ORIGINAL: Hilux
952 is RHD. Non-Turbos are technicall 945s
Maybe the 951 is american spec?
I note the comment re thrashed cars. The S2 16valvers have their power/torque at the top end so need to be driven briskly according to comments/research I`ve done.
Re price, I really dont know what to spend, this is amazing to me personally. Low prices offer high mileage - cheaper - scruffier (still reliable and good value) High prices offer lower mileage - good nick all round - perfect provenance/history (potentially as reliable but equaly potentially unreliable)
To be perfectly honest I`m really worried about buying one. I dont have an issue with working on or rebuilding cars and consider that I need to buy one that has excellent bodywork and interior, has full provenance so people expect it if I sell on but I`m in the lap of the gods with the mechanical aspect. I know the difference between injectors firing and tappet noise and all the squeaks and groans etc etc but long term reliability?????????????
I am heartened by the seemingly reliable high mileage (when regularly serviced) cars you all own and note that there are some great specialist out there.
So 10K and hope no major issues (for a while) or 6-7K and assume issues (or not)
What intervals do Porsche recomend belts etc be changed and when are the idlers changed.
No, it's what I said LHD is 951 and RHD is 952; nothing to do with spec, all to do with the bodyshell being different.
I don't think low prices
necessarily mean scruffier. Probably they will have higher mileages but consider 2 things:
1. The 944 is fantastically easy to clock and wears so well you can get away with it. As I said above I sold my cab with 192,000 showing and
everybody who saw it agreed I could have told them it had done 92,000 and they wouldn't have batted an eyelid.
2. You
can have too few miles. A lot of "garage queens" will have more problems than cars that get used regularly. This is partly because they sit around so much that different things tend to go wrong, partly because they are not used enough for owners to notice problems nor be inconvenienced enough by them to get them fixed and a lot because nobody likes to spend money on a car if they don't have to (for maintenance at least) and it's easy to skimp if it isn't a daily driver you rely on. Also consider that some of the best heeled people I have met have also been the tightest so don't go thinking "Porsche owners can afford it so that won't apply". I bet the majority of 944's owned by people on here and Titanic are getting the best looking after they have
ever had now, at 15 years or so old. When new they were just a car with a prestige badge to most owners, then they were a cheap Porsche for people who couldn't afford a newer one, now they are finally being bought for what they are by people who care and can actually afford to spend more but don't choose to.
The things that are likely to go wrong with a Turbo or S2 mechanically are:
Belts, tensioners, oil seals need replaced. They rarely snap but it isn't unheard of and i don't know if those that have were overdue or not.
Heads can crack between valve seats - seem to be much more common on S2s, but far from endemic.
Head gaskets go, usually through age but frequently soon after the boost on a Turbo is increased for the first time. 50:50 if a Turbo one will go IMO unless it has already been replaced.
Various oil/water problems affect 944s all relative back to failed coolers or seals allowing the fluids to mix. Not expensive to fix and more commonly a Lux problem.
Brake calipers seize up over time as the steel backing plates react with the alloy caliper and cause swelling. Actually fairly expensive to fix (over £500 easily, maybe £1,000). This will affect high and low mileage cars as it happens over about 5 years, regardless of miles. Summer only cars in temperature controlled winter storage may be an exception, but find one.
Fuel pipes corrode at the rear. Expensive to fix as the transaxle has to come off or some sort of non-original pipework used.
Clutches fail through springs / rubber centres breaking up or they wear out. £800+ (more for an early Turbo).
Suspension wears out. £500 for standard. £1,500+ for M030 (although it can be rebuilt).
Gearboxes get noisy. Live with it as it doesn't do any harm or spend £300 fixing one of the two problems that cause it.
CV joints and torque tubes can fail/wear out but not commonly.
Engine mounts can collapse. Later cars like you are looking at are much less susceptible but it still happens.
They leak. Time and hassle rather than money to fix, usually it's the sunroof, hatch, rear lights or rear quarter lights.
I've had 2 steering racks fail but it isn't that common. Onlt £150 or so for a recon anyway.
They're old so bushes wear. You can replace things like the wishbones (£400+ per side), tie rods (£120), drop links (£40?), castor bushes (£85). Allow £100 for alignment after any of that (and annually is a good idea generally).
Turbo specific:
Turbo seals can go. It's circa £400 for a recon so hardly a biggie.
Wastegate housings seem to crack. Extremely expensive to replace with OEM but better alternatives are not so pricey. Again £400 covers it although it's a declarable mod.
S2 Specific:
Cam chain usually needs work
Cams sometimes need replaced due to failing case hardening ultimately resulting in teeth breaking off the spockets. More common than is believed on here in my opinion.
What have I missed, anyone?
I pay £25/hr for labour which might well be the least on here (and he knws what he's doing) but most people can find something reasonable.
Porsche recommend 48k or 48 months for belts I believe but we tend to go 36k/36 months because it isn't
that expensive to do and it's better to be safe. Tensioners are rollers get done as required but you can bank on that being every second belt change. Expect to have oil seals changed at that sort of interval too.
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