Terry Adams

The person giving our factory tour Dec '99 was very proud to point out how much money Porsche saved in the assembly process and parts purchasing. Nothing wrong with that if it does not impact reliablity, but ...

I have heard the same about my 993 from every place I have taken it for service, as well as from the driver of that 993 RS Cup at Spa Francorchamps.

JimB

Bill,
How did you come up with this? Did you analyze the engine failure rate in the Grand Am Cup series? Perhaps you did an analysis of m96 engines failures in club racing? Being a Technical Specialist I assume you didn't just work on hearsay. Here's a data point for you. I've run over 40 club races in my 996 without a single engine problem. The first 15 were on a 3.4L without a oiling package and the rest were on a 3.6L X51. During that time I've seen (1) 996 engine failure. I've had problems like every other racer but I'm sure my failure rate is no worse than any of the 993RSs or 993TT I run against.

There is so much mis-information about the quality of 996s it makes me want to scream.
Jim

wpriller

I am glad that you mention this, I was looking at a 1997 C4S the other day and was almost sold on the car. The independent dealer had all the stamped service records and Owner's manual. I decided to call the Certified Porsche shop that had been servicing the car. I was told by the Owner of the shop that the car was a solid car and that the previous owner had really maintained the car, and had traded for a 2003 996 C4S. The Owner of the shop said the car would be a good buy, but eventually the clutch would need to be replaced along with doing the top end for the valve guides. Cost, anywhere between $5,000 to $7,000, that scare me. This cost included clutch and doing the top end. My brother has a 1996 C4S, and he was told by his Porsche Certified Technician that services his car, that he would be looking at the same issue, which is common among the C4S. He only has 40,000 miles on his car and he has owned it for 4 years. Since he had the car the wiring harness was replaced by Porsche with no charge. He did have an oil leak which cost him $1,500 to repair. It would be difficult for me to justify to my wife that I put anywhere between 5 to $7,000 into a car that I just paid $48,000 for. There is always going to be debates on what series of Porsche's were the best year. I still wish I had my 1971 911S;
My cars I presently own:
1975 911S I brought in 1980-California car with dreaded thermal reactors-my wife almost left because of the dreaded head studs
2000 Honda S2000-reliable and fund
1967 Sunbeam Tiger-restoring
2003 Infiniti G35 Sedan-family car


QUOTE=texas911]Do you spend a lot of time here? CEL,Steering rack, Valve
Guides, Top End rebuilds. Use those a search criteria. Look, I love the 993 as much as the next person, but come on, you guys make it sound like its the most reliable car in the world. Not saying every 993 has these problems, but not every 996/997 has the RMS leak either.[/QUOTE]

pcar964

The problem would not be any more or less common in the C4S as opposed to any other 993 model... All the '96-up NA cars used the same exact vram engine.

wpriller

So is this a common issue that exist with all 993's with the vram engine. That you have to look forward to doing the top end after a certain amount of miles are put on the car. In reference to searching for a car, I thought I had learned my lesson with my 75S with the issue of pulled head studs. When I decided I wanted to buy another 911, most Porschephiles recommended the 993. Just as a number of years ago when the 78 SC was introduce as being one of the most indestructible cars that Porsche had ever built. I've heard some Technical people state to buy the newest representation of a 911 that falls within your price range. Then I will get feedback that the 993 is the best representation that Porsche has built to this date, or is it buying the latest 996 after 2001 the way to go. As a Porsche addict soon to retire, and living on a fixed income, a person wants to get the best representation that he can get for the money without it being a money pit. So will the debate go on that new technology is better 996/997, or the last of the air cool 993's. Just wandering;

pcar964

There is no higher occurence of problems with the Vram engine compared with the 95 non-vram engine. The difference is, when there is carbon buildup, the SAI check valve sets off the OBD II's CEL (warning light) which is a problem you can solve by taking your right index finger, and pressing the (!) button on the center console... The car will still run fine, the only purpose of that STUPID valve is to reduce emissions when the car is cold. If there was a way to INCREASE emissions cheaply, I would do it just as a matter of protest... Just kidding of course, but these ridiculous emissions control systems are expensive to fix, and not worth worrying about.

The Vram engine is fine!

wpriller

Thanks, I appreciated the information;