Jay D

Hi guys, just bought a 91 C4 with 41,000 kms in what seems to be great condition from a very reputable Porsche dealer.

Problem is, I've been browsing the net over the last week and a lot of info is making me wonder whether I'm getting into a pack of trouble. Love the car but there is so much info out there about oil leaks etc... Are all 964s plagued with these issues?

Thanks in advance!

GaryN

Hi Jay,
No. Don't worry, hopefully you purchased the car with a warranty, if so take the 964 down to a specialist (not were you bought it from) and get them to check it out for you (must pop it on a ramp and inspect the underside of the motor, for leaks) if there is something wrong, which I'm sure at that millage there won't be get them to document it and jump on the dealers case.

The above won't cost you much (less than a 100 bucks) but it will give you plenty peaceful nights sleep.

All the best and welcome to the club!! (Now post some pictures of the beast!!)

Cheers
Gary '91 C2

anewbill

Just remember, there are generally more posts concerning problems than positive posts on boards like this. I thinks that is just human nature. It's kind of like a cusomer service line. you never have people calling in to report that they don't have any problems and they are very happy with the product. I have owned my 1991 C2 for about a year now and I have not had any major problems to speak of. The car has 70k miles on it now.

Planter91C2

i have a 91 C2 i bought 3 years ago with 49,000 miles. i do have an oil leak, but no other problems. don't worry.

Jay D

Thank you for the feedback.

Are their any books that you would consider the "Bible of the 964"? I'd like to learn more about servicing etc... so that I keep this car in pristine condition.

Thanks.

Johnny G Pipe

Ok, I'll tell him...

Adrian (Streather) is the backbone of this little corner of rennlist, and has a book out soon (called stalagluftenschnitzel 964, or something similar sorry Adrian)
It looks set to become the 964 owners' bible: it covers most aspects, including DIY stuff. Not out yet, but I'm sure he'll let us know!

1993HK964C4

I bought my 1993 C4 two months ago (72,000KM, 1 owner from new with FPS history). Took it in for a full service.
Just replaced the distributor belt this week (old one did not break, but looks worn).
No leaks and used about half litre of Mobil 1 15w-50 in 3000Km.
Overall, extremely pleased with my purchase.
I trust you will be too!

Today my indicators did not self cancel! Hope it's not expensive!

bye.....Simon

Ruairidh

Johnny - you still haven't sold that 912????

PET (the porsche parts catalog - invaluable for tracking down parts numbers so you can get prices from other sources) and the Factory Workshop manuals.

Try eBay.

Bill Gregory

[quote]<strong>Are their any books that you would consider the "Bible of the 964"? </strong><hr></blockquote>

Check out websites <a href="http://www.porsche964.co.uk" target="_blank">www.porsche964.co.uk</a> and <a href="http://www.p-car.com." target="_blank">www.p-car.com.</a> The p-car site is focused on 993's, which were the natural outgrowth from our 964's. Much of the information is directly applicable to 964's.

As someone else mentioned, if you do your own work, the factory manuals are a help, although they are, unfortunately lacking in many areas. Bentley just came out with a 964 book that has alot of good information and it's well presented. The factory manuals and technical specifications book provided the base for much/most of the information in the Bentley book (FWIW I helped to edit it, along with several other Rennlist'rs). Paul Frere's "Porsche 911 Story" has alot of good information on 964's, in addition to being a good read on the entire range of 911's.

joey bagadonuts

You might see if the Porsche dealer from whom you purchased your car has service records or did they already provide that information? Give it a good read and get to know your car.

John Henry

Yes, I agree with Joey. Service records of your car are the best bet for sleepless nights. My 90 C4 has been ultra reliable over the last 6 months. Just use some plain old common sense & keep on top of your servicing & you should have a trouble free run.

Marc '91 C2 Coupe

Hi Jay,

Welcome to the club! <img src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" border="0" alt="[bigbye]" />

I also took the big plunge about 7 months ago, although living here, the car was naturally in storage until April. Really enjoying it now!

A big part of my decision was having the car PPI'd at an authorized dealer. This might be better done at a dealer other than the one selling the car :-).

Having already bought, however, it might be a bit late for that. But as suggested earlier, if you've got some kind of warranty, it couldn't hurt. My PPI cost CDN $300 and was money VERY well spent.

Things to look out for, apart from the ever-present (but usually minor) oil leaks:
- Dual Mass Flywheel (major recall item, should have already been replaced, very expensive fix otherwise)
- distributor belt wear: check to see if vent kit installed
- minor electrical gremlins (potential for small short circuits eating up your battery)
- power steering pump seal leak

My limited experience shows that they are wonderful, well-built cars, but that the maintenance is extremely expensive. Probably budget CDN $2-4,000 per year to be safe. An engine rebuild will just about kill you (well, it would kill me ).

Anyway, welcome to the club (speaking of which, be sure to join PCA and take part in your local region's many fun activities - this is a big part of owning a P-car)!

By the way, what town are you in?

Marc
<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

MelissaM

Hi, Jay!

Just wanted to join the welcome wagon. Congrats on your purchase -- you're in for a lot of fun.

Those reports on the internet can be scary, can't they? Well, for the most part, the 964's are well put together cars. Mine's got over 90,000 miles on it, and is still running strong. Impressed the heck out of my co-worker the other day -- he's convinced that everyone on our team should buy a 911. Not a bad impression for a 12 year old car to make!

Welcome to the 964 Fold!

-- Melissa

Bill Wagner

Jay:

If you're concerned about leaks, check the serial number of the engine. In 1991 Porsche implemented the "fix" that stopped the engines from leaking at the cylinders. Most of the 1991s have this change installed. Here are the details:

Engine serial numbers where the changeover from non-gasketted to gasketted heads
occured in 1991 as follows:

Manual Transmission: any number beyond 62 M 06836, M64.01
Tiptronic Transmisson: any number beyond 62 M 52757, M64.02

This change most likely took place in the fall of 1990 (unconfirmed by me).


If you have a car with the new cylinder heads, I would just dismiss all the fears you have about that leak. Even most of those without the updated heads don't leak that often...but that's little comfort to those that do develop the leak <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />

<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Jay D

Hi guys, thanks for all the replies. I picked the car up yesterday and drove most of the evening. Up until now I thought my 99 GTI VR6 was a blast but it suddenly seems quite dull!

I've checked my engine code and it reads M6401-62M G6400. Does this make sense or am I reading the wrong code.

I do have a whack of service records and I see that the only major thing done was a valve adjustment at 37,000 Kms. It now has 41,000. Besides that it looks like it has been maitained religiously at a Porsche,Audi,VW dealer. We have already bought 7-8 cars at this dealer so they know us quite well and everyone at the dealer (including a mechanic who's a friend of mine) assures me they haven't seen a 964 this clean in a long time.

My only question at this time is that I see a lot of guys are running synthetic. I've run synthetic in my GTI from day one and love it but records show that this car was switched to synthetic briefly and then switched back. Apparently the mechanic recommended switching back to mineral because the car was using too much oil when running synthetic. Since then it apparently doesn;t consume very much at all. I'll have to monitor the situation but does this make sense?

Thanks,

Jay