993 questions/problems.....
 

Here is a scary number Guys and Gals. I am now in my - Gasp!:rolleyes: Choke! - 40th year of driving - fixing - restoring - painting - and having a damn great time with my 911s and a 930. More 911s/more tools is a really good thing.....

With that said, the 'newest' 911 I have played with has been a '88 Cab. I am looking at another car perhaps- one of them new/fancy contraptions - a '97 993.

Can someone please point me in the right search direction to read about the problems these 993s might have, fixes, etc? I don't want to waste the Forums time on stuff that has been discussed before- I just don't know what to search for.

Many thanks-

Tim

First things first...get a PPI including a leakdown test. Valve guides can wear quickly on some cars requiring a top end rebuild. Oil consumption is another indicator but its hard to get that info. The shocks/struts typically don't last more than 30-50k so upgraded suspension is a nice mod to have as well as lowering from SUV height. There is lots of info on this topic on Rennlist. They are great cars and a pretty good bang for the buck considering the price of early 911s and 356s these days!

Hate to say it here, but the Rennlist 993 forum is great.

Secondary air system can be problematic (blockage) and the power steering racks tend to fail early.

There are a lot of upgrades you can do to make a 993 really rock.

Still miss mine!

It is a worthwhile exercise to figure out what upgrades/mods you like as they obviously much cheaper when the PO pays for them :) I would include: wheels, suspension (bilstein etc.), sport seats, lightweight flywheel, chip, stereo, exhaust, HIDs plus many others. I have a '95 so the check engine light (CEL) isn't a problem but can be on the 96-98 models.

basically it comes down to your predilections and where you live
predilections
do you like to modify to make a car yours rather than factory original?
do you like to do most of your own work?

If you answered yes to either of the above a '95 non vram, OBD1 is much easier to deal w/

Where you live
Do you live in Ca or other state w/ strict emissions inspections?
Again if you answered yes, a '95 is a choice that will be easier to live w/. The OBD2 cars can be finicky

Basically for US buyers of 993 it comes down to turbo or n/a
All the turbos are pretty much the same so if that's what you want look for one in the best condition.

for n/a it comes down to 3 categories, '95 OBD1 cars, '96 OBD2 vram w/ a unique DME that's tough to modify, '97-98 OBD2 vram w/ a DME that's a little easier to work on but still not as easy as the '95s.

There are basically 2 different coupe body styles n/b and w/b(turbo body), also available is cab and targa both in n/b, there are a few w/b Speedsters around too, but these are extremely rare

They have basically the same stock suspensions that few keep for long there is a long list of options, to sort through, most are appearance items, the only real performance option is M220 which is 4 channel ABS/LSD/ABD

If you are shopping RoW cars then you have much better choices

Thanks for the info folks- I will check out the 993 forums on Rennlist.....

Living in the mountains and boonies of rural eastern Arizona- this place is a modifiers dream- absolutely no emissions/tampering inspections up here at all..... The only two
counties in Az that have inspections are the ones containing Tucson and Phoenix.

I know the early, and the few, '89 3.2L/G50 Carreras are the last 911s us shade tree guys can easily work on .... the 964s, and then the 993s start to get heavier and heavier into computer controls... The 993s certainly look great, especially the w/b Turbo look IMHO.

I will certainly do a lot of research before jumping into the 993 pool. If anybody else has more input, I am very thankful.

Tim
911s: 1973-2013

I posted a similar question over in the 993/964 forum w/in the last couple of days and a I took away a few points from that.

1) Porsche 993 The Essential Companion, the book, available from our sponsor, was highly recommended (I just ordered it ($20)).
2) Rennlist has a more active 993 crowd,
3) Bill V seems to be one of the most knowledgeable contributors on the 993 forum and his comments above reflect what I have learned from that forum

I don't have my notes in front of me but there was also a suspension and increased hp change with the 96 forward cars. I will post my notes on that which I derived from the 993/996 forum later this morning.

Very early 993s produced thru Jan 25 1994 chassis # 996SS320073 used what is called production version 1 suspension, all cars built after tha have production version 2 suspension.

All v2 993 use the same suspension components, there was an M030 option w/ stiffer springs and thicker sway bars and in RoW versions lowered ride height and an M033 Row option w/ soft springs but lowered ride height
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1362534184.gif

I believe that all of this, and more, can be found here

As others have stated, there is a lot of great 993 info over on Rennlist.....with a large percentage of it coming from Bill Verburg! Trust brother Bill!!!