Goyle

Happy New Year to All..

I'm looking for a pristine 968 Cab w. Tip so I thought this would be a great place to start.

I'm new to Porsche's so any leads, feedback and purchasing advice is greatly appreciated !


Cheers,


Goyle

sayporsha

Happy new year to you!

I just went thru this myself and was fondly rewarded with a 95 GP White/ Savannah leather/Black top 6-speed cab with 64k miles. I have driven a lot of nice cars before, but I NEVER got so many compliments as I have in the short time I've owned this beauty. Life is good on cloud 968!
You picked a nice, exclusive Porsche to go after!

You should expand your search to other cities due to it's rarity. Porsche imported only 2,200 cabs in 4 years (366 in 95)! I live near Portland, OR and bought mine in San Francisco.

As for the Tip, if you plan on wringing the maximum power out of this car, consider the 6-speed. The engine really comes alive at 5,000 RPM, and it's a short window to the redline, so the 6-speed is nice to keep it in the zone. A couple of traffic jams had me thinking about the Tip, though.

That said, the usual applies: find the nicest, latest model year you can afford. Find one with service records that show all maintenance has been done on time. This car has timing and balance shaft belts that must be changed every 30,000 miles and tensioned every 15,000 miles. Some had pinion bearing failures, so be aware. The cam chain tensioner pads should be changed before 100,000 miles.

I have a theory that all Porsches tend to leak oil. Mine does, despite obsessive service by previous owners. The PS line leaked where it attaches to the loop cooler in the nose of the car. Tightening the hose clamp fixed that, but the engine oil leak will be difficult to fix: the seal between the oil thermostat & engine block is leaking. The balance shaft belts must come off for this, so I'll tackle it when I replace the belts.

I still love the car and have no regrets about buying it. I plan to pamper it & have it around when I retire in 9 years.

Good luck in finding one that's right for you - it will be worth the time and effort. Besides, the search is half the fun!

RajDatta

Check autotrader.com. They have the most cars advertised at any given time. Also panorama is a good PCA mag to see some nice examples in.

Sayporsha, which seal are you talking about? are you talking about the unit that houses the oil filter, both oil cooler lines, oil pressure relief valve, oil pressure sender and oil level sender unit? If so, you can remove it without removing the balance shafts. Let me know which unit you are talking about.

sayporsha

968TurboS,

Yup, that's the one. That's good news. It looks so crowded in there. What has to come off to get to it?

RajDatta

Sorry for hijacking thread .
Well, tell you the truth, if you can move the power steering lines out of the way, you should have direct access to the four 13mm bolts that hold it to the block. Obnly other problem I can see is if the heatshields might need to be removed as well. In either case, some swivel sockets should help.
The seal is somewhat expensive but that is what will cure your problem.
I recently priced it from sunset porsche for around $38-39 for the seal. Also change the 2 O'rings for the oil pressure relief valve. Only tricky part to the install is that you get the oil pressure relief valve in correctly cause if it binds, you will either have too low oil pressure (valve stuck open) or too high pressures (oil pressure relief valve stuck closed) in which case you will blow your oil filter gasket off (ask me how I know ).
What are your current readings on oil pressure? Take some notes on that, when the oil is cold/warm, max oil pressure so when you do the job, you have something to reference to.
Let me know if you need additional help, or maybe we can start a new thread cause I hate hijacking threads.

sayporsha

OK, will do.

Goyle

Thanks for the great info. Your enthusiasm for the 968 is contageous. I live
North of Sacramento, within driving distance of the Bay Area, so hopefully will get a line on one in good shape.

Sounds like the 968 requires a fair bit of maintenance. How much do these services cost roughly? (I'm trying to budget for the care and feeding).


Goyle

sayporsha

Every Porsche requires a fair bit of maintenance, so be prepared no matter which model you buy. It's worth it!

For the 968, it's about $300-$600 to replace the timing & balance shaft belts, depending on if the car needs additional parts, e.g., water pump, rollers, seals, etc. Budget about $125-$150 for the belt tensioning at the 15K mile interval. I hear the cam chain tensioner pad replacement is relatively easy, so I'm guessing 1-2 hours labor there. As for the pinion bearing fix, I think most have been fixed by now. To have it done would probably be about $1000-$1500.

As for how to find one, I agree with 968TurboS about Autotrader.com & Panorama. 968.net is another place to check. I found mine listed in all 3 places! The seller had it listed in Panorama and 968.net. He consigned it at a dealer in SFO who listed it on Autotrader.com. You live near some large population centers, so you should have no problem finding a nice example within driving distance.

Happy hunting!

RajDatta

Goyle, most of these tasks can be performed by a shade tree mechanic so ideally you want to learn to perform these tasks yourself. This will help lower your ownerships costs and also you will be 100% certain the job was done right the 1st time. You have plenty of people on this site covering your back in case you get stumped along the way.
Good luck in your search.

Goyle

968TurboS...

You guys have a lot more expertise than I do in working on Porsche's. My goal is ultimately to be able to work on them myself though.

Got the bug when I was a kid from my uncle who always owned Porsche's (356's) and worked on them himself. He still owns a 356 coupe and a cab.
He won't sell though!

Thanks for the support!

Goyle

BruceWard

Goyle, I changed the timing and balance belts last weekend. I have little mechanical knowledge other than changing oil. A couple of mechanics from the local Porsche Club who wanted to get their hands greasy came by and helped with the more difficult parts. But I believe anyone with enough patience, tools and a little mechanical knowledge can do it. Also several guys like Raj (968TurboS) and Scott (sh944) offered phone support if I got stuck.

I believe the official frequency on 968 belt changes is to change the timing and balance belt every 60k miles, retension after 1800 or 2500 and then check the tension at 30K. Many people change them more frequently. The cost to change if you do the work yourself and already have the tools is about $150 for a kit with two belts and four rollers. I spent quite a bit more but I had to buy a lot of tools. I will probably change my belts again after 5 years which should be 25k to 30k miles and will check then tension at least once a year and retension at 1800.

While you are looking you should let the guys at http://www.968.net know that you are in the market.

Goyle

Bruce,

Thanks for the tip !

Goyle