When do things usually need replacing on 997T?

[Grant Tuscan]

I'm currently looking for an early 997T and I wanted to get an idea of at what mileages items are likely to need replacing. For example the front three rads commonly corrode and need replacing, and the bushes in the front suspension go, and obviously Brake Discs, Clutch. I appreciate brakes and clutches will vary depending on how hard the car is used to a certain extent.

But it would be useful to get a spread of peoples' experiences. To perhaps be able to avoid buying a car that is soon to be due some expensive replacement parts.

[s3nick]

Radiators is probably number 1 on the list. Coils and sparks. Water pumps and clutch slaves. Not much else other than what you mentioned. Possibly the TPMS sensors as the batteries eventually die in them.

P.S. also be aware of the coolant connections giving way eventually.

Edited by s3nick on Tuesday 16th September 21:43

[Rockster]

Grant Tuscan said:

I'm currently looking for an early 997T and I wanted to get an idea of at what mileages items are likely to need replacing. For example the front three rads commonly corrode and need replacing, and the bushes in the front suspension go, and obviously Brake Discs, Clutch. I appreciate brakes and clutches will vary depending on how hard the car is used to a certain extent.

But it would be useful to get a spread of peoples' experiences. To perhaps be able to avoid buying a car that is soon to be due some expensive replacement parts.

One can't go by mileage alone when deciding these and other items need replacing.

I have 2 Porsches and together they have covered 410K miles and have never had to replace a radiator for corrosion. (One each in each car was replaced due to collision damage though. But one each in each car is original.)

I have not had to do any suspension or drive train refreshing other than for the Boxster a while back the CV boots cracked and the tech cleaned and repacked the CV joints of the half shafts and fitted new CV boots and put the car back on the road. Oh, check that. I had to replace the front swap bar links. The dust boots finally gave out but the links were still tight but would not have remained that way exposed to dirt.

I've also never worn out a Porsche clutch. The one in the Boxster has 285K miles. The one in the Turbo (with now 125K miles) was exposed a while back when the tranny was out for an RMS job and the clutch disc was like new. I measured the disc thickness and there was no measurable wear. The rest of the clutch hardware was equally like new.

Just had the front brakes of the Turbo done. The original ones lasted around 120K miles. The rears appear they'll last another 120K miles easy. I've done the brakes in the Boxster several times but I do not recall the miles. Brake life is good though, that I'm sure of.

All you can do is give the car a thorough check out. A test ride followed by a test drive that gives you a chance to experience the car -- twice -- as you intend to use it is very important. After this test ride/drive then you'll know if the clutch is acting up.

You can check brake condition and wear easy enough.

You can peer into the radiator ducts using a bright flashlight and if you see loads of trash just assume the ducts have never been cleaned and adjust your offer to cover new radiators, and possibly new A/C condensers are well, as these are actually what you see when you look in from the front.

While you are thinking about it check the body water drains. If the front radiator ducts are loaded with trash the odds are the body drains are too, maybe to the point water has backed up and overflowed into the cabin. Even if the cabin is dry now check for signs of water having been in the cabin before.

After your test ride and drive you give the car a thorough used car check out. At this time you can check the brake condition and wear, among other things.

Later when the car is in for a PPI this is the time the car is checked from underneath for any signs of issues. For instance this is the time the water pump is checked for leak sign, the CV boots checked, and all hoses, lines, and fitting, seals, and gaskets are checked for any leaks. Leaks are looked for from the very front of the car -- around the brakes, radiator hoses, A/C lines, steering lines and rack -- all the way back to where these lines and others enter the engine bay.

The PPI will also arrive at an opinion of the condition of the coils and the hoses, hose fittings, exhaust system hardware.

About exhaust hardware: In some regions this hardware develops horrific corrosion damage which means that almost any service work that requires the exhaust to come off will entail extra cost as the labor to deal with nasty old exhaust hardware goes up and before it can be installed again some hardware will have to be renewed/replaced.

If any non-deal killer issues are found if you still like and want the car you adjust your offer downwards to mitigate the cost of putting this issues right after you buy the car. However, you want though to have a pretty good idea of the cost so you do not under estimate what it would cost.

[Grant Tuscan]

Thank you Rockster. Pretty amazing mileages out of those consumable items.

[abby030976]

My Boxster clutch went on 45k , my 911 clutch went on 45k. Both cars used round town a lot.

Brake discs lasted until 80k (I'm light on them).

[mm450exc]

The turbo has a few bits that will fail. Here is what I had done on my old 997 turbo...

1) Clutch Slave
2) All front rads
3) Front coolant pipe
4) Front diff leak
5) 1x Turbo replacement
6) AC condenser

Good to run warranty on on a turbo.

[IMI A]

The turbo has a few bits that will fail. 68,000 miles to date.

1) Clutch Slave
2) All front rads
3) Front coolant pipe
4) Engine coolant pipe
5) Turbo actuator rod
6) New engine

Good to run warranty on on a turbo! I estimate warranty work on mine to be approaching £20k excluding new engine. New engine was circa £30k I think.

[Carl_Docklands]

IMI A said:

The turbo has a few bits that will fail. 68,000 miles to date.

1) Clutch Slave
2) All front rads
3) Front coolant pipe
4) Engine coolant pipe
5) Turbo actuator rod
6) New engine

Good to run warranty on on a turbo! I estimate warranty work on mine to be approaching £20k excluding new engine. New engine was circa £30k I think.

Gen 1 or 2 mate ?

[Grant Tuscan]

I think you are both right about the warranty... The extra horse power of a tuned car would be nice but having a warranty gives a 'degree' reassurance that if something big goes there's a fair chance of it being covered.

[s3nick]

I have had my car for 5 years and 4 of those years it had the stock engine with some performance mods added. I think the warranty is a waste of money. The money I spent on repairs is probably less than what the warranty costs over the 4 years.

IMI probably is the only 997 turbo engine I have heard of blowing apart from someone else I know for having a dodgy remap.

Edited by s3nick on Sunday 28th September 22:19