'88 with 200K

no problems no smoke

.

Had a few broken head studs at 108k mi so went ahead with a rebuild as the clutch wasn't long for the farm.

163K for valve guides - burning 1qt / 700 miles, 3x that on track. All internals except rocker arm bushings and Ishaft bearings (and obviously valves & valve guides) were in spec, even the piston rings. The consumables got replaced, alusils & pistons got reused - 13K on them so far.

IMO, they last so long because Porsche didn't skimp on the materials - they appeared to use what they thought was best, and damn the cost. What production car (especially from the 80's!) has dry sump oiling, an 8 bearing crank for a 6 cylinder engine, oil squirters for piston cooling, Alusil / Nikasil cyliders, and measured & matched for weight and size internal parts?

We went through an "official" 150,000 miles today, although I suspect about 5,000 more with a temporary odometer failure on my brother's two year watch. The odometer was fixed back at 146k. No leaks, well less than a quart of oil per 1000 miles. The engine has not yet been rebuilt.

It seems to me that by doing so, I have crossed into a territory populated by long term owners, committed to an eventual rebuild or whatever the car needs down the road. I did get some pics, and I'll post them shortly.

The car ran well, so that it seemed to matter little more than the novelty of the number.

Just had my 87 top end done at 145K. It ran great, but worn valve guide was severely fouling cylinder #1, all the others were dry and compression was good in all cylinders.

All good points. The 80's weren't great for quality but Porsche seem to keep improving.

My '86 Carrera was rebuilt by the PO at 50,000 miles. Supposedly he did euro pistons, cams, cat delete, chip, etc. Car pulls VERY strong! I don't think the car really needed a rebuild though. The PO just put $20K into it for grins and giggles. See he was a fairly big drug dealer with cash that he needed to hide. So he bought lots of toys and spared no expense. Good for me I guess...

Did a top-end overhaul on my '88 Carrera last spring, at 113,200 miles. Engine was running well but using oil (800 miles/quart), smoking blue at extended idling, and mechanical valvetrain noise seemed a little excessive. Exhaust fume blowback into the cabin was "noxious"; running Mobil 1 with no catalytic converter produced the foul-smelling funk.

Heads were overhauled by Anchor Atlantic, consisting of all new valves, guides, stem seals, and 3-angle valve job. Cylinders and pistons were in excellent condition and ring end gap clearances were right in spec. The case was not split as this was deemed unnecessary.

After the rebuild the engine runs stronger than ever, thanks in part to a few modifications performed while down. Clutch was upgraded too. No more hydrocarbons-from-hell-smell in the cabin, no external oil leaks, and oil consumption is now approximately 3000 miles/quart. Total cost was a little over $4,000. I consider it money well spent plus the fun and satisfaction of doing it myself which is of course, priceless.

Durability and longevity of the 911 engine is not only from using good materials, but do to the basic design and configuration. The opposed cylinder layout is inherently strong with through fasteners keeping all major aluminum castings in compression. A crankshaft design with a main bearing between each crankpin, plus generous overlap, yields a very strong component. As exemplified by the engine weight, no skimping of material was done for the sake of mass reduction which would have reduced reliability and durability. This engine is a true masterpiece of sound engineering and expert design, and that contributes greatly to its long service life.

I had the top end of my 87 done at 140K, bad valve guides in cylinder #1 was the culprit. I ended up buying the car a second time because I went ahead and put in Euro P/C's, 964 cams, replaced studs, new clutch, upgraded A/C, new wheel bearings, rebuilt injectors, and on and on. On the plus side, I bought the car in '03 for under $20K with 88K miles, and drove it for 8 years to 145K with nothing more than oil changes and tires. I look upon it as an investment for the next 200K miles.

I am going to redo the interior myself this year, and then with new paint next year, I will have a new car, and it will still be cheaper than making a car payment for the last 10 years.

I have owned six 3.2 liter cars.

Two had the top end done at less than 100K kms (66K miles) because of valve guide wear. Two I sold at about 120K miles without any engine work. Of the other two, one I sold at about 200K miles without any work, and the other I did the top end at about 150K miles.

In other words its a crapshoot. Much depends on the valveguides and the manner in which the car was maintained.

Budget $10K +\-

There are shops that will quote you less, but it always ends up being more.

1987 3.2L rebuilt at 102K miles and 130 days on track. Valve guides needed doing. Changed the original clutch out at the same time!

Dkirk: Just curious, why did you have to replace all the valves? I ask because my situation seems very similar to yours (right down to the exact mileage) and I'm hoping that I can reuse the valves, at least the intake ones.

My 87 had a top end at 122k miles. Now at 145 and running excellent. Burns a quart every 2000-2500 miles. I'm good with that.
I also have an row 80sc with 120k miles that has never been opened and it pulls like a freight train. That motor has lots and lots of miles to go before it should need anything.

Are you serious about that? That is a much lower rate of oil consumption than even the factory claimed. I've never heard of an air cooled 911 that used so little oil (nothing even close) - wow!