Will a PPI identify is these upgrades are complete?

[mansueti]

Came across a '92 964 cab with no records to speak of. It is currently at a dealer and I am interested in potentially purshasing this car. The dealer says there are no oil leaks and his mechanics says the car checks out. I am not going to take their word for it ( yes, I have read all dealers are not to be trusted) & would have a PPI done before purchase.

My questions is: can a qualified Porsche mechanic tell if the following upgrades have been done on this car via a PPI without having to jump thru too many hoops:

1) Has the Dual Mass Flywheel issue been addressed with the installation of the upgraded flywheel?

2) Has the dual distirbutor issue been addressed? Can this be done by just visual inspection?

3) Has the cylinder head issue been taken care of? I understand Porsche actually took care of this issue on some cars. Can a qualified mechanic easily tell (without having to rip things apart) if this has been corrected?

I understand these are issue that may crop up on '89 - '92 911s. I just want to know what potential issues I may be in for if these have not been taken care of.

Any advice would be appreciated......

[Don Plumley]

The cylinder head issue is solved in 92+ 964's. If there's a cross-over date on the cylinder head gasket, You can verify this with the VIN and produduction date.

The DMF also solved after 92. If the flywheel is upgraded (Light Weight), that's just a plus. You could tell if it has a light weight flywheel by comparing throttle response to other 964's, and an experienced Porsche wrench should be able to tell.

Same with the distributor vent tube - and you can see this visually looking at the engine.

[mansueti]

So if I can get the VIN, what reference do I compare it to? I have Adrian Streather book "Enthusiast's Companion" for the 964. (I maybe should have checked in there 1st?) Does that book list the details I need? If not, do I call Porsche? Sorry for being clueless in where to check? This is still new to me........

[Don Plumley]

www.porsche964.co.uk is a great reference. Here's a link to their vin analysis.

Quote from Bruce Anderson (from this website):

"There have been a few problems with the 964 engines that are worth mentioning. One is a cylinder head leakage problem on some of the earlier cars. The cars built in 1989 (K), 1990 (L), and 1991 (M) had the engines that are susceptible to a cylinder head to cylinder leaking problem. The early cars were those built up to 62 M 06836, M64.01 for the manual transmission cars and 62 M 52757, M64.02 for the Tiptronic cars. During the model year 1991 Porsche fitted their 964 engines with a modified cylinder and cylinder head gasket or seal. The original 964 engines did not have a head gasket and there has been some oil leakage at the joint between the head and the cylinder. The way that the original heads and cylinders were machined there was a small gap left out at the edge where the head studs were. Distortion of the heads caused by the head tourquing from the head studs was believed to be the source of this leak."

So a MY92 car is okay from the original cylinder head leak problem - though a thorough PPI should evaluate the engine for any leaks.

[craig001]

I think with a 1992 model year you've missed all the issues you mention. The distributor vent is real easy to spot, just look for hose coming off the hot air tube and going to the first distributor. Head over to the Rennlist 964 forum (Aircooled section) and surf around.

[mansueti]

Ok folks…..I got some additional details from the dealer on this car, all from the ID sticker under the front hood. The VIN is WPOCB2961NS460662, the production date is 12/91, the paint code is L39A and the engine type-code is M6401-62N.

The 10th digit if the VIN is and N that indicates a 1992 car. This VIN is also in the range for 1992 cars as listed in Adrian Streather’s 964 Enthusiast Companion for a 1992 USA C2 cab.

The color Code L39A is for a special order paint: Amazon Green Pearl Effect (water based).

The engine code of 62N is the right engine code for the ‘92s.

The only thing the dealer could not give me was the engine serial number because he could not find it. I tried to walk him thru it but to no avail.

So, to ensure the engine in this car is one that had both the head gasket issue and the flywheel issue dealt with at the factory from day one, I need to make sure the engine serial number starts with 62N.

IS this correct???

Before purchase, I WILL have a PPI done to verify things are A OK.

Another questions: The car has some paint imperfections. Are these special order paints on Porsches hard to match by a “good” body/paint shop who works with high end cars?

Feedback would be appreciated……

[Lmiller]

I purchased a 1995, 993 with 155,000 just a couple of weeks ago. The one previous owner traded the car in for a new one at the same dealer. The dealer painted the car, inspected the car and put on new rear brakes and fixed some other minor issues.

Compression test was acceptable, not outstanding. The car uses about a 1qt of oil every 800 miles but no smoke...I figure a top end and new front brakes and some other stuff would need to go into the car eventually.

I paid $22K. No service records, no PPI. I got a price that I thought I could put money into the car and it would still be a good deal. The service book was stamped and the car was in very good shape, plus one owner so you could tell it was well taken care of. It took me over a year, walking away for a couple of deals for this one to show up, I am glad I waited. Trust your gut..not your heart.

Do some research and find out the wholesale value on the car. Use that as a starting point. You know the dealer has to make a buck. I would not pay much over $5K over wholesale on the high side from a dealer. The dealer will not have paid much more than wholesale for the car anyway. If he did he gave too much for it and you need to walk away from it.

If the car has had several owners then risk of poor maintenance increases greatly. And for me miles is not an issue, in fact the higher the miles the better price you can get and its likely that the big stuff has been fixed. These cars are built to run, not sit in a garage and develop leaks. My car does not drip fluid, anywhere, any kind.

Sorry I can’t help with your other questions but thought my experience was somewhat relevant. Good luck.

And I am not looking to talk you out of a PPI! The location of this car was away from a local independant or else I would have.

Here is my car…