Nthusiast

My entry into the 993tt world has been met with mixed emotions. After a great drive from SC to NY with my dad, I've been met with a few unexpected maintenance items (nitrogen ball for the clutch needed replacing; O2 sensor that led to a check engine light; new tires; etc) but I've also done some light mods (new wheels; clear signals; pedals; aluminum shifter; 2nd key & fob; etc).

When it was in for the clutch work the Porsche technician found that the valve guides are leaking (not bad but it needs to be addressed). Since they'll have to pull the turbos and drop the engine I didn't know if there are other LOW BUDGET items that I need to consider. I stress LOW BUDGET.

I'm going to drive it until the Fall so I have a few months to figure out what to do but I wanted your thoughts.

Outside of this maintenance, the car has been unbelievable! Here are a few pics with the new wheels.

chsu74

Hmm...

Did you get a leakdown and compression done on the car during a PPI before purchase?

OverBoosted28

I'm wondering how the "Porsche technician" discovered bad valve guides during clutch job. Maybe he meant leaking "valve" covers? Maybe some mileage and history would help with suggestions.

Nthusiast

I didn't. Lesson learned. I had several conversations with the shop that was referred by the dealer that led me to believe this was "ultra clean". While I probably wasn't as educated as I needed to be, I realize after the fact that the dealer/indy shop that did the PPI are "friends" and I definitely didn't get the unbiased review of the car prior to purchase. My initial post in this thread mentioned the items I've had to address so far that should have been caught in a PPI. Again, lesson learned.

chsu74

Are you burning a lot of oil?

The car is drivable with only issue of potentially clogging cats if it is burning oil long run. A top end will cost you because of all the other while you are there items. This is one mistake you will remember. 993TTs probably generate the most heat out of all air cooled cars and difficult to dissipate.

Agreed on leaky valve covers comment. No way a clutch job can lead to a poor leak down/bad compression discovery.

Nthusiast

I asked them to do a complete once-over to make sure things were ok. I have to claim ignorance on what he meant...I'm definitely not mechanically-inclined.

Mileage is 67,XXX. History is limited. 60k service done; normal service done but spotty records (nothing before 2010).

OverBoosted28

Still, how many miles and are ya sure it's guides and not covers that are leaking? The miles and history will gather you more help on what others have experienced to what "may" and what "shall" be needed regarding mileage. Second opinions from indy also

Posted as you were putting how many miles. Don't hesitate to ask around. If you're not sure or comfortable, don't sweat it! It's your car and you're the customer. I don't trust many when it comes to shops. It seems as though they can/will prey on people that aren't familiar with there cars. Especially high end cars. I'm sure there's others that may be close to you that know where to take your car. Good luck
Also: in relation to the average sports car, these things are pretty close to bank vaults. Some things that need addressing with time/use, but very reliable once sorted.

NYC993

It's hard to tell if guides are worn unless you know your oil consumption. Even leak-downs won't really tell you much, unless the guides have been leaking for a while and the valves are affected from burnt oil.

Common wisdom says that factory guides are crap and hence it's matter of time. Some have 100-200-300k miles with the original guides. I have 76k miles and over the car doesn't really burn any oil (oil level hasn't moved over 1.5k mile). So "matter of time" varies. But shops would love to do top end and justify it by having engine out already. Personally, I would leave the engine alone for as long as possible and just do what's necessary. You always assume risk of somebody not doing rebuild properly unless you go to a very reputable place, where they take their time, but time = money.

mgianzero

Some very good advice from everyone here. Oil comsumption is just one of the symtoms of worn valve guides. When you get into CEL from OBDII codes being thrown, then you are probably more committed to decide about more serious problems like a top-end rebuild. I am not sure how New York deals with smog checks. In California, we have very strict rules, so we have to be more aggressive to get a smog certificate.

Without seeing the engine, it does sound like the oil leaks are more what your shop was referring to than the oil comsumption. Our engines has a variety of sources for oil leaks and sometimes can be difficult to isolate the source. You can see there are a lot of posts on all the common leaks and how to fix them. Valve cover gaskets are very common to leak and an easy fix. If it were my car, I'd start with fixing some of the more common oil leaks and giving the engine a thorough cleaning and making sure no codes are read by a Porsche OBD reader and go from there.

Nthusiast

Thanks for the responses.

I went to an indy shop originally that had done some work on previous cars I had owned but I ended up taking it to the Porsche dealership after getting that feeling that the issues were outside the indy shops' capabilities. I know the technician and the service advisor at the Porsche dealership and was willing to pay a higher labor rate in exchange for my level of comfort with their honesty and work quality. I know that can't be said of many dealerships but these 2 guys have earned my trust over the years.

While I'm not looking to do unnecessary work, I do want to make sure this car is well-sorted given my love for the 993TT (I've always wanted one), as well as the potential re-sale at some point. Ethically, I would never feel comfortable selling a car that has issues unless I fully documented those issues.

chsu74

Not sure I would take an almost 20 year old Porsche to a dealership. An air cooled specialist Indy would be my first choice.

nine9six

Considering your circumstances, I'd pulse the community and try to find a reputible air-cooled indy shop in your area and establish a rapport with them.

Having a comprehensive PPI performed after the fact may not be how the process should be properly performed, but it will still help you baseline the condition of the car and prioritize your path forward.

I agree with all on how the dealer came up with leaky valve guides...I strongly suspect its leaky valve covers. If its valve covers, that's simple/typical stuff on a 993.

Knight

As others have said I think you might have confused what they stated and it's valve covers that are leaking.

Many shops will want to drop the engine to do the upper/lowers for Turbos. I'd have another air cooled indy give you a second opinion. And you should def start monitoring your oil consumption moving forward.

pp000830

Valve guide work, its profitable if you can get it! If you don't get an air injector, misfire or some other OBDC light item then I am not sure what the mechanic is talking about as these are the two reasons why one has their engine's valve guides are considered for replacement? Any others thoughts on this?

MarkD

Ask them exactly how guides were determined to be leaking...

No real way to tell without a physical check and I would bet a lot of $$ this was not done.
As many have said, oil consumption is the key data point.

All of that said... If you need to do anything at those miles on a 993 turbo... It would be to refresh the turbos and install the 996 check valves and lines.
As you get to 70-75k miles this is the common work to do
If that was already done, then great.

More or less wear/tear on the turbos depends on how they were treated. Proper cool down is essential.

Good luck!