C4-JohnO

Been trawling the 993 board for a while.

I own and drive every day a 91 964 107000 miles. Been looking at a 993 and recently saw a 72,000 miler. Looks very nice on 95 plate.

Its a bit beyond me price wise, but that has never stopped me before LOL. However stretching for this car and then having rebuild costs would be a big problem

On this board there seems to be a lot of talk about 70k rebuilds and valve problems. How much of an issue is this?

mborkow

i had a rebuild at 70k miles, but it was not due to bad guides (i was not buring any oil)...it was because of clogged SAI ports (and this was before anyone had come up with a procedure for cleaning them). if you are looking at a MY95 then you don't have to worry about the sai ports since they are not monitored by the obd(ii) software (and the ports being clogged has no real world affect on the car at all).

i just realized you are in the UK which means you don't need to worry about obd...if the sai ports were not a concern then i would have no hesitation getting the car as long as it passed a ppi

trojanman

Find a reputable shop that can at least give you a subjective opinion about valve guide wear... a good mechanic should be able to remove a valve cover and check the "play" of an exhaust valve inside the guide.

Valve guide wear will likely be your biggest concern $-wise when considering purchasing a 993.

Texas993

But the same valve guide wear problems exist with the 964 3.6, right?

Terry Adams

Yes, and the '87 3.2 Carrera Cab I had before this.

jnor10

All good info provided above; the one thing I would add is that I think the valve guide issue is likely in everyones future, if they keep the car long enough. The OEM VG material is inferior, I don't think it could be argued otherwise.
The biggest culprit to reaching (my personal opinion here) the valve guide issue is heat, which would be only worsened by infrequent oil changes.

If the car has a history of low operating temp scenarios (ie, not stop and go driving in Florida with the engine cover on) and driven with the with the engine cover off from a early stage, then it might be worth a gamble, which is what it is. You could get the valve guides inspected by a reputable tech. but I would think they would only tell you good or bad, not how soon?

If you buy it (with a thorough inspection), plan to keep the car a long time and save for that rainy day.

for me, nothing comes close to the grin factor the 993 provides, its a great blend of creature comfort and performance.

Good Luck,

Jeff N................................rebuild at 75K, but a better engine too!

Glen

I dunno, Valve guide wear= Wallet removal tool....I would focus strictly on oil use to dictate this, qt every 600-800 miles and its time, otherwise if it hauls *** dont touch it.

trojanman

my understanding is that the valve guide issue is more profound in the 993 because the engine pushes the limit of hp/heat generation (more so than prior 911s)

Alan C.

I purchased my 95 from the second owner with about 75K on the odo. That person put all but 3K on the car. He used it as a daily driver in Columbus, OH, had snow tires on it when I picked up it up.

I turned it into a track car and have had ZERO problems with it. At my last event all I did was add 1/2 qt. of oil after 3 hard days on the track. To date I have done 5 races and about 6 DE's. No regrets.

C4-JohnO

Thanks

Its a bit out of my budget without the valve issue so i guess I need to save a few more pennies and try to pick one with less miles. or have the cash at hand.

I'll see how I go next year.

As for the 964, it wasn't even mentioned in my pre prerchase inspetion and general questions. It no has 107000 miles and goes like stink.

Caveman

Hi John,

This seems to be more of a US issue than UK issue, possibly because of their higher summer temperatures and the very low mileage cars that exist over there. Anyone I have spoke to over here seems to think that you'd be unlucky to need a top end done before 100k. I would contact some independents. Autostrasse in Coggeshall or JZ Machtech in Kings Langley will give their honest thoughts. I was suprised when I saw these posts as I've never been aware of the issue and I don't remember it coming it coming up in any of the buying guides that I've seen in the magazines.

Cheers,

David

Pedro356C

I could be mistaken but I think the point is not how many miles (70k mi for instance) but how abusive and careless was this journey...with good care these engines will go far beyond 100k mi strong and troublefree...well...I hope so! ;- )

zoomzoom

David - ask Jonas about the recent 993 which they had to do a complete rebuild with only 45k on the clock due to camslip which had been left for too long...

Caveman

Wow! They have serviced my car for the last three and a half years so hopefully they haven't missed this on mine! ;-) There will always be exceptions which is why it is essential to have a car professionally checked by a specialist. IMHO these cars are strong and last for ages if well looked after. I can count on one hand the number of times that I have started the car up and not driven far enough to completely warm it up; I have a service every year regardless of miles driven and I am constantly watching it. I bet some cars do not enjoy this level of care.... :-(

Cheers,

David

Ben in Plano, TX

I should agree with Glen - but I'm straying from his sage advice and having a top end done on my car in the next few weeks.

I know that some or all of the lifters need replacing (clackity clack is getting louder), I have low compression on a couple of cylinders, I'm dripping oil, and oil use is in the 1 qt/1000 range.

So i'll end up spending $8k - 10k on the top end and some other doo dads that need attention in my 75,000 mile 993 but I will have truly set the car right at that point. I intend to keep it for several more years (maybe forever) so I believe it is a sound investment from that perspective.

Ben