lsejnoha

I am at a loss for words here. I recently bought a 944 turbo and it ran fine for the first 7 months i had it. One day the pilot bearing and clutch decided to go out so i decided to have it fixed by a repair shop here in Denver. No big deal $1000 dollars in parts and 1000 dollars in labor. OK fine Fixed, but when i got the car back it was like a demon had taken over the car. One thing after another started going wrong with it. Starting problems, battery charging problems, ignition switch problems and alternator problems. Unreal and absolutely too much for me to handle as i have run out of money trying to get this thing back on the road. I have no idea why it is doing what it is doing and now it is in the shop again because there is no spark going to the spark plugs. I am going to try another ignition coil to see if that fixes the no spark issue. This is my second Porsche my first one was an 85 1/2 944 NA. and I had little to no problems with that car what so ever. Now that i own this turbo it has bewildered me with how many problems keep arising. I smell something weird in the air hovering over this car in particular so when i get it up and running again i am going to sell her. I don't want to sound superstitious but i feel there might be something very bizarre going on with this Porsche of mine. Even though this is the car i truly wanted over the non aspirated 944. I really don't know what else to do because this car has now nickel'ed and dim'ed me to death as i am already a struggling college student. With the hopes that my Rennlist companions can offer any suggestions as to what i should do, I am very sad as my only choice i feel here is to sell this one and move on. Ill get another and hopefully another turbo, but i feel this one needs more attention and care than i can accommodate. I also feel that this car may suit someone who has more money than i do and might be a little more professional than i am, but i don't want to think about this to hard as i do not know what else to do. Please feel my pain........................................... and offer any suggestions as to what i should do. Because the car is so fun to drive and so very exciting, i know once i get it running again i know i will just want to keep it, but i feel the breaking point has been hit and i must look towards the horizon
and get rid of this one. Another time perhaps and not too long but just not right now.. Very sad and I hope my next Porsche will be better.

FRporscheman

Sorry you're having so much trouble with it. But it's definitely important not to let something like car problems take too much of your thought & time in college. Ask me how I know.

If you're not attached to it, I say sell it and either get a naturally aspirated one, or something else, until you find a decent 951. Just my 2 cents.

tempest411

Can these cars be that bad? I don't have one yet (accumulating drivetrain before-hand), but I do have what I am sure is leaps and bounds worse...a 1985 Ford truck with TFI ignition, very early fuel injection, and the tinker-toy fuel tank switching valve system. All connected with wiring made of poop.

lsejnoha

Problem is that i am attached to it, but there are several factors that could sway my decision as opposed to my spoken word, kind of like the bible. I haven't gotten rid of it yet and no matter what other people say or advise me to do or how to think, i could possibly keep it, and learn from my mistakes. Maybe all this that is happening is telling me something like an illusive message that i have no control over. Right now i am definitely hating this, but i know things will eventually get better. So i figure i need to at least get this thing back into at least good enough condition so i can possibly sell her but in the mean time ill figure out why things are going so badly with this car. People can be a huge influence but time will tell, and in the end it will be me who makes the final decision even though i have reluctantly made a very strong and almost definite choice to sell it. I hate the not knowing........

lsejnoha

Hopefully all of you can understand what i am going through.

morghen

maybe the shop messed it up

Voith

Car resented you the rear sticker. Pull it off, it will work wonders.

John_AZ

Wrong...

This...



Big mistake. Ice, salt, water, freezing temps, corrosion on a 25YO 951.

Moisture is the demon.

J_AZ

Jfrahm

IMO it is pretty crazy to buy a 30 year old turbo Porsche on a budget and without the ability to work on it at home. I would say absolutely get rid of it and get a Corolla S or something. Spend nothing that is not an obvious fix to prepare the car for sale and get it gone. These cars do not nickel and dime you, they punch in the hundreds and thousands and if critical things are overlooked they burn to the ground or toss the timing belt. While great as a second hobby car for someone with the space time and ability to do repairs and maintenance, they are never time or money budget friendly.

I had car projects in college and we had some good times, but we had space and and lots of ability, friends with tools, a machine shop at work, etc. I still regret taking things so far and if I'd invested half what I spent on car projects back then I could retire at 50 and I would have still had lots of fun wrenching on whatever reasonable/fun/cheap stuff I'd have had.

If you can find a 944S2 they are pretty easy to live with after catch-up. I had a couple, one I paid $5500 for, high miles but mostly OK. It swallowed $2500 in catch-up maintenance in a few months and that was me doing all the work myself and getting parts at good prices. That was a pretty fair deal. a budget of $10K and some sweat and I got in under it at around $8K. For a 951 I'd expect to add a few thousand to that, and if the work is done at a shop I'd say budget $20K. Hope for less, but if you end up at $20K that's fair enough. I've had two 944 Turbos so I know the terrain.

The reason old 944 Turbos are pretty cheap is the expected cost of ownership. There are other cars where this is not so much the case. The E30 BMW, if you can find one, old non-turbo Supra, maybe a Nissan, I dunno. Lots of fun naturally aspirated AWD Audi options too, and you are not a bug on it's back when the weather gets bad.

Good luck,
-Joel.

divil

Sorry to hear it's been so much trouble. If you want some inspiration, read this thread over a cup of coffee (you'll need a big one): No Start After Clutch Job

I think this will give you some pointers about troubleshooting elusive issues. *Don't* just go buying a coil based on pure speculation, or any other parts for that matter. Follow the DME test plan as much as you possibly can first.

I'm not saying the fact that your problems began after a clutch job has any significance with regard to Perry's thread, although it's worth considering. But it's a great example of deep troubleshooting. Maybe that thread will make you want to sell the car, maybe it will make you want to stick with it...I don't know. I do agree with what's been said about the cost of owning these cars. But then, some people get lucky. Taking care of the things that can kill the car (fuel lines, timing belt etc.) is not too expensive compared to what you've already done, and after that the car will be as good as you can afford to make it. Keep us in the loop whatever you do

fiily

Good looking 951, don't sell it. Learn to troubleshoot it, fix it and drive it. Buy a beater for winter if you can, cold weather, salt, and snow is just not good for any 25+ year old car, especially 944 wiring.

Keep it, you'll regret it later on.

grenadiers

Clutch job can interfere with the speed and reference sensors. Maybe one should start there? When I pulled my engine on an '88 n/a, the sensor connections crumbled in my hand.

kcoyle

Sounds to me like only one "related" problem to me. I'd say that if you're gonna throw money at it you may as well just keep it, or if not just cut your losses now and get a proper car for a DD.

konakat

This type of thing isn't terribly uncommon, unfortunately. If your engine ground was left unconnected, that could cause all sorts of issues and would be a super easy fix. Starting and ignition problems are very often caused by damaged reference sensors which is something that happens during clutch swaps. Diagnosing can be really difficult on these cars, but so often people go to crazy lengths trying to diagnose an issue, then it finally turns out to be grounds or reference sensors which can be quite finicky.

raleighBahn

That too was my first thought. .. loose ground.