Things to do to make your 911 reliable

[jrwilson]

So the engine in my '78 has been rebuilt but the rest of the car has 158,000 miles on it. I'm looking for a list of things I need to address to make sure I'm not stranded at the side of the road - anything specific to these cars in particular?

[HarryD]

May sound like I am a grumpy old guy, but:

Leave it stock.
Fix what is broken.
Do routine maintenance.
Use quality parts.
Drive it regularly.

I have a 1973.5 with 178,000 miles. I have zero reliability issues. We Autocross, do HPDE, club tours, get groceries etc.

[jrwilson]

I'm just wondering if there's any specific issues I should think about for these cars, in particular, that tends to be an issue.

[fanaudical]

They are remarkably well-built and Porsche used quality parts when they put them together.

For the most part, I think Harry is spot-on with his advice. Do all the maintenance at regular intervals. Inspect for worn parts and replace/repair as needed.

There are a couple things I'd like to add for peace of mind:

RUBBER - Rubber hoses / lines / bushings deteriorate with age and there's nothing you can do about it. Things to check / replace if you're concerned:

- Rubber fuel lines
- Vacuum and oil vapor hoses
- Flexible brake lines (easy to do when you do the fluid replacement as part of maintenance)

ELECTRICAL - Corrosion of conductors and insulation wear are not your friends. Things I would inspect/correct:

- All ground connections
- Battery cable connections
- All the points where the big positive battery cable to the starter goes through the body
- Have you installed a fuse for the dash lights yet?
- Have you installed a headlight relay kit to get the big current off the dimmer switch in the turn signal stalk?

SHIFT COUPLER / BUSHINGS - Worth a look if shifting is sloppy.

It's easy to get caught up in the quest for perfection on these cars. Fortunately, they run well when not perfect...

[jrwilson]

Perfect, exactly what I'm looking for! Thanks.

[Fab64]

You may want to inspect your CV joints. The tech said mine are pretty hard and dry, so I plan to service or replace them soon.

He also said my front wheel bearings need to be serviced/repacked.

In my case ('84 Carrera with 50,800 miles), these are likely a function of age rather than mileage(?),

[Swordfish II]

For me it was EFI since I was constantly chasing CIS issues.

[Bill Douglas]

I think drive it a lot. this tends to make them more reliable. I find if I leave my SC parked for too long (number of weeks) the brake callipers seize up.

And like Harry says "Keep it stock." Adding aftermarket bits reminds me of a term from my computer tech days - adding points of failure.

[Robey5]

From my perspective, I am going to have to agree with HarryD; keep stuff stock, no need to put a weak link in the mix. …I will say this with a caveat: I (personally) am not a huge fan of the electrical system in these cars, because I do not love the old fuses and, also I am not a fan of the rubber fuel lines used. These are areas that can pretty easily be addressed as you keep up with ‘routine’ maintenance. I’ve also noticed that when I drive my cars more regularly they tend to be easier to wake up from their respective slumbers.

[Ian Comerford]

Fit a Classicretrofit fuse panel and replace your master cylinder. I renewed my master cylinder this year figuring that 43 years and 180k miles was enough and when they go, they go, you have no choice in when your brakes fail……

[dannobee]

+1 on the master cylinder (and the little hoses that sometimes seep/leak). But more important, check the bushings on the pedal cluster, along with the clevis pins and bushings for wear. And at the rear, inspect the clutch cable and parts for wear. I've seen the clutch pedal pin break before and leave the customer stranded as the pedal just flops around.

[RSTarga]

Starter motors are also prone to failure as they age.

[GH85Carrera]

Drive it, and fix what is wearing out or breaking.

Like the list above, electrical connections are something to clean and double check. Add the fuses to the places that Porsche should have. Instrument lights are one of the most egregious failures to fuse. The front AC condenser blower is a major one as well if you have one. The footwell blowers need a fuse as well.

I bought my 85 Carrera back in 1995. Over the decades I have done all the projects, replaced the suspension bushing with new rubber bushings, all the electrical issues addresses. I upgrade the AC with a full Griffith's system and my AC blows ice cubes. Transmission rebuilt, engine rebuilt, shifter bushings, wheel bearings, refurbished brake calipers. My master cylinder is still stock OEM, but I replace the brake fluid every single spring without fail so I don't worry about it.

I did replace the brake light switches when the brake light took a lot of pressure to activate. And I replaced the bulbs with a LED board that is BRIGHT. I like having very bright brake lights.

If something is worn, I fix it. My wife commented a few years ago I was not spending time in the garage on the 911. I told her pretty much all the projects are done to it. Now I just do routine maintenance, and drive. I have visited 41 states and Canada and my goal is to his all the lower 48 states. I have done many 12 hour drive in a day, three trips to California, Key West, northern Maine, and we visited Gettysburg, PA this summer.

I have 186,000 miles and will not hesitate to drive it anywhere where there is no snow or ice. I have summer performance tires, and they don't like snow and ice, and I don't much care for it either.

[proporsche]

as Glen said do not overthink this..my 911 has by now many many miles ..i have taken the other 911 in my live across the US of A ..never worried about stuff at all..never mind flat tire in Arizona....
going to east..PA from LA...my 85 now has this..and still ticking