Tiptronic: problems?

[hrscrk]

I'm looking at a clean 91 w/Tip. Never owned an auto so that would be a concession to LW.

new engine only has 25k miles on it. tranny is original.

what kinds of questions should i be asking; or, problems to anticipate.

as always, this non technical person really appreciates your insight.

you saved me from buying a '99 96 and a lot of headaches.

[Justin@Athens]

I have owned 3, and never had a problem with it. Very robust system. Considered a 964 tiptronic before buying my manual '90 model. It has its virtues--its most notable flaw is that its only a 4 speed gearbox, and automatically starts the car in second. It is a ZF unit, so if you want to change the fluid I would be particular with what you get. Auto transmissions are very fluid specific. However, at 25k miles, its probably ok to let it run as is. As far as I know, ATF fluid is non hygroscopic and should hold up well in a sealed environment.

[porsche964guy]

I have a '90 964 Cab w/ a Tip. I have close to 200k on two different power-plants hitched to the the same Tip. I drive it hard and the trans has never failed me. The only couple of problem related to the trans is one time I parked to close to a parking stop and poked a hole in the cooling lines in front behind the front bumper that is routed to the cooler. Made a big mess but changed the line and filled up the ATF (dextron) again and been driving on it for another 50k. One other time the rubber hose connector end on the trans side of the cooling line split and dumped fluid allover the heat exchangers and started fire. Lucky for me there were a couple of LAFD guys just in front of me that helped. Needles to say I carry a Fire Extinguisher now. I been driving standards for most of my cars but I still love my Tip especially in LA.

[Blackie911]

Biggest problem will likely occur whenever you try and sell a 911 with tip...

[Justin@Athens]

Originally Posted by Blackie911

Biggest problem will likely occur whenever you try and sell a 911 with tip...

But the lower initial investment cost should offset this....

[Tippy]

I ran Dexron in my 996 Tip (did not match cross reference) and it shifted and felt better than the Redline that was a match for the factory fill cross reference spec.