wedgepilot
New member
I' ve just bought my first 944 (picking it up next week), so as a ' newbie' , can anyone recommend a good independent specialist for parts/servicing in the Beds/Herts/Cambs area?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Parts/servicing
- Thread starter wedgepilot
- Start date
Diver944
Active member
Hi Alan,
Congratulations on the new purchase.
I know a few 944 owners in this area and also a 911 Turbo driver from my local PCGB Region who thoroughly recommend Charles Marsland who owns Auto2000 in Kempston, Bedford - I' m sorry I don' t have his number. I use JZ Machtech near Watford and I am so impressed with them that I' m prepared to drive the 40 miles to get there.
As I see you are getting a 16V S, can I point out that you really should get the camchain and tensioner slipper checked/ replaced if you have no reciepts saing its already been done. This was never part of the Porsche service schedule, but if it does break you risk ££££££' s of damage. Most independants charge circa £200 to replace this which is great insurance against two new camshafts and a top end rebuild [
]
Scare mode off now - enjoy your new car and welcome to the fold []
Paul
Congratulations on the new purchase.
I know a few 944 owners in this area and also a 911 Turbo driver from my local PCGB Region who thoroughly recommend Charles Marsland who owns Auto2000 in Kempston, Bedford - I' m sorry I don' t have his number. I use JZ Machtech near Watford and I am so impressed with them that I' m prepared to drive the 40 miles to get there.
As I see you are getting a 16V S, can I point out that you really should get the camchain and tensioner slipper checked/ replaced if you have no reciepts saing its already been done. This was never part of the Porsche service schedule, but if it does break you risk ££££££' s of damage. Most independants charge circa £200 to replace this which is great insurance against two new camshafts and a top end rebuild [
]Scare mode off now - enjoy your new car and welcome to the fold [
]Paul
wedgepilot
New member
Thanks Paul, Kempston isn' t far from me, and even Watford isn' t a million miles away. Out of interest, how much do JZ Machtech charge for a full service?
The previous owner showed me a very large bill from the owner before him, showing that a top end rebuild was done around 45k due to a snapped cambelt - ouch! I think it was AutoStrasse who did the work. The car is now on 81k, so would the chain and tensioner need doing again soon? The cambelt itself was done about 4k ago.
Thanks again,
The previous owner showed me a very large bill from the owner before him, showing that a top end rebuild was done around 45k due to a snapped cambelt - ouch! I think it was AutoStrasse who did the work. The car is now on 81k, so would the chain and tensioner need doing again soon? The cambelt itself was done about 4k ago.
Thanks again,
Diver944
Active member
Alan,
It' s important to explain the difference between the cam belt and the cam chain.
The cam belt (and balance belt) take drive from the crank and are part of the scheduled service items on all 944' s. It sounds like this is the bill you mentioned from a previous owner
The cam chain is unique to the 16 valve S and S2 and was never part of any schedule. As a consequence a number of failures started occuring a few years ago mainly due to a plastic ramp that the camchain runs on. It doesn' t just fail becase of mileage but also because of its age. Its a piece of plastic that is now up to 16 years old and who knows how brittle it is? Porsche still don' t have a recommended replacement time so unfortunately it' s all down to speculation or heresay by us owners.
There' s a good picture here and a bit more info:
http://boerger.golden-tech.com/images/cam_chain_tensioner_replacement.htm
I replaced mine soon as I heard of the potential problem at 98k miles when the cars was 10 years old. The garage showed me the old ramp and it had two very minor grooves on it, which they said was very minimal wear. My camchain had stretched less than 2mm, which again was very little, so I probably did not have to do it but I am glad I did for the piece of mind. On other 944 lists I have heard of failures at only 60,000 miles.
In my personal non expert opinion I think it is all to do with how frequently the car has been serviced and how often it is thrashed. Mine has had an oilchange twice a year or 6,000 miles its whole life (accordng to all the receipts) and I think has lived on the motorway to rack up its mileage.
www.jzmachtech.com has a really good website full of online prices.
Paul
It' s important to explain the difference between the cam belt and the cam chain.
The cam belt (and balance belt) take drive from the crank and are part of the scheduled service items on all 944' s. It sounds like this is the bill you mentioned from a previous owner
The cam chain is unique to the 16 valve S and S2 and was never part of any schedule. As a consequence a number of failures started occuring a few years ago mainly due to a plastic ramp that the camchain runs on. It doesn' t just fail becase of mileage but also because of its age. Its a piece of plastic that is now up to 16 years old and who knows how brittle it is? Porsche still don' t have a recommended replacement time so unfortunately it' s all down to speculation or heresay by us owners.
There' s a good picture here and a bit more info:
http://boerger.golden-tech.com/images/cam_chain_tensioner_replacement.htm
I replaced mine soon as I heard of the potential problem at 98k miles when the cars was 10 years old. The garage showed me the old ramp and it had two very minor grooves on it, which they said was very minimal wear. My camchain had stretched less than 2mm, which again was very little, so I probably did not have to do it but I am glad I did for the piece of mind. On other 944 lists I have heard of failures at only 60,000 miles.
In my personal non expert opinion I think it is all to do with how frequently the car has been serviced and how often it is thrashed. Mine has had an oilchange twice a year or 6,000 miles its whole life (accordng to all the receipts) and I think has lived on the motorway to rack up its mileage.
www.jzmachtech.com has a really good website full of online prices.
Paul
wedgepilot
New member
Sorry, I just re-read my last post and I didn' t explain myself at all well [] The camchain and tensioner were replaced as part of the head rebuild, so I was just wondering how long the new tensioner would last. It sounds like the life expectancy is pretty variable, so as it' s now about 8 years old, I' ll have it done at the same time as the next service to be on the safe side.
The JZ Machtech website is very impressive!
Thanks again,
] The camchain and tensioner were replaced as part of the head rebuild, so I was just wondering how long the new tensioner would last. It sounds like the life expectancy is pretty variable, so as it' s now about 8 years old, I' ll have it done at the same time as the next service to be on the safe side.The JZ Machtech website is very impressive!
Thanks again,
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