user 783003

I've had my car since October and just now brought it to the shop (no PPI). I've never owned a Porsche or any other non mass-produced car before, so I didn't know what I was doing, but it looked nice and ran fine. Everything else I thought I could deal with...

Here's what I found out today:

-Distributor belt broken. Vent kit is installed, no loss of power that I've noticed since purchase, so I'm assuming it's been broken since I got it. I've only put 2000 miles on it.
-A/C is empty, leaking somewhere. Have to get a dye to determine where it's leaking before I can fix the leak and get cold air again.
-Leaking oil in several spots, "very wet engine." Was told it may be the cylinder gaskets or the chain housing gaskets or maybe the valve cover gaskets. I think I'll try the valve gaskets myself first to rule those out. Sounded like my year had a problem with the cylinder gaskets that could require dropping the engine, machining the heads, cylinders, etc.?
-Leaking power steering fluid near the PS drive gear?

Will I notice a difference when I get it back later this week with a new distributor belt?

Did I mention that it looks nice and runs fine? What have I done?!?!?

Streetfighter

To be honest those are pretty common issues on a lot of 964's. Leaking oil, power steering fluid, A/C, and distributor belt. Most of these items are relatively easy to fix. When a dist. belt breaks its hard to tell a difference in the way the car drives. Its a good thing you are getting these issues handled now and not before you have major damage done to the car.

Porscheholic

Brings to mind the Billy Crystal SNL classic - it's more important to look good than to feel good! Hope I got that right, and I'm probably dating myself.

groovzilla

i can understand your situation...no matter how well these cars run it is important to get it checked out w/PPI

when i purchased my car i had a PPI done and also compression test...knew about the oil leaks and also minor rust issue at windshield seal near drivers mirror.

it may not be wise repair the oil leaks until it is time to do a top end...the cost of removing engine and resealing is not much less than doing the top end...unless of course the engine is only leaking from the valve covers and or you can do the work yourself.

how many miles on your car??...mine has 113K

early_grayce

+1

Most are easy, some are a bit more expensive than others to fix (e.g. chain housing), but it's common for the above stuff to seep a bit.
Make sure you find a mechanic with ++ air-cooled pcar experience before dropping any $.
And in the meantime, relax and enjoy!!

user 783003

It just crossed 120,000 miles. The shop it's in was recommended by another local PCA member. When I dropped it off, there were several other 911's and 964's there..

LouZ

I agree with the others - oil leaks are part of the aura of a 964.

Get the dizzy belt fixed NOW, as this could lead to costly engine damage. Take your time with the rest.

dfinnegan

Un plug the lower distributor wire at the coil. (circled in blue)

You do not want that distributor firing a random plug at the wrong time. It could do some serious damage.

BlueHeeler

You look marvelous!

Alfred - You have the car now and the problems described are all fixable items. It is really a question of whether or not you wish to carry on with repairs. IMHO it would be a minimum to at least figure out where the leaks are coming from and what the problem is before making a move.

Bearclaw

If that's the sum total, I'd be relieved. The dist. belt is concerning, but fortunately it sounds like it was caught before damage was done. Your A/C problem could be a little one or a big one, but 18-yr.-old A/C on any car is a crapshoot and will likely require attention. Fortunately it's an ancillary system. Charge it and see what happens.

Your car probably (depending on the serial number in '91) has no head gaskets, that was the problem. There is a total fix, but it's expensive and you would probably want to wait until you do a top end, which may not be for a while. One man's "very wet engine" is another man's "not too bad". Just fix the ones you can, keep an eye on the oil level and don't worry too much about it.

If that's all they found, sounds like you got a basically sound car.

elbeee964

(lot of similarities, here, to "I should'a used a condom"...)

Bugeye

Don't beat your head against that brick wall too much. If it makes you feel any better, I got a PPI from a reputable independent shop (car checked out well), and a little over a year later, I had oil leaking from the chain housing and probably some other places. Ended up getting a top end rebuild, which I could have probably delayed, but I was like, well, I'm definitely going to get it done at some point, so might as well be now, and I wanted to be able to do autocross/DE, etc.

I guess my point is, while I am definitely glad I did a PPI, the lesson was a PPI lowers your risk but certainly does not eliminate it, and with time, things (possibly big or expensive, unfortunately) will go. Just brace yourself to pay for it if you're not doing your own work. Sadly I don't do my own work, so I've now appropriately braced myself! My guess is there are proportionately more of these stories out there than appear on Rennlist - people like me a bit surprised at how much maintenance/cost you *might* run into with these cars. But who wants to post or read those posts?

So now the lesson for me is enjoy the car as much as possible (which I planned to do anyway), and keep it as long as possible! So enjoy yours when you can!

Leak-free for almost 2 years and counting...
Feel like I need one of those signs in my garage that I can change as necessary. "Leak free for XX days."

LouZ

On the oil leak issues ----- what oil are you using? We have had numerous posts regarding the new blend of Mobil1, and associated leaks. (do a search for some interesting reading)

user 783003

Not sure what was in it before I bought it, but to replenish what's leaked on the cardboard of my garage floor, I've used Mobil1 so far. Also, I have 12 quarts of it ready for the oil change, valve cover gasket, valve clearance, plug change.

I read some of the Mobil1 threads, but it seemed inconclusive.