surfun

Hello everyone, as you know from the title, I am a new owner of a 944. I had always wanted a 944 since I was a kid, but was "distracted" for a few years with other cars...RX7, 300ZX, MR2, etc. Anyway, I have recently purchased a 944, albeit in a manner unlike anything I have ever done in the past (out of character for me). I actually bought my current car from Ebay, which is something I swore I would never do. I won't bore everyone with the details, but this is another typical Ebay horror story...as you know, the car wasn't anything like the description, heard it many times before.
OK, here's where the dilema comes in. Even though the car wasn't as promised, I bought it anyway, because it was still a nice car, and the price was decent. Now that I have the car, it has a few "bugs". It seems these are mostly simple issues, and for people that know the 924 / 944's it would be a breeze to zip through these issues, but I have NO knowledge of these cars. Were this a Toyota or Nissan, I would be able to diagnose what was wrong, and fix it immediately.
So now I am browsing this forum for all of the knowledge I can find, and hopefully cure the issues if need be. But once again, there is still a dilema...I currently have no place to work on this car, the weather is turning cold, and I really don't have many tools to work with.
So now, I am looking for some advise from some seasoned 944 owners. Should I simply sell this car off and try to get out of it clean, and put down some serious bucks for a mint 944, or would I be better off to work with the car I currently have, assuming I can figure out some way (or somewhere) to work on it. Opinions please.
Oh, I guess you guys might want a little more info about the car and its condition - Please advise me if the issues are worthy of a rethink -

The GOOD: I bought a 1985.5 944 in black with the deep style Porsche wheels and NEW Pirelli 4000's. It is a 5 speed, and has black leather. The car has 190K...yes that is not a misprint! The car looks really nice for its age and mileage, particularly from a few feet back, but is definately not one of those $5000+ 944's I have seen with low miles. I would rate this car cosmetically as a 6. The car tracks down the road perfect and is actually pretty quiet at highway speeds.

The BAD: The clutch is noisy sometimes from a standing start - although it seems to work fine...I once drove on an RX7 clutch for 2 years in virtually the same condition, but either way, it may need replacing eventually. The car has a whine to it that increases with RPM, may also have something to do with the clutch? The car is hesitant between 2200-3500 RPMS, but runs absolutely perfect above or below those RPMS. The dash lights are dim...no big deal, but the gauges are very hard to see at night. The ventilation fan only works if you tap on the dial or wiggle it a little. The car smells like gas fumes in the interior if it has been closed up for a while. The P.O. has installed an aftermarket stainless steel (or chrome) muffler that is way too loud for my taste, and I would want to replace. The wheel lock is missing, as are the jack parts.
There are other issues, but are all cosmetic other than these things mentioned.
Opinions please!!!

thanks in advance, surfun!

7thStranger

Sounds like a typical 944 to me.

Marbles in a coffee can rattle. Normal.

Transmission wine, replace tranny fluid with redline or swepco synthetic.

PorscheDoc

wow, not at all hard problems to tackle. Clutch you might as well drive till she craps out on you or gets really bad, then do a clutch job (not as bad as everyone says), Pull up the rear hatch carpet and make sure the little sticky silver pad is sealed correctly above the fuel sender unit opening, Go to clarks-garage.com and check his shop manual under instrument lighting, and it will tell you exactly how to make the dash lights brighter (and put in sylvania 194 bulbs..3 of them i think), Hesitant car could be O2 sensor, TPS, someone can probably better answer that than me. First things first though, do a timing belt/waterpump job ASAP.

BeerBurner

I did Clark's dash light repair too, but didn't even bother with the higher wattage bulbs. It was very easy to do and I'm more than satisfied with it.

BB.

bloodraven

190k on odometer is nothing on these cars. Mileage does not reflect price with these. 250k is usual on these things....

Chris_924s

Welcome to Rennlist. Congrats on the purchase!

All of these problems have ben addressed before, most are annoying ideosyncracies, and user repairable with some tecnical know-how which is readily attained here- either by searching the archives for each particular issue, and www.clarks-garage.com .

dave1200

Welcome!
yep...typical 944 stuff. You should be able to tackle it pretty easily. That wine could also be belt wine...in which case...since no one has said anything yet...get your timing/balance belts checked, replaced if you dont have record.

The fan prob is most likly a bad connection at the switch.
These car perform better at highr rpms...but if it seems abnormaly hesitant, do a full tuneup and it should make a huge diff.

Take your time and have fun. And dont knock everything off that list...once you do, something else will need attention! J/K!

fezz

lets get to the basics
from what you list you need to look at these three things first.

1. timing/balance belts - do you have any evidence of when they were last changed.
they need to be tensioned evey 15k and changed every 30k - the condition of the belts must be checked first.

2. track down the issue with fuel vapors - check the tank in the rear cargo area and then the fuel induction in the engine compartment. incomming fuel lines, their condition, connection points, and signs of any leaking at the regulator, damper, or for any leaking at the fuel rail and injectors - a failure here can turn the car to toast, quickly. Oh, and buy a fire extinguisher and put it in the car.

3. See if you have paperwork on when the oil cooler seals were last changed. Look at the condition of your coolant and oil - change your oil. You are looking for early evidence of oil and coolant mixing, or any other objects that attach themselves to the drain plug.

Get a set of rhino ramps, jack and stands and get under the car and start looking around.
Clarks Garage is you best resource for most 944 repair procedures - the information there will allow you to fix most that can go wrong with your car. Check those 3 things and you can move on to the less serious stuff.

Scuba Steve

Rhino ramps are good, but you'll probably also need two boards to put between the back of the ramp and something heavy to keep the ramps still while you drive up on them. Or else you'll start driving up on them and one will scoot out of the way. It's frusrating to say the least!

Oh yeah, contact cleaner might help out with your fan switch problem. Available at your nearest Radio Shack.

surfun

Hello again, I really appreciate all of the responses!
Unfortunately I don't have any records on the car, and I agree that it would be best to do all of the maintainance anyway, as a car like this deserves.
Maybe I bit off a little more than I could chew (right now).
As I said, I really don't have anywhere at all to work on the car...my driveway is probably a 30 degree angle and is broken pavement, plus the weather will soon be cold here (Knoxville area) even though it is still relatively warm right now. I guess I should have done a little more pre purchase research, and then I would have known the 944 isn't one of those car you simply buy and drive...
Another factor is that I am trying to start a small business of my own, so money is not exactly flowing right now. I guess I probably should have bought a 240SX or something cheap and durable like that for the time being and then looked for a mint 944 when the time was right, but as I said before, I kinda jumped the gun.
Oh well, I will still attempt to do what I can with the car, and fix anything I can, and try to make a descision whether to sell or keep.
Once again, I appreciate all of the great responses. I have spent much time since my intro to the internet in 96' on forums for various cars I have owned, and often people are just out to flame on message boards, but it appears that the Porsche community is of a different breed!

THANKS!

Mighty Shilling

Good luck buddy. if you were closer to Denver, I'd help ya out with the repairs as I know how to do all of the standard maintinance and rebuild these engines...

if you have another car, put the 944 in the garage until you get a chance to get the belts done...a snapped timing belt is not a pretty thing young grass hopper...
Welcome to the forum, and good luck! you can always come here with help, and we're always wiling to give it.

surfun

Yeah, the timing belt thing is a big issue that I am now worried about (had no idea about that before)! The more I think about it, the more I think I should just cut my losses, sell out of this one for as close to what I have in it if possible, and buy another 944 later on when the time is right.
Judging by the great responses and community here, I will look forward to doing so. It appears that the "brotherhood" is like nothing else I have experienced from previous car ownerships.

Peckster

Nothing is more expensive than a cheap Porsche. You really should have had it inspected before you bought it, but that's water under the bridge. Get it inspected now by someone who really knows these cars. Find out exactly what needs to be done and what it will cost before you start sinking money into it.

Many people have taken big losses when they decided their car wasn't worth repairing any more, so you really have to find out what needs fixing.

dave1200

wel...if your car is good shape. It may be worth doing this stuff. This stuff is pretty standard for ANY new 944 purchase. EVen if you buy another one. CHances are youll have to do the same stuff later.

surfun

The car is nice, but not great...more like somewhere between a daily driver and a nice car. For the year model it is super nice, but being a Porsche, it could look better...if that makes sense.
I am currently not in a position to dump ANY money into it at all, so this is why I am considering reselling it, because I wouldn't feel right just driving it and not properly taking care of it, and crossing my fingers every time I go anywhere . Once everything stabilizes, hopefully by summer, I might have some better funds, but right now I have to drive something every day, and hope for the best, which is the case with this car.
And I do agree, I should have done a lot more research before buying, but it was an impulse buy...I was actually looking to replace my car I had just sold with a daily driver in the $2000-3000 range, and had been looking at much more practical stuff. Then, for whatever reason I ended up on Ebay and looking at 924's and 944's - the rest is history.
However, if I cannot get nearly what I have in it, then I would probably keep it anyway, because it could only gain value if put away, considering what I have in it (assuming it doesn't go bad sitting). I just cannot afford to insure two cars right now (not to mention the cost of upkeep).