I have a 94 968 Cab and I have never had any problems with the pinion bearing. I was told that it was fixed in the 94 Models? is that true or is it going to start acting up eventually?

 

That is not true
See martin's page for all you want to know.
http://members.rennlist.com/martin/

 

thanks... I was afraid of that. how hard is it to replace.

 

I you drop the transaxle yourself you might be able to get it changed for $1500.

It does not happen to all 968s. Many from all years have not had the problem.

 

$1500, good grief! If mine fails, I'm gonna find a nice 5-speed from a 944.

 

The 6 speed is really nice though... I seems like it will never stop winding up

 

THE PINION BEARING IN 968 TRANNY'S ARE WIDELY KNOWN FOR GOING BAD MOST PEOPLE WAIT TILL THEY GO BAD AND THEN REPLACE THE WHOLE TRANS WITH A 5 SPEED FROM A 944 TURBO USAULLY WITH A LSD

 

Uhh... no.

Most people curse Porsche for refusing to admit the problem and then they fix the outstanding 6 speed transmission in their 968.

 

so far so good.... (touch wood). I'm at 93K and no problems so far (94 coupe)

 

125k with no problems on a 94 coupe, used mainly for DE's.

 

I wouldn't worry. If it happens, worry about it then. Until then, enjoy your car.
I wouldn't go as far as swapping it with a 951 5 speed though. 6 speeds are much nicer and are a good match for the car. I only know of a handful of people that did the swap to a 5 speed.
Raj

 

i agree

the gears themselves are pretty bullet proof - the syncros and shifting fork are a bit more prone to wear, but not bad

i know plenty of guys who have bolted up a 5 speed and blown it

stay with the 6

 

I would definitely prefer to keep the 6, but finance may necessitate getting a 5 speed. But like Raj said I'll just enjoy the car for now and worry about it when (if) it happens. I think the synchros are going too, since it's near impossible to get it into gear until it warms up, unless of course I just gorilla-arm the shifter and force it in (and hear a nasty GRINDing sound).

 

I wouldn't consider a regular 5-speed tranny an option at all -- they are known for self-grenading. In fact, I blew my '87na tranny within 5000 miles of mating it to a 968 motor. I currently have a S tranny and know that I'm on borrowed time. S2 or Turbo trannies are known to be much stronger. Also, na trannies (as well as S and S2) have much much shorter gearing -- almost to the point of being annoyingly short for daily driving when mated to a 968 motor. But if you don't mind letting your motor hang out in the 5000rpm range, then it's . It's all a matter of how you want to drive -- Arash, next time we meet up, you should try driving my car.

 

Arash, as far as shifting, I would start with throwing in some redline transaxle fluid. That should help you with cold shifting.
I would suggest getting a used 968 transaxle or getting yours rebuilt. I would under no circumstances swap to a 5 speed. Its like going backwards. The 944 turbo S trans has much taller gearing and gears are wider apart. Does not suit a NA 968 and you will lose performance.
Raj