Elwood4u

Hey all,

I've recently acquired a 1987 944 (non-turbo) which has caused me to do some research into this particular vehicle. I've seen a few very informative posts on this site in particular so I was therefore wondering if any of you had some suggestions on items to address after the car has been sitting for 7 years.

Some of the items I'm planning:
Drain fuel, replace filter.
Change oil/filter
air filter
new battery (tray is bad a well, looks to be a common issue?)
new spark plugs, probably wires.
check/drain all fluids (transaxle for sure)
address brakes, not sure if rotors will clean up (they have quite a bit of rust), see if pistons are locked ,etc.

Then hopefully wheel bearings are good, tires, etc.

Anything else you would recommend checking prior to first firing? and/or first drive?

Much appreciated.

snb13

You MUST change your belts. The timing and balance belts are critical and surpass everything else in necessity. I'd also replace the water pump and do a front engine reseal.

royalschwarz

First thing to check on any 944 that has sat for years is to look at the timing and balance shaft belts and see if they are intact. That will determine if it's even worth trying to save the car. If they are gone, you're looking at a new engine. If intact, change them. First. DO NOT try to start the car without changing them. They will break and then your probably good engine is now a paperweight. From there you can worry about oil, fuel, spark plugs, wires, etc.

Elwood4u

good point, I do know for a fact the timing belt was replaced about a year prior to storage. But I suppose it could be dry rotted by now possibly. I would have to imagine the balance belt was done at the same time as well.

snb13

The rule of thumb is change the belts and rollers every 3 years or 30,000 miles, whichever comes first. Change the water pump every other belt change.
I wouldn't trust the tires either, even if they do hold air.

fwb42

Also change the fuel lines. A fire won't be fun.

Tom R.

That was the rule of thumb 30 years ago. Belt technology has changed in the last 35 years. It's been debated for the last 20 years. OP should research this, then decide if he wants to look at the belt before starting the motor, and if it looks/feels right, start the car and see what else the car needs.

Why is the continental belt on my 323Ci, XC90, or my S80 V8 good for ten years or over 100K miles, but the same rubber belt on a 944 will grenade itself after 3 years?

V2Rocket

Tom,
944 belts are wiped out after 3 years if you're in a fairly dry area.
I do mine religiously ever 3 years (maybe 15,000 miles in that period) and when the belts come off they actually groan when you turn the engine over by hand.

Look at how the 944 belt is routed (tight between tensioner and water pump), combined with the mechanical non-compensating tensioner...life is hard down there.

On the 968 when they finally fitted a compensating, "automatic hydraulic" belt tensioner the interval doubled to 60k miles despite using the exact same belt and rollers as the mechanically-tensioned 944S/S2.

snb13

Why is this even being debated anymore...???

Tom R.

because technology changed and the belts are better. It isn't hard and fast. the OP can use judgement to see if the car is worth putting money into before doing the job only to find out it was put away for a reason. I didn't say ignore the belt. I suggested he research, and make his own decision. If the belt looked good, I would start it up and see what I have before spending hundreds of dollars on what may be a giant turd. Then, make the shopping list.

There was a post around 2003 that pointed out the difference in the belts, and the change Ferrari made in their recommendation because of belt technology. the old post must be true because it was before there was fake news, and everything on the interwebz was correct so nobody had to apply logic or think'

Wisconsin Joe

It tends to be somewhat conservative, because of the catastrophic consequences of failure.

However, the 'time' rule is very conservative.

Depending on climate (hot & dry is the worst), they can last a long time and be just fine.

I got my 944 in 05, with no idea when the belts had been changed.
It kept getting put off and put off and put off (yeah, I know).

Finally did them this past winter, approx 23k miles later (12+ years later).
The belts I removed were in excellent condition. Minimal wear, no cracks no indication of age at all.

Tom R.

I guess there may be something to thinking over lemming.
MUST is such a harsh word.

Quote:

Originally Posted by snb13

You MUST change your belts. The timing and balance belts are critical and surpass everything else in necessity. I'd also replace the water pump and do a front engine reseal.

Wisconsin Joe

True, but if I had snapped the belt and destroyed the motor, I might be 'singing a different tune'.

FWIW, the earlier 928s have non-interference motors. Some guys have put a lot of miles and a lot of years on belts.
More often than not, it's not the belt that fails. Its usually something else. Water pump, rollers ect.

When I did the 944, the tension and idler rollers spun very freely. The bearings were still reasonably good (no grinding or catching), but I could hold the inner race in my fingers, spin the roller and it would go for a while.

As with all my suggestions: No warranty, express or implied. Not an expert, didn't even sleep in a Holiday Inn last night. Close cover before striking, contains flammable gas under pressure.

Edit to add:

I did the timing belt on my 928 winter 15/16 (2 years ago). I was in there doing cam seals and was not going to put the old belt back on (new one was $40). It was on since Jan 08 (have records from PO), approx 15k miles.
It showed virtually no wear, no cracks or any other indication of it's age.

Tiger03447

Ferrari need to REALLY do something for the belts on their 308 series of cars. Most of them only had a 20K lifespan on the transverse v-8's. took about 8 hours of hard wrenching to make the belt (s) change..I'm sure the upgrade in belt technology was quite welcome in the Fazzazz circles. just sayin...

Elwood4u

Thanks guys for all of the thoughts.

I finally got the car in the garage after a winter that never seemed to let go here in MN. Not a lot of dry rot in the engine bay thankfully it appears (car was stored in a garage).

I had originally decided to change all belts / rollers / tensioners since that is usually pretty straight forward on most cars. Now I'm seeing several guides recommend what seems to be a very expensive tension gauge that I personally don't want to invest in if I don't absolutely have to. I've always done it by feel but then again I've never worked on a 944. It also seems like a visual inspection of the timing / balance belt may show the belt appears to be in good shape ( no fraying / cracking) but actually might not be.

Therefore is this expensive tension tool critical? This is a budget minded car so bringing it to a shop for a $1K timing belt isn't in the cards. However I do want to make sure I replace everything correctly.

Thanks.