Fletcher

Looking for feedback on buying a 968. Anyone driven the tptronic, is the 6 speed that much quicker?

What about engine longevity compared to earlier 944's? I know with proper maintenance 944 motors, turbos incl are good for well over 100k. My turbo was 150k when I sold it and it was still very strong and ran great.

Damian in NJ

The tip adds well over a second to the 0-60 times, more even for a cab tip. No pinion bearing problems, however!

Chris 968

The tip does not have the pinion bearing problems that my 6-sp does but I do remember something about a rubber flex disk that will break down over time.

an old post from 968.net:

"ok you tip guys, don't be giving any grief to the pinion guys. your $2000 repair is just around the corner. at 44,000 miles, my 95 cab tip blew the flex plate. it goes about where the clutch is on a manual transmission. Just in the middle of where you can't decide to go in from the back or take the engine out. My guy went in from the back. The book says it will take 21 hours, and the part is over $900. I think this is as disturbing as the pinion bearing. except this is just poor design rather than bad assembly. Guess what porsche, rubber breaks. I now have serious questions about my car and its affordability. What else is lurking out there? the sympton is a clatter from beneath the car, in drive or reverse, but not in neutral. I didn't get the part number but I saw the old one and it wasn't pretty. I am really bummed out to have wasted so much money on such a stupid thing. I can't believe we haven't heard more about it, he said it was common and almost predictable at 50,000 miles, depending upon the age of the car. Start saving now or schedule your sale of the car, or maybe even buy one now so you will have one when you need it.

better luck to your guys.

rod sherwin tulsa, oklahoma"

I hope this helps,

Chris

TomH

Bah, I have an 88 944 Automatic, with the same flex plate. Although the tip may have some additional stuff associated with clutchless shifting - does it???

Anyway, my mechanic told me mine was cracked when he had the transaxle and torque tube out to replace the rear oil seal, and replaced mine while he was in there. Cost was high, but then I got ripped on the parts. The oil seal job is $1000 due to the amount of labor to pull transaxle and torque tube. For no extra labor he installed the new flex plate. You can buy those online for about $600 (he charged me $1000). Check <a href="http://www.vertexauto.com" target="_blank">www.vertexauto.com</a>

BTW, mine really wasn't in that bad of shape. Yeah the rubber had cracked lines in it but that rubber is about 3/4" thick and you couldn't see any light through it.

It's not the flex plate vs pinion gear issue that should be compared. Its the I can replace my clutch on a manual until the cows come home, but try finding a replacement auto trans in another 5 years. It's going to cost you $3-5K, cuz by then you aren't going to want to put a used one in, unless you are doing so just to sell the car

tdelarm

I had a 95' 968 for about a year and loved the tip w/ no problems. I drove it daily w/ a Jack Nicolson smile proudly displayed but again, I wasn't into shifting in daily traffic.
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