928 , anyone got one .. or have one with problems ?

[deMort]

I'm the first to admit i know 996 onwards .. i started at Porsche when these were current cars and have had no training on earlier models ..

For the last few years i've seen more and more 928,s circa 1986 onwards with either running or electrical issues from inop a/c to poor idle , misfires etc .

As no one seems to post with faults on these cars .. and to be fair i've not really looked at this section before then i would like to offer what i have found out on these over the years .

If you have one .. if you have issues then please post here or PM me .. these are not my most comfortable car to be giving advise on as i am limited as to what i've seen but i'm happy to answer or try to find out about any issues people may have with these .

 

[Wh1t3Kn1ght]

Afternoon deMort :bye:

Most of the 928 guys lurk on the old fashioned email list :floor:

I started on the old titanic email list myself about 15 years ago until they split off into the tipec and PCGB forums.

https://www.928.org.uk/928uk-list.html

 

[Luddite]

In response to your 928 enquiry Mr DeMort (Iain) The following was typed as part of my long winded intro when I was first accepted as a member of this fine forum

928... a RED one... boy was it one USED Porsche... never till then had I seen a vented disc where the vanes holding the two faces had began to break up due to corrosion causing a distinct thump back through the brake pedal when the brakes were applied, with all the potential for mayhem such a situation had built in..? I also found that a coil on one of the front suspension units had broken the water pump was leaking and a suspension ball joint was shot requiring the arm to be removed which was NOT as simple as it should have been, from a poor memory I had to cant the engine to one side to remove the long through chassis bolts to get the arm off. The water pump was a nightmare of a job, as I think there were fourteen 6mm bolts holding it in place and perhaps at least four of the heads broke off flush with the pump, I ever treat rusted old nuts and bolts with a great deal of respect, regardless, there I was with the pump off and a few mm of four rusty set screws sticking out the front of a very expensive 928 block... I managed to clean the threads and screw on a nut to each of them mig welding the end of the stud to the nut, however no way were they coming out with as much force as I dare put on the 10mm ring spanner... I dug out my gas welding kit and applied heat to the area of the block where the bolt ends entered it.. very CAREFULLY. Anyone who has over heated an alloy casting knows it is there one minute and the next melts without warning... the idea of scrapping a 928 block made me very nervous indeed, all I could think to do was to put as much strain on the spanner as sensible for a 6mm bolt and kiss the block occasionally with the flame until enough heat had been applied that the bolt moved a fraction, and continue that process until I had withdrawn the offending remnants of bolt.... I was at it for ages, though was very glad to have completed that task, as was my friend who owned the 928..(-:

While in the engine bay it was sensible to replace the timing belt at which time I spun the idler wheel... Yup, it was well on the way to being scrap, yet another part to add to the list. For some time this car had become somewhat renown at PCGB events as it occasionally required a push to start it when it`s starter occasionally failed.. During an investigative process that identified the starter solenoid as the culprit I stripped it down un-soldering the connections to remove the plastic cover over the copper disc that acts to switch the huge current through to the electric motor unit of the starter, the disc had two depressions burned in to it where it bridged the contacts during start ups, I just reversed the disc which would present a clean face and at adequate physical pressure in terms of switching across the power supply contact to that of the starter motor windings.... It worked, still does years later, though in truth the car is rarely used these days... I must say I was impressed by the 928 in my book it was a worthy successor to the 911 but the purists determined otherwise... I guess these days I am glad they did as I do appreciate the heritage and obvious continuation of linkage relating to having an engine in the wrong place and engineering everything around it to make it work as well as Porsche have proved it can do, and still does... (-:

Link to original entry should it be of any interest.

http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=13...r=asc&highlight=newby+porsche+history&start=0

 

[MaxA]

I only know two blokes with 928s: one has a car buried in a garage, 'needs some work', will probably never run again. The other guy has a handful, in various states of repair, but most of which are ex racers, a couple still on the road, albeit in Dubai. He's not on the forum, but if you send me a PM, I can put you in touch.

 

[Wh1t3Kn1ght]

Nice story @Luddite - reminds me of the burgundy / red metallic 928 S4 I looked at last year. And they told a cracking joke - they wanted £16k for it and that was as low as they'd go.

I had a good look around it in the garage and the bodywork and interior wasn't bad - few bits of trim and switches needed fixing etc

Took it for a test drive and it felt very tired, hardly any fuel in the tank, if I recall correctly it was on the last tiny bit before the first white line (well within the reserve). Got back to the garage and smoke started coming from the front end, we drove back into the garage and got out to investigate and there was a huge trail of power steering fluid all over the garage floor :floor:

Glad I wasn't clearing that mess up - needless to say I didn't buy it (it was an ebay listing so I guess some mug bought it without having a proper look beforehand).

