Dangerous Dan

I'm getting increasingly frustrated and disappointed with my car (84 na). It seems to have all the "usual" Porsche 944 things wrong with it; water pump, belts,leaking radiator, leaking power steering hoses, AC doesn't work, some kind of mysterious fuel supply problem yet to be identified and today the odomoter quit working after I reset the trip odometer.

Lets say I spend the several thousands of dollars to fix everything so it works. First question: Is it possible to fix everything so it works? Seems like I fix one and something else breaks or quits working.
Second question: Does it stay fixed? That is, do I have a reliable car that will get another 100,000 miles (currently it has 60,000 miles and holding. Seems like a lot of things wrong for only 60,000 miles).

It's driving me crazy!

apierce918

all the things you listed sounds like it was just not taken care of properly, might be all original, which would explain why its needing it now, a lot of times you hear horror stories on these forums, and clarks-garage but its because people are seeking help, i think they are very reliable. my car has 194k miles and still going. will test it this year when i head to 944fest

Porsche-O-Phile

With Rennlist all things are possible my son. . .

A big pile of money helps too.

Don 944 LA

You must not anger the Porsche Gods - you MUST leave one small item unrepaired, lest the Stuttgartians smite thine car with bad Ju-Ju-AF Juvat

pcarfan944

Your car will never be perfect, all (99%) of our cars have some idiosyncracies just like any other 18 + year old car. Drive the car and enjoy it, you'll never appreciate it if you spend all your time nitpicking.


________
Pat
86 944

Serge944

It depends how cheaply you can get another 944 in great condition. It actually may be cheaper to find another car, which has been meticulously maintained, than to blow so much money on your car.

nineeagles

My 84 is, I would guess, about 80% new. Next is another head gasket. Most of the rest of the car has been replaced including the interior. It runs great and is alot of fun to drive but it does take alot of attention. I could list all of the things I've done (or the PO did)....PO took real good care of the care so it is reliable....right now it is about 152,000.....I have alot more money in it than I would ever get out of it....but I am just getting fun out of it....

Chris_924s

Dan- attack one problem at a time.

Here's what I did.
Make a list and begin a log of what needs to be fixed ASAP, then an addendum of things you want to fix- and you take items off of the list add the new items. (FWIW my list has NEVER been shorter than 6 items- but it started at 50 or so!) When I bought mine it was a 2nd owner car in storage for 5 years- 98% original (except a headgasket) at time of purchase w/66K miles.. It's not only you- it's the nature of the beast.. these cars are complex and over-engineered.

"Fix sunroof" has appeared at 4 different times on the same list.

And Mama Juvie is correct. I'll never fix my electric antenna. 100% functional is a pipe dream.

PeteL

I agree attack one problem at a time, do it right the first time, no shortcuts.
Over time, the list of problems will get small.
Do your own work. (That will cut repairs to more than half of what you outsource).
We are here to help.

Scott M.

Hahaha...

You don't own your car. It owns you! Kinda like Cats

We all live by the rules of Entropy. Especially so when you own a Porsche. But after a certain point you will be on top of the 'breakage' bell curve. Then life gets easier.

Either drive the crap out of it and enjoy it, or let it sit in the garage looking all pretty and clean. My advice:

Mahalo,
Scott

Friendan

I agree with the comment that it wasn't maintained properly. 60k miles is not alot. It could also be that around 60k some things might start needing replacing. You should be due for your second belt job, the rad might be due too. Depends where the car was kept too. My car had extremely low mileage when I got it, and I have some pretty old hoses on there, but they are just fine because the car was kept in a heated garage so all the rubber is great.
Your AC needs charging, and the odometer on these cars can fail if you reset the trip odometer while moving.
Water pump and belts are you biggest problem here, the rest of your issues are relatively simple fixes.

Dangerous Dan

Thanks for your support. (Sounds like a losing candidate for office). My 944 is my daily driver, so I need it to be reliable. I've already replaced the water pump and belts. I've been using stop leak to get by while I save up for the radiator replacement. I'm dreading the trial and error associated with the fuel supply.

My basic question was whether it is worth fixing everything. Plus, will it stay fixed or do I do it again in a year or two? I've already got more into the car than it is worth and can see where I may end up with double the worth of the car in repairs. I'm willing to do what it takes if the car will be reliable when I get done. Otherwise, I'll cut my losses and sell it now.

L8 APEKS

The things will stay fixed for quite some time. Many of those parts have been updated since the original OE versions.

I think if you did some of the work yourself, it wouldn't cost all that much to get the car running reliably. The waterpump is an inexpensive part, as is the radiator, as are the belts...and those can all be done at the same time over a weekend for well under $1k. As for the odometer, that's an hour of work and a $20 gear.

The A/C could be a number of things, but mine doesn't work either and it doesn't bother me much. I'll fix it one of these days, but it doesn't affect the reliability or performance so it's not high on my list.

Incidentally, I have a new radiator if you need one.

Good luck!

M758

I built my 944-spec race car from beat up junk car.

It took some time, but I got the car in running,safe condition. I started autocross and tracking it. First autocross it overheated and dumped fuel everywhere. So I fixed it. I did it on they fly and did not lose any track time. Did more stable repairs at home. Next time out somethign else broke. I fixed and moved on. Really for 2 years I would take it to track event and usally break something. I had radiator problems, fuel flow problems, AFM problems, Fuel rail leaks, brake pad desctruction, exhaust pipe failues, CV joints back out multiple times, power steering issues, suspension bushing problems.
I always kept my hopes up and fixed it. I rarely lost any track time as I fixed, or borrowed parts to get me through. I fixed these properly at home. Then all of a sudden I took the car out of state to Las Vegas for a PCA race. I took with me a bunch of spares for most everythign on the car. Well the car ran flawlessly. Save for damaged caused from an off track excursion, the car has run great since then. I had one at the track problem in the last 2 years.

While it took time I took a POS car and finally fixed it till it was completely reliable. It took time since I used the fix it when it breaks (or is about to break) idea. These cars are old and some have been beat. So things will fail. Once you fix them they should not fail again unless you don't fix it right or some other failure causes a replaced part to fail.

Scott at Team Harco

Dangerous,

You're getting good advice here. Don't worry about fixing everything. Do you really need the electric seats (for example) if you have a comfortable driving position? How about the electric hatch release - can you get by with using the key?

Start with the critical items and work your way through the lower priority items. Replace the fuel filter to start with. If your fuel problem doesn't go away - at least you've got that "tune-up" item out of the way and you'll need to start looking more deeply. If it does cure the fuel problem - then great!

It's a lot tougher if this is your only transportation. You really have to budget your time and plan properly all parts/tools you will need for the job. Then, everything needs to be back together so you can get to work on Monday.

As mentioned - once you have fixed something (properly) it is going to remain reliable for quite some time. Just make sure it is fixed right the first time and with good parts.

Best of luck.

Edit to add this: My car has three times the mileage your car has. I drive it every day to and from work (when there's no salt on the roads around here). You should see my list of stuff to do on it still. It's a hell of a lot smaller now than it was when I brought it home. Most everything left is cosmetic or minