NP993

Leakdown test won't tell you a thing about valve guide wear, unless the guides are **really** worn. Only easy way to get a read on guide wear is to know the rate of oil consumption...

Leakdown tests how effectively the combustion chamber is sealed at TDC -- i.e., it measures wear on piston rings and valve seats, not wear on valve guides, which needless to say are not in the combustion chamber.

FabianS

Owner says the car uses almost no oil at all, and only emits a tiny bit of smoke on spring start up after sitting all winter.

boman993

Fabian, judging from everything you wrote so far, if the car passes the PPI with
compression test, at $26K, it sounds like a great car! I'd wait for the PPI results
to be 100% sure and PULL THAT TRIGGER!

NP993

Agree. If compression test is healthy, and you trust the owner that it's not an oil guzzler, sounds like a good deal.

FabianS

Thanks guys. I just don't want to make a bad decision buying a 993, seeing as I could afford a new Scion FR-S or very lightly used 370Z for the same amount. I just want a fun, reliable car, and the 993 has always been my dream car since high school.

RS man

Don't forget these cars are getting on in years and if something goes wrong it will still be $$$ so you may wish to reconsider if you are unwilling to plough money into the car if something goes wrong.

doberdog

A new FR-S under warranty might be a better daily driver for three months of the year but this is a not a daily driver, so if it checks out I say go for it. Pull the trigger.

FabianS

To some extent yes, as I was spending a bunch of $ on modifying my Tacoma until just reciently. If it's gonna be like $5000 a year to drive it 5000 kms a year in the summer, then we'll have a problem, as the Wife will kill me.

Tango Foxtrot

Have you thought about a 3.2 Carrera or SC? Tons of fun and half the purchase price of a 993.

FabianS

They are nice, but just too old for me. Plus they still go for around $20,000 up around here for a nice one.

inkatouring

That can be misleading, even if he is being honest. Oil consumption varies depending on how the car is being driven. When I drove my cab on the highway, zero oil consumption; but in true city, stop light driving it was as low as quart every 300 miles. Needless to say, car needed guides. Gotta check the inside of the exhaust manifold for burnt oil....

But, as race911 has pointed out in prior threads, valve guides wear from the first time the car is put in use. The issue really is what you're willing to put up with. Since you're looking at a 95 -- OBD I car -- even if you have "bad" guides, the car will not throw a check engine light, making the main question if there is excessive oil consumption.

briefescape

180k -200k km = 112k - 125k miles " needing " a top end rebuild is such a fallacy .
This 993 of mine has over 140k miles and may burn 1/4 litre of oil every 3000 miles .

FabianS

Guess I should also mention this car is due for it's 90k mile service, which I read is a couple grand, yes?

tangram

I have a '95 C2 for sale (in Toronto) but I am doing so with a heavy heart. I had the top end rebuilt a couple of years ago due to one bad cylinder (fortunately clutch was in great shape) and upgraded the suspension to PSS-9. The car has 140,000km on it. IMHO, it runs like new. I've owned the car for 10 years. These cars are not the sort of thing you buy one year and sell the next. You have to find THE CAR that touches your emotions and then accept that you will need to nurture your "baby". These are not cheap cars to maintain but they will reward you every time you get behind the wheel. Good luck with your purchase!

NP993

Not to start another epic valve guide thread....but the basic deal is this: quality control for valve guide fitment was terrible at the factory. Some cars rolled off the line with good fitment, and those are the ones that don't need top ends at sub-100K miles, and don't burn oil, or burn very little oil. The rest...well, many of them were burning oil at a high rate right off the showroom floor. These are the cars that needed top end rebuilds at 60K, 70K, etc miles. Bottom line: it's a crapshoot, and the only way to know is to know how much oil the car is burning per X number of miles.