shop in AZ - I know all about things not being cheap to operate.

lee101315

Sarcasm is hard to read on the Internet, I also run a shop here in NJ, so I was basically seconding what you were saying.

Good to see you back, you disappeared for a few years.

ehall

These, above, are important. The guys have pretty well covered it. Buy, or just scrounge some large flat boxes. Put a new one under the car every month, A. to keep it off the garage floor, but, B. So you can see if seepage becomes LEAKAGE, every time you pull in and out of the garage. Seepage can be fixed, as said above. Leakage requires attention, and CASH!

The only cost effective way to own these cars is to dive in on your own maintenance work. There are literally volumes of DIY info, for these cars, on the Web, for free, not to mention right here.

My labor rate is one BAJILLION samolians per hour, because I pay myself what I think I deserve. Seriously, I had never picked up a wrench on a car, until I bought my first 951, almost 15 years ago. I've learned everything from this board and the rest of the internet. DIY is really worth considering on these cars. Parts are expensive enough, but labor costs, in addition, quickly make the maintenance of the car economically illogical. Welcome to the family!