951

[Spike]

I have started to research buying a 951. I did some searches of this forum, but did not find what I was looking for. Here are my questions:

From what I have found so far these seem to be the things that need maintenance or replacement. In your opinon, what is the likely hood of each and how much is the repair.

Timing Belt
Motor Mounts
Clutch
Suspension(ball joints..)
Air Condition
CV
Anything else?
Also, does doing this maintenance/repair add to the value of the car.

Is the 88 Turbo S something to go after?

Are the post 1988 better than the pre1988 turbos.

Thanks in advance
Bill

[Dave951]

Spike-
I have an 86 951.

timing belt-
I did my own timing belt(rented the tensioner from pelican for $50), really easy if you are fairly good at working on a car, but my mechanic quotes about 2hours for this job, parts are cheap($20 for belt). It might need new sprockets which will increase the cost signicantly.

motor mounts-
I have no experience with these, but from reading the proceedure, it sounds like a DIY if you have a good place to work on it and tools.

Clutch-
about $500-800 parts(disk,plate, and bearing +others). Labor will kill you on this. especially if the car was not ever converted to an updated crossover exhaust(dealers did this for free, but yours might not have been taken in). The updated version has accordion-looking parts right off the engine.

I know nothing on suspension repairs

you can pick up new axles for less than $200 a piece(comes with joints) or get yours rebuilt(~$100-$150/axle)


Definitely a car that has documented maintenence is worth more. Documentation provides you a way to guess on likeliness of these problems. However, an absence of documents can be used to negotiate the price WAY down. I got my car for $4800 that way, but I knew much more than the guy selling it and took a full day with it in my shop checking it out. After <$2000 more, it is in pristine condition(including new leather seats). That's still less the blue book by more than a $1000.

88 951S is a cool car, especially with M030 susp.

Post 88 951 is better than pre88. starting in 89, the 951 was the same as previous Turbo S.

Hope all of this helps.


-Dave

[This message has been edited by Dave951 (edited 08-20-2000).]

[Dave951]

Spike-
I have an 86 951.
read below, i screwed up

whoops, read above, i screwed up again.


[This message has been edited by Dave951 (edited 08-20-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Dave951 (edited 08-20-2000).]

[Spike]

Thanks for the info Dave.

[hoff944]

A clutch job will set you back $1,200. Thats the going rate for 944 clutch jobs.

[Pilot_951S]

Front wheel bearings are prone to wear, as well as all the other items mentioned. They are not too expensive though, about $200 toal to have someone else do it.

IMO the only benefit to the 88' Turbo S or 89 Turbo is the adjustable suspension and the brakes, which can of course be added to the earlier cars. Suspension is easy the brakes require Turbo S steering knuckles and spindles.

Regular Turbos spool up faster than S models but S models go faster.

If I were to do it again I'd buy another S2 and tweak the snot out of it.