Hi All, new owner of 1990 911 C2 & loving the experience for sure. I read on another site that 1990-91 911's are to be avoided because of major engine issues concerning cyl sleeves that could come loose & cause problems. Said article noted that Porsche replaced these motors after identifying the problem & to make sure that there's confirmation of this replacement before buying a used 90 or 91.

Never heard of this & thought I'd check here.

thanks much

 

note: cyl head sealing problems...?...I'm getting nervious about this car..!

 

no worry ! I have a 90 C2 with 254k on the clock, runs excellent, no oil usage to speak of
engine was overhauled at 130k

 

Thanks for the reply. Just seems I should have done more research before buying...didn't realize the 964's were a problem child. This car has 73K on it & an occational drip from the bottom of the engine & reading all the reseal/rebuild articles has me concerned about repair $$'s.

 

Welcome, don't feel that you purchased a "problem child"! You have a 20 year old car - that in itself is testament that these 964's are reliable (remember -all of us on this forum have the same "problem").

As to cylinder sleeves coming loose - I would question your source. Some early Boxters had casting problems (porous), and Porsche drilled out the cylinder bore and inserted a sleeve. They were not locked into the casting and some drifted down till they hit the crank, thus destroying the engine.

Yes - up thru mid 91, there were no head gaskets. This led to leaks on "some" engines. These were fixed by grooving the heads and using a gasket. This was done in the first few years of ownership - the ones that didn't leak (like mine) are still going strong 20 years later.

On August 1 of this year, I rolled over to 100,000 miles while racing at Watkins Glen, doing 120 MPH between T6 & T7)

In conclusion.................STOP WORRYING AND ENJOY!

 

Cylinder Head Leak Issue

- leak is at the cylinder to head seal
- technically not an oil leak, but a leak of oil residue in cold cylinders

Geoffrey

Link to Geoffrey's post

Lets remember exactly what the "cylinder head leakage" issue
is. There are many 911 engines that do not use head gaskets,
including the 911 turbo engine. The leakage that occurs on the
89-91 engines is not an oil leak and the leak does not affect
the performance of the engine. Here is what it is:

On all 911 engines, when parked, the residual oil in the
cylinder will collect on the exhaust side of the cylinder
(lowest point of the cylinder). When the engine is started
cold, there is an excess amount of fuel which dilutes this oil
and it burns into a thick black substance. Because the engine
is cold, and because it does not have any head gaskets, it is
possible for this fuel rich mixture to be pushed out the
cylinder to head mating surface. Once the engine is warm and
has expanded, there is no issue and the mating surface between
the cylinder head and cylinder are tight.

Trust me that the small little stainless steel ring does not do
much and I've seen engines with them leak too.

 

Thanks for the clarification & info - I'm really enjoying this car and now I know why "there is no substitute"...!

 

OK - Now where are the MANDATORY pictures?