 

[Luddite]

Pleased that you found something of interest in my 928 involvement WK.

I thought the 928 to be a superb bit of kit, but like many old Porsches they have the potential to break the bank, though in the case of the 928 I suspect no matter how much might be spent in either keeping it roadworthy or restoring it to nearly as new, it is unlikely to ever reflect similar value to that of a tired old 911..? Financially the 911 would seem a better bet given the amount of opportunity to find parts or folk well used to working on them, and the "market" value of 911`s ever seems to have been far more buoyant than that of the 928 for as long as I have been interested in Porsche, regardless of how innovative and practical the design or the materials used in it`s construction, it just was not accepted as a replacement for the 911 thus destined to ever be less well regarded.. :?:

 

[infrasilver]

I have half a 928 engine in mine, I'm not sure if that counts :dont know:

 

[kurlykris]

I saw a cobalt blue-ish colour 928 out in the wilds of Nuneaton today while on my way to see the kids, not seen one on the road for years, it made me smile :grin:

 

[MaxA]

The MD of one of our customer firms had a nice a/c 911, and then traded it in for a 5.0V8 928 (which went like a bat of hell at the time), but I rather suspect he regrets that particular deal nowadays.

Hopefully he hung onto the Bristols - which he never took me out in...

 

[T8]

I saw a cobalt blue-ish colour 928 out in the wilds of Nuneaton today while on my way to see the kids, not seen one on the road for years, it made me smile :grin:

You'd have loved this event then. Over 150 in one place.

http://www.911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=118168&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=928

The 928 was always a big car but the 911 has now caught up with it. A 992 with a good layer of dirt on it is the same length.

 

[easternjets]

I had one many moons ago, 1995 I think and it was a money pit so I hurriedly got rid of it.
Air mass meter was an issue as were the brakes and the electrics. Parts used to be eye wateringly expensive but I'm not sure now.
Never drove particularly well and although it had a high top speed didn't get there all that rapidly.
Had a drink problem worse than Ollie Reed and all in all it was the worst Porsche I've ever owned!
In my mind at the time the 968 was a better car, certainly drove better.

 

[Wh1t3Kn1ght]

I'm still torn between getting a 928 or 968 possibly next year, both cars on my itch to scratch list. I've driven the 928 but not the 968, I'm guessing the 968 probably won't be worlds away from my previous 944S (the one year only model with the 2.5 16v engine). I did enjoy that car as it was very revvy with the twin cams.

But the 928 does look cool and that V8 rumble :grin:

 

[easternjets]

Save your self a load of grief, buy the 968. All the better if you can find a C/S.

The list of problems I had with the 928 was endless! Still think the 968 is a good looking car, doesn't age as much as the 944/924.

Only problem now is finding a good 968 at a reasonable price, they've gone up a lot in the last few years and a lot have massive miles.

 

[deMort]

I had a look at the link .. email based .. possibly a bit too much for me as im still learning on these but have fixed some pretty interesting faults recently hence i was wondering if anyone that reads here has one .

the last one started as me fixing previous " bypasses " shall we say to get the car running ..

Air leaks sorted , 3 injectors replaced , no idle and rough running .. traced to the LH ecu being faulty ( sent away for testing and confirmed as junk ! ) .. replaced and still no idle ..

Turns out an ICV can move freely .. can have the correct resistance .. can work fine when we give it 12 volts .. so in essence pass every test but its still not working .. sigh .

Anyways i digress , i was looking for owners to help and possibly learn from .. hence the post ... trying to learn all cars from 991 - 928 .. it's the older cars i'm currently learning about ... mechanical fuel injection is a blast !!

A 928 .. engine running right and they purr ... the exhaust note is why you would want one .. made me smile on the long road test i had to do ..

To me .. its a big heavy car and it will be a money pit until you get on top of it .. but the sound of it .. hmmm

We have a 968 in atm .. head has corroded in the worst possible place .. trying to see if its salvageable ..

Any old car will have issues .. i would lean towards if you are a Diy guy then either will be a project .. if not then don't .. paying people like me will cost a fortune .

 

[easternjets]

In the time I had the car it was a sod to work on and as I said parts were unique to the car and I could only find gen parts such as handbrake cables etc.
I'm pretty sure mine was a bit of a dud and had been in an accident at some point but I just ended up hating it as there was always something that stopped working.
The 968 on the other hand had a pretty basic 4 pot engine, seemed to be very easy to work on and basic servicing was a breeze, even the cam belt wasn't expensive to replace.
The 968 drove better due to the less weight and I could get nearly 600 miles on a tank of fuel, if you put a 968 and a 928 side by side there's not much to choose between them looks wise.
I'd run a mile from a 928 unless it had bomb proof provenance.