lamrith

Well I already did one post asking a question, so figured I could at least introduce myself and my new (old) baby. Honestly speaking it will be my son's baby as it was purchased for him per his request. Hoping I did something right that a youngster appreciates a classic like a 944! Son wanted a 280z, but I am not a fan of working on jdm based on past experiences and he loved the look of the 944 when I showed him one.

Looked around a bit and found this car a 20min from home. The car is rough around the edges, but looked like it was all there and the price was low so I think I did ok. 1987 944 with 191K miles. Been sitting 3yrs+ Thankfully the interior is in fantastic shape, some carpet stains, but the dash and seats are intact. We did not want to buy a "ready to rock" as I did not want to pay the premium for other peoples time and wanted something my son and I could work on together so he learns about his car as we fix it up.

We went into it knowing we had to do certain things, and as always the hidden monsters pop up after you get home.
KNOWN ISSUES:

• Low oil warning light (was full of oil)
• ! warning light on (PO said due to oil warning, hoping that is correct)
• Brake pad warning
• Parking brake warning (since fixed by adjusting the switch)
• Clunk in front end (now found as missing sway bar bushing)
• dead aftermarket radio (likely shorted speaker wires based on radio manual)
• unknown timing belt change and sitting so needs belt.
• front pass fender damage, ding in rear bottom fender, (rear one is worrisome now that I realize it is not open from back to bang out)
• cracked windshield (proving extremely expensive, easily double what I expected)

We picked it up for $2k, hoping I did not overpay too much, every other 944 in the area was over 3200 and had body and interior issues. Nuts and bolts and even wiring I can handle without a problem. Heavy bodywork is out of my league and interior gets really expensive.

Once I got it home and on the drive I found:

• Considerable steering vibration @70mph (hoping swaybar related)
• oil leak in timing cover area.
• In-operable rear wiper (live in WA wipers mandatory)
• hose disconnected from passenger side steering rack. (pictured below)

Last but not least, here is the new "owner". We did pretty good surprising him, wife and I went out to see car and did not tell him. Then drove it home and parked next to house. He was in total shock and speechless for a good 5min when he found it a few hours later. This is the car's good side for sure.

tempest411

Congratulations! I hope you don't become too frustrated at the cost and it will take to make it road worthy. I'd plan on about 4K$ to start with, and a few hundred hours of your time.

elgy

That hose doesn't contain fluids, it just allows air at the exterior of the sealed part of the rack to circulate back and forth. But all sorts of crap is going to be inside the ends of the rack... not good for the seals. Pull back the boots and see how much ATF is in them. Resealing the rack is not rocket science, lots of tutorials and a kit from Rennline. While the rack is off you can rebuild the PS pump and do the oil cooler o-rings, both cheap while you're in there maintenance items.
Sounds like a great project. Good luck.

951and944S

Awesome.

I love these kind of father/son threads and stories.

My son and I did a much similar route 15 years ago except I handed him down my previous daily driver '87 944S that we totally restored.

I'm subscribed for the long haul and will help any way possible.

Might even have some stuff to donate along the way depending on what you need.

Get that man his own account here signed up too.

T

951and944S

*If car was parked on an incline when you picked it up, that's enough to trip low oil light.
* yes, ! comes on too with low oil light
* brake pads have a sensor that snaps into the pads themselves, replace them with the pads, f/r pads and rotors for the '87 na are not expensive.
* oil leaks cause the sway bar bushing to swell and tear. pressure wash under there, identify oil leak/s, replace rubber bar end link rubbers and pivot/hanger rubber bushings.
*post up the damage pics, I can advise, 25+ years experience, for the rear 1/4, you need one of these -

T

951and944S

Shop the windshield, I have a buddy that installs them for me on my site for $120 each twice a year on race cars,

Go to a dealership and ask what mobile guy they use, or check a few body shops for leads.

T

lamrith

I certainly hope it is not $4k, we are not looking for a full restore at this point. Just a safe running vehicle with allot of class that we can work on. Maybe in time as he gets closer to graduation we will go for the full monty.

Thanks for the info. Oil out of the timing cover and everything below and behind it, so probably pull the rack to clean it off and fix that line and other oiled up things while the front of the motor is off. Is there a way to know the balance and cam measurement befoer pulling the timing cover off? I wanted to get the seal kit on the way so I had it when I opened her up, but am seeing reference to difference sizes. Is that something I have to measure once open?
I appreciate the encouragement and offer to help, I will probably take you up on the help. This is my 1st Porsche and only other German car I have had was a 86 635csi many years ago. My son is mechanically inclined and I have wanted a project for us to do together, so this should be fun. We are just after a solid working car that we can work on to keep on the road.
I might get him an account here, he is only 15, and last thing I want is him seeing all your guys cars and power mods etc and wanting to dial her up, he is already a big of a motorhead!!

• Glad to know that the ! is probably that low oil light. Is that something that will rest itself or is there a way to reset it? I am wondering if the sensor is bad at this point as it is on flat ground and still both are on. The car was pretty flat ground when I fired it up at his place and it is flat where I have it in the garage.
• I have skimmed a bit and found out about the sensors for brake pads. So do people ever buy the sensors and just tuck them away so they do not wear out? Seems like a bit of an odd design to be a wear item. I did find a few places were they are <$8/ea though so not a big expense for sure
• You nailed it on the bushing it is oil soaked like the rack in that picture and just fell apart. Wierd that it has such a big bar up front and nothing the tail, seems odd someone put a bigger bar on it and not add a rear.
• Damage is a bit hard to photograph well due to contour of the body, but pictures attached. Def will take one of the tools you show to fix it. Sad part is it looks like the damage is very recent, maybe even the last month as the bare metal underneath is fresh and shiny. DOH.

Good idea. I put feelers out locally for references, so far I got prices from $575-1200. This is a 87 with the Antenna in the windshield. I have had a number of people recommend I use my insurance to get it fixed, but I think that probably requires comprehensive which we do not have on this car.

I noticed that the drain plug on the gearbox is all boogered up. Any good online source for something like that? I did not see it on the few places I skimmed.

951and944S

Paragon Products and Pelican both have the fill/drain plugs for $4-6 a piece.

T

mytrplseven

What the hell were they using for a drain plug wrench......a 9 iron??

lamrith

Yeah that is what I am wondering.

Initial small parts and tool order to Pelican lastnight. Brake pad sensors, Flywheel lock and drain plug tool. Once in I can get the front of the engine torn apart and address that trans fluid leak. Then I can see exactly what the engine needs and order the real parts next week hopefully.

Tiger03447

Somehow I don't think that the drain plug tool will work on this one...You can buy the stock plug for about what was shown above. Or if you want to go top end, you can buy a Dimple brand plug with an OMG magnet in it...I hope that the fill plug comes out easier than this one didn't. LOL! For me the top fill plug was the bugger...I had to chop it out with a Dremel tool..if you have to go this route, try not to nick the threads in the trans case. Good luck..You might try a can opener on the drain plug....LOL!

lamrith

Yeah once the new plugs and tool are in hand I will go after the top plug 1st and see if it comes out. It is not nearly as mangled as the bottom one. Then I can go after the bottom one.

screamin94Z

Once I got it home and on the drive I found:

• Considerable steering vibration @70mph (hoping swaybar related)

These are likely not related. Sway bars are only acting when the car rolls, not when traveling in a straight line. While you're working on the steering rack, check the front suspension for movement. With the car on ramps, have someone shake the tires and see if you can feel any looseness in the tie rods, ball joints, wheel bearings or struts.

The front wheel bearings have an adjustable collar that you can tighten by removing the dust cap and using a 6mm allen key. Mine were a bit loose when I checked them. There is a write up on Clark's Garage http://www.clarks-garage.com/ for this and countless other procedures you'll be doing. If you don't know about it already, it will be your (and your son's) best friend.

Based on what you find, look into the Rennbay ball joint kit and replacing the control arm front bushings. I would also budget for new struts as they aren't prohibitively expensive and depending on the age are likely shot. You want the car to handle predictably with your boy behind the wheel.

lamrith

Thanks Screamin! I did notice the front right side bearing feels loose. When I put a car on jackstands I always give one of the wheels a good push/pull to make sure the car is solidly on the stands, especially a car I have not had up on stands before. The wheel had a little movement to it when I did that.

I plan to check all the other joints as well once we get a chance to get out there and under it to begin the timing belt work.

fasteddie313

You might want to think about depowering the rack while you're messing with it.. It might save you a bunch of money on the rest of the power steering..

The metal under the paint is not rusted because Porsche did a heck of a good galvanizing job on these cars..