Help! New to me 1991 944 Turbo - best / preferred brands for service parts been sitting a while!

[DC911SC]

Hi folks, I've just got a 1991 turbo.

Its been sitting quite a while (several years) with a few electrical probs, but is in pretty good nick!

I am putting together a service list to get an order in, I've had 2 NA's before but never a turbo and want to make sure I'm using not only the best but correct parts as I've read a few horror stories.

This is my list, looking for feedback on whether its the right gear or not!

Spark plugs - NGK BPR7ES - use preset gap?
Oil filter / Air Filter / Air Filter all Knecht supplied from CP4L (but are Mann v Mahle v Bosch v Knecht v Hengst which is best??)
Battery - Bosch S3 100 70ah
All belts Timing / Balance / PAS / Alt - All Contitech - is Gates better? (pulleys mainly Febi etc)
Gear box oil? no idea
Coolant - looks like VW red or purple phosphate free?

Missed anything I should change?

Oil I'm not sure what to use read so many threads about ZDDP levels (needing to be over 1500ppm?) a lot of the reading material is American what Brand is best here in the uk - 15w40 rated it looks? I think I'll probably only run the oil for a short period of time and drop it to get everything clean.

So this is all bearing in mind it hasn't ran in a long time. Will drop the fuel and clean the tank filter sort the electrical problems, then flush the cooling system.

 

[dunc]

Sorry can't help with your questions (I have found Mann filters to be fine on other vehicles though) but the responses will be very helpful for me also, needing to do the lot on mine.

So far I've only fitted the NGK's and used std gap, gas struts, DME relay, battery (just used a small cheap Bosch) and refurbed a pair of calipers. There's a very good chance that your calipers will need refurbed also.

Dunc.

 

[DC911SC]

Cheers Dunc, how was refurbing the calipers - did you use a rebuild kit, if so where did you get it? The disks are pretty new but have rurface rust, will try and get them skimmed if anyone does that still.

 

[924nutter]

Porche Centres have a disc (with a c not a k as that is one of those floppy things) skimming attachment that allows the discs to be skimmed on the vehicle. Plate lift is a phenomenum on turbo four pot calipers and refers to the stainless steel lining plates that are forced away from the caliper body by corrosion that gets into the alloy of the caliper and in severe cases can prevent new pads from being fitted into the caliper. Not a difficult thing to rectify if you have the necessary equipment. Some people weld an allen key in to the stupidly small socket on the reatining bolt. One 928 guy split the calipers in to its two halves, my local indie heats the caliper up with a hot air gun presumably then gives the button head an oblique blow with a hammer and cold chisel. It is childs play to reseal the calipers and replace the pistons if necessary.

 

[T3rra]

Oil, Iv been using mobile extended life 10/60 6000 mile changes. Found 10 ltr seems 2 be about right. 6 in the engine 4 left 2 cover the usage via the turbo e.c.t

 

[nicksonmsport]

if u have caliper issues, i have 2 sets of refurbished medium calipers available.

 

[DC911SC]

thanks folks

 

[ChasR]

ORIGINAL: strath44
Spark plugs - NGK BPR7ES - use preset gap? That's fine

Oil filter / Air Filter / Air Filter all Knecht supplied from CP4L (but are Mann v Mahle v Bosch v Knecht v Hengst which is best??) Debateable as to which is best. I prefer the Porsche/Mahle Knecht items, but you should be OK with the mentioned items

Battery - Bosch S3 100 70ahNo real issue

All belts Timing / Balance / PAS / Alt - All Contitech - is Gates better? (pulleys mainly Febi etc)ContiTech is called the OE supplier of belts but two specialists near me questioned this. Both of them were not happy with using the Contitech timing belt (saying they have seen them slip and stretch in some cases (one called them crap, another believed it was down to the round teeth) but were happy using a Dayco belt. The balance belt the latter specialist was happy using either a Contitech or Dayco item.

Gear box oil? no ideaA can of worms. I say go with a good oil that adheres to the manufacturer's specifications, others swear by Swepco. If your car has an LSD it is advisable not to use gear oil that conforms to the GL5 standard but GL4 instead

Coolant - looks like VW red or purple phosphate free?This should be OK on one proviso. A 944's heater matrix is copper, with the tanks soldered on. OAT (which tends to be purple or read) is said to attack the solder on copper rads, although this evidence is not set in stone (a number of manufacturers (well, Evans) reckon it is only the older pre-war copper rads which suffer from this issue

Missed anything I should change? I'd change the fuel filter whilst you are at it, assuming the connections come off easily

Oil I'm not sure what to use read so many threads about ZDDP levels (needing to be over 1500ppm?) a lot of the reading material is American what Brand is best here in the uk - 15w40 rated it looks? I think I'll probably only run the oil for a short period of time and drop it to get everything clean.

In other classic scenes ZDDP is considered to be quite beneficial for the older engines especially cars with flat tappets. One specialist recommend me to use Valvoline VR1 10W60 (I use their 20W50 version in the Stag with no issues (if anything the hot oil pressure is more stable with VR1 over other 20W50 oils!)) although my car runs fine on Mobil 1 10W60

So this is all bearing in mind it hasn't ran in a long time. Will drop the fuel and clean the tank filter sort the electrical problems, then flush the cooling system.

Oh, and welcome to the club .

 

[Paul 290T]

I went from Castrol Syntrax 75W90, which is the correct oil for the gearbox, according to Castrols helpline, to Swepco.

When the Swepco is cold the gear changes are heavier than on the Castrol, but once you've covered say 4 miles, the Swepco has warrmed up and i find the changed better than when i ran on Castrol.

 

[dunc]

Hi Strath, it was the plate lift issues I had on mine as 944nutter describes - rest of the caliper was fine but plates needed removed and caliper cleaned.

Rgds,

Dunc.

 

[DC911SC]

thanks found some good caliper rebuild write ups dealing with the plate lift.

think i'll try Valvoline 20w50

 

[Veerzigzag]

Oh, and welcome to the club .

Interesting to see someone who is not in the club (PCGB) welcoming someone else who is not a club member either.
Come on guys, time to join PCGB!

 

[944 man]

Rather than start a new thread, I will ask here: does anyone know the difference between the oil filters 944 107 201 03 and 944 201 107 08 other than the price, which doubles?

 

[Veerzigzag]

oil filters

Drifting off-thread, I always use K&N filters - they work perfectly well and have a 25mm nut on the end so are a LOT easier to change than standard ones..

 

[DC911SC]

sorry Simon had a look everywhere cant see anything which are you using?

I've been looking a batteries is the Bosch S4 075 which is 60ah going to struggle what are others using?

 

[ChasR]

An S5 would give bit more kick, but so far my S4 of 075 has been OK. I left the car for a month once and it still started fine .

 

[DC911SC]

bit of an update:

got a Bosch S3 70ah from euro parts - original porsche battery said 70ah on it as well.
Also got a new dme and although i ordered an aftermarket seem to have been given a original which is a bonus.
Went for Beru spark plugs as getting the Ngk was a pain and the orig a beru so if it works why change. Air filter Mahle, oil orig porsche and fuel filter Hengst.
Annoyingly the 2 sump plug washers were not packed, orig looked good so reused hopefully it will be ok!?
After a lot of research went for Comma G48 antifreeze - used commas car checker and few other peoples recommendations. I would prefer vw purple and a nice new expansion tank but a lot of info on not mixing so wont go down that route.
Still not commiting to an oil!