Displaying items by tag: clubsport

 

 

 

 

 

Your 924, 944 or 968 is in the best of hands at JMG Porsche, where even with servicing we go beyond the factory schedule.

The factory schedule for many models called for a service every two years, which was fine when the car was new and to make the car last beyond the factory warranty without issue. However we strongly recommend that all models are serviced annually, alternating between a minor and a major service each year. Click here and read our article for more information. 


Here is a breakdown of our servicing.


 

Service interval - We strongly advise that all Porsche cars are serviced every year, with a major service every two years.

The service schedule can be confusing with some service items needing to be performed every X amount of years, with other items being specified every Y amount of miles.

At JMG Porsche we have built a database for each model car, where every two years of age for your car, has listed the major service it requires in that year, which combined with every year in between major services the car having an annual service.

This means that for your model of Porsche, we can provide you with a plain price list for servicing, no matter what year your car was made, which makes it easy to see what service items are due and what the total cost will be.

To get a copy of the current service guide and price list for your Porsche, just email us to have your copy emailed to you in PDF format.

Eventually we plan on making it possible to register to the website and be able to download the latest version of this price list - Watch this space!

 

Interesting service and repair information for the Porsche 924, 944 and 968 models.

Engine failures - Not as common as you would expect, we at JMG Porsche have never had to replace one of these engines due to wear, however we have had to replace many due to insufficient servicing and maintenance, but there are still worthwhile ways of avoiding unexpected large engine rebuild costs. One of which is proper servicing by a real Porsche specialist, which may not need cost as much as you think. There are also some ways to avoid unexpected bills by following some of our other advice bellow.

Brake fluid - Did you realise this should be changed every two years? Not doing this can cause problems with expensive parts within your car, such as the ABS pump or any part of the brake hydraulics due to water contamination as the brake fluid actually sucks moisture out of the air (hydroscopic), so even if the car is not used, the brake fluid must be changed every two years!

Water Pump - Often thought of as a part which fails with age, mileage and quite suddenly, leaving you stranded, our expert technicians are used to inspecting these during services, and so may spot tell tale signs of failure long before they become an issue, so saving you from the indignity of being broken down at the side of the road. A 944 and 968 Waterpump is also part of the cambelt drive mechanism, so it failing can cause serious damage to the cylinder head and engine as a whole.

RMS - Rear main seal - Something else you might see horror stories on the internet about, these used to be a real problem and Porsche re designed the part several times to arrive at the current design which is the only one we at JMG Porsche use. Like an IMS Bearing replacement, this is best performed during a clutch change, however on tiptronic models or on cars not needing a clutch, they can be changed at any time.

Transmission services - Not clearly noted by Porsche for when the transmission should be serviced and this vital expensive part of your car should not be overlooked. Just like your engine, the transmission is filled with oil/transmission fluid, which over time degrades. Not only this, but not many realise that many Porsche transmissions also contain a filter, which becomes clogged over time and can starve your transmission of lubrication, causing expensive repairs. We recommend all Porsche transmissions are serviced every 4 years or 40,000 miles, whichever comes soonest.

Diagnosis - Long has gone where cars had limited electrical equipment and a wiring diagram could be found in a manual from Halfords. Now the Porsche models have multiple separate computer systems, which all talk via networks, and many sensors to feed those computers with information about the world around it all tied together with many hidden wiring looms of thousands of wires and connectors. This can mean that in the event of your Porsche suffering an electrical issue, it is important that a Porsche specialist auto electrician is available, as we have at JMG Porsche. It is also important to understand that sometimes, finding the fault will not be as simple as plugging in a computer.

Drive Belt - Many of you may have had cars where a drive belt, timing belt or cam belt needs to be changed at a regular interval. Your Porsche model has a belt which should be changed every 4 years. Failure to do so can cause instant overheating, loss of power steering and damage to the engine very suddenly. We recommend you have this changed at least every 4 years.

Cam and Balance belt - The 924S, 944 (ALL) and 968 (ALL) have a cam belt and balance belt, which has to be set to a very precise tension and run across various pulleys, tensioners and rollers to function correctly, if these are not maintained with a new cam belt and balance belt every 4 years, and a new waterpump, tensioners and rollers (as well as front engine oil seals) every 8 years, the consequences can be catastrophic to say the least.

Brakes - The Porsche 944S2, 944 Turbo and all 968 models are fitted with Brembo callipers, which overtime suffer from corrosion build up which can cause the pads to stick and bind up within the callipers or even make it difficult to fit new pads. When this happens the calipers require a service rebuild of the slider plate mechanism, which needs to be performed by a specialist with the right experience, techniques and tools to make the repair more than a very temporary one.

Heavy clutch? - A heavy feeling clutch which is stiff to use is not normal on a Porsche and often a sign that the clutch has almost worn out. Ignoring this can cause further damage, such as to the dual mass flywheel and clutch fork.

Alarm system - At JMG Porsche we are experts of all Porsche security systems and have reverse engineered all the various control units. This not only means we can program new alarm control units and keys to your car, just as the main dealer can, but in some cases we can repair your old alarm control unit and keys, or in some cases recover your old keys to be used on the new alarm control unit, which is a service unique to JMG.

Alarm system causes - In most cases the cause of alarm control unit failure is water damage, we can perform modifications to your Porsche model to help mitigate the chances of this happening to your Porsche.

From a 968 Club Sport poorly converted to turbo power by another specialist, into a JMG 2.8 968 Turbo, a typical JMG Special Projects car.

The Porsche 968 has always been a very capable car, with near 50/50 front to rear weight distribution it handles like a dream, big brembo brakes with upgrade paths allow it to outbrake most cars, and a 3.0 Litre 16 valve engine with variable cam timing, the performance is sharp too.

Porsche made four special 968 Turbo RS models for racing, and a handful of Turbo S models for the road.

With JMG Porsche having close contacts in the Porsche motorsport division in Germany and a level of involvement in 944 Turbo Cup and 968 Turbo RS development, we know exactly what's needed to build a 968 Turbo or Turbo RS, both in the original factory way, but also using the very latest in technology.

When this customer called us for some advice about his 968 Club Sport race car, it quickly became apparent that the customer had another specialist install a 2.5 944 Turbo engine into his race car, which was now smoking heavily. Our advice was simple.. Bring it to us so we can check the engine!

Compression and leakdown tests were performed and a borescope camera was used to examine the inside of the engine without a full stripdown. It became quickly clear that this engine had scored bores.. Running the engine quickly highlighted a knock from the big end bearings.. It was clear that this engine needed a rebuild. We also spotted a multitude of other problems with how the engine had been installed, which did not make us very confident about how well the conversion was performed or how the engine had been built in the first place.

The customer was not impressed, it turned out that this was the third engine the other specialist had supplied! To top it off, he had never been impressed with the performance.

After a long chat with the customer, it became clear what he really wanted was maximum performance, but in the race series he raced in, with a turbo charged engine he had to have an engine with less than 2.9 litre displacement to qualify. This was clearly a candidate for being a JMG Special Projects Division job.

We asked the customer to leave it with us for a couple of days so we could formulate a plan. More importantly we wanted to read the regulations for his race series to see what we could and could not do to his car.

If a diagnosis, modification, repair or build is likely to evolve unto unexpected tasks, research, development, prototyping or, as in this case, may turn into a can of worms, we recommend its worked on as a special projects car, simply because it may be impossible to estimate the duration of the car's stay, what we might find, or what additional work the customer may request. Cars like this can run a mockery of our diary for the usual work of a Porsche specialist, this way the car will be worked on specifically by our top technicians without diary constraints.

A Plan was formulated, a new JMG 2.8 Engine (Rather than the factory 968 Turbo RS 3.0), with a custom programmed engine management chip for the standard 944 Turbo engine management system, a larger hybrid ball bearing turbo, uprated exhaust, bigger injectors, bigger fuel pump and a free flowing air filtration system. We estimated 425 BHP and 500 pounds of torque with full boost being possible as low as 2800 RPM.

The customer authorised the plan, the engine was built, but something was still nagging away at me, why did this car go through so many previous engines?

The old engine was sat in a corner of the workshop looking very sorry for itself, so even though the customer had not authorised a postmortum, he had just wanted us to throw it away, we decided to perform a post mortum anyway.

The engine was filthy, covered in corrosion, but it did have all new gaskets. When we build an engine, we make sure every part is either new, or if re-used it would be cleaned, bead blasted and if needed, replated. This engine was something else, it looked like an old used engine, where someone had used new gaskets, had used gasket sealant where none should be used, had a cracked oil pickup pipe, a multitude of other sins, including the belts were not even set correctly! Even the crank was ground undersize but standard bearings had been used! But the oil pickup was the smoking gun.

Back in the day I had my mentors, one of which used to refer to poorly built engines as "Turkeys", the old engine was the worst "Turkey" I had ever seen!

Now knowing that the previous engine, or engines, had never had a chance of living a long life, we were confident that we could install the nice shiney new 2.8 Turbo engine into the race car.

It fired on the first turn of the key, ran sweetly, was tuned and went off on a car transporter headed for its first venue, the famous raceway of Spa, where it performed faultlessly and put a massive smile on the face of the customer, with performance blowing everything into the weeds.

The moral of this story? JMG Special Projects Division, as with JMG Porsche, know what they are doing, you might save a few pennies going elsewhere, but often you will find that you will just end up having to have all the work done again by an expert.