Meeting with the mechanic of my 911's last several owners. What Qs to ask?
 

Hi everyone. I've posted a few times since I bought my 81 911 SC a couple months ago (loving it). The car has had 4 owners, including me. The car didn't come with service records, but the same mechanic/garage has been servicing the car for all the previous owners. I'm meeting with the mechanic this week to discuss what work the car needs. I'd put those into three categories: must do now, must do at some point, like to do (whenever). As far as I know, the car is 100% original and hasn't had any major work. The car runs and drives great. I've put 1,000+ miles on it and have no complaints. The car has 120K miles on it.

Known issues:

Discrepancy with 5th cylinder (I don't know what that means, exactly, but one of the previous owner's mentioned it. "Nothing catastrophic," he said. "Maybe just a puff of smoke every now and then").

There's an oil plumbing issue on the passenger rocker area (there's a slow drip--nothing major).

Need new suspension at some point, but it rides fine.

Sun roof needs new cables.


I know the mechanic wants to do a tear down now. I don't know his reasoning yet. One of the previous owners said he thought I could wait as long as I wanted, perhaps a decade or more.

What questions would you ask the mechanic if you were in my position?

One thing I should mention is that I have zero mechanical experience, but I would like to learn and do work on the car myself. Obviously that means taking on jobs I'm capable of. But that's another topic. Just something for you to consider.

Thank you for any and all responses.

I’m guessing #5 is a broken case stud.

Hopefully the oil leak isn’t a crushed cooler line.

Thanks, Matt.

I’d want to know how old consumables like fuel and brake lines are etc, ditto for engine and transmission oil. Basic yes but always good to get a car on a schedule to stay on top of it.

Leakdown will tell you if anything serious is going on with #5.

new to you 911
 

I would step back a bit. With no service records, I would spend the money for a pro to give the car a good Pre Purchase Inspection and pay him for the time to go through the list of recommendations, costs and prioritize the list.

You don't want to be driving around with a torn CV boot, metal to metal brakes, loose bearings, or low gear box oil - just to name a few.

The discrepancy on #5 might be low compression, which needs to be understood.

With a good overview of the car's condition and a prioritized list, you can step into the joys of porsche wrenching.

Get a service manual for the car and Waynes projects book to become familiar with the terminology and "projects".

Use the search function, or "Google" your question, with Pelican in the search bar.

Don't be hesitant to post a question. Every day, I see "NOOB" questions. There are many very knowledgeable and helpful folks on these forums that will take their time to help you understand a specification or walk you through a process.

Cheers,
chris

I would also ask the mechanic if their shop has the records.

Agree with @chrismorse post and in addition suggest you try someone else other than the mechanic who has been servicing it just to get an unbiased independent PPI opinion. You do not say where you located as many on here could likely recommend someone close to you.

Basic things need to be checked, valve clearance being one, and the famous Delvar studs, compression check in addition the the leak down, fresh oil as a baseline and a really good look at the oil drain plug. With that compression check you get the opportunity to "read" the spark plugs that tell a good story. With no history my first step with the oil change would be to change the oil tank return line. Should that line ever let go you loose all your oil immediately and your engine, cheap insurance and often overlooked.

Through this thread you are developing a good list. Great you want to learn and second the suggestion to get Wayne's 101 projects, can't go wrong.

Best of luck

Pics of the leaking area and cylinder #5 which is in the vicinity of the "passenger rocker area" if I read your post correctly will help elicit more specific advice.

For example, maybe it's the valve cover, that's an easy DIY.