Carpokes

Today I received the 16 hydraulic valve lifters for my 944 S2 that I ordered from Harper Porsche in Tennessee. Of the 16, 15 were packaged in a clear bag with a label indicating the Quantity 15, and one was by itself in the box (that included a couple other small parts).

Each lifter is packaged inside a round, clear plastic container that contains oil and has a black "push-on" cap. The plastic container is then wrapped in a clear baggy to contain oil leakage, and then it's packaged in a little cardboard box. All 15 that were in the clear bag (which I'm assuming the dealer ordered as I doubt they were in stock) were packaged in this maner.

The one lifter that was separate from the main 15 did NOT have the outer clear baggy for the plastic container, and as a result, the box it was in was clearly soaked with oil. To me, this is NOT how this item was originally packaged by the supplier, unless it's some old stock that's been sitting on the shelf and Porsche subsequently changed their packaging, which is hard for me to believe.

I sent an email to Harper Porsche and told them at the exhorbitant price Porsche charges for these lifters I should be getting items that are properly packaged. Will see what they say.

As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with this one lifter, it just rubs me the wrong way that it was mishandled or incorrectly packaged by the supplier to Porsche, which points to bad QC.

Curious what others would do in my situation. Thanks for your input.

Customer is the final arbiter of what’s acceptable…

Not quite the same, but may shed some light on what happened- late last year I ordered a cam cover gasket, and got one showing made in 2017 with a use-by date of 2022. I asked Delaware Porsche about getting something 2 years past it’s use-by date, and they said the warehouse people just pull parts from a bin, and they didn’t have control over that. (I sent it back, and ordered another from Gaudin Porsche in Nevada and got one well in it’s use-by date range).

So maybe what you got just got put into a parts bin, and nobody asked “why is this one different”? Maybe one that someone else got, opened it, and returned it or as you said just poor quality control….

Harper Porsche in Memphis has ordered a replacement lifter and will send when available. I recently started ordering from Harper as their pricing has been good and they don't charge sales tax for orders shipped to WA state, which saves 10.2%. For many years I ordered from Sunset in Oregon since they are so close, but in the last couple of years they have started charging sales tax. Sooner or later they will all charge tax, so I'm stocking up now, ha, ha.

Latitude48 wrote: Wed Nov 26, 2025 9:06 am Harper Porsche in Memphis has ordered a replacement lifter and will send when available. I recently started ordering from Harper as their pricing has been good and they don't charge sales tax for orders shipped to WA state, which saves 10.2%. For many years I ordered from Sunset in Oregon since they are so close, but in the last couple of years they have started charging sales tax. Sooner or later they will all charge tax, so I'm stocking up now, ha, ha.

Sunset used to be 'the' dealer to order from online, but in the last few years a lot of dealers have started offering competitive online pricing, often without sales tax and better shipping options. I use Marin Porsche these days -- they charge tax, since in CA with me, but prices are very competitive and the parts arrive in half the time...

Glad your getting a new one too -- the other one 'probably' was ok, but for the money they charge, they should all be the same and leak-free....

Latitude48 wrote: Wed Nov 26, 2025 9:06 am Harper Porsche in Memphis has ordered a replacement lifter and will send when available. I recently started ordering from Harper as their pricing has been good and they don't charge sales tax for orders shipped to WA state, which saves 10.2%. For many years I ordered from Sunset in Oregon since they are so close, but in the last couple of years they have started charging sales tax. Sooner or later they will all charge tax, so I'm stocking up now, ha, ha.

Harper Porsche in Knoxville, TN in east TN near the Smokies is likely what you meant. (The Memphis Porsche dealer is Gossett Porsche, a long haul at a 7+ hour drive west from Knoxville - TN is a narrow but long state West to East!)

Although I don't personally do business with Harper, it's good to know they took great care of you. I know they are a highly reputable dealer with a loyal following. They don't charge ADM which is unique these days, but of course, getting an allocation for a GT or other halo car probably requires a very long-term association with them. I met the dealer principal (the son of the now deceased founder) at a track event they put on earlier this year and he came across as a good person.

FWIW, Porsche has again awarded Harper the coveted Premier Dealer status, an impressive and significant distinction. Only a few Porsche dealers qualify for Premier status.

Harper also started a new premier event in 2024, Platica at the Quarry in Knoxville. Last year in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Carrera GTs, they had a record-breaking 18 Carrera GTs all in one place.

blueline wrote: Wed Nov 26, 2025 10:09 am

Latitude48 wrote: Wed Nov 26, 2025 9:06 am Harper Porsche in Memphis has ordered a replacement lifter and will send when available. I recently started ordering from Harper as their pricing has been good and they don't charge sales tax for orders shipped to WA state, which saves 10.2%. For many years I ordered from Sunset in Oregon since they are so close, but in the last couple of years they have started charging sales tax. Sooner or later they will all charge tax, so I'm stocking up now, ha, ha.

Harper Porsche in Knoxville, TN in east TN near the Smokies is likely what you meant.

Thanks. I just knew they were in Tennessee somewhere Glad to hear they are such a reputable dealer. The other dealer I've used frequently is Delaware Porsche.

One thing that annoys me about all these dealers is they send out an email and advertise they are having a big sale, but the prices are exactly what they are any day of the year. I asked them about it and the parts guy said it's just what their their advertising dept. does and they have no control over it. Delaware does offer discounts on shipping, 10% off now. But back in 2018 I bought some 928 GTS front and 968 rear calipers from Sunset they had 20% discount for Black Friday off the regular price.

My opinion and R&D efforts....
The original lifters for both the 8V and 16V motors are superior to the 'new' lifters - whether OEM or aftermarket.
To this end, I have developed a very tedious process for refurbishing the 8V lifters and do this on an exchange basis. The 16V lifters are a bit easier to refurb, due to design, and I also do those on an exchange basis.

In the near future, will be developing a post to highlight this service...

Rick
Oak Creek, WI

There is a very cheap and simple INA lifter to get, they are currently in my 968 with 600HP and doing great...

BasHenneman wrote: Mon Dec 08, 2025 7:36 am There is a very cheap and simple INA lifter to get, they are currently in my 968 with 600HP and doing great...

Care to share details? If I recall, the lifters for the 16 valve cars are much easier to get with more cross-referenced cars, compared to the unicorny 8-valve lifters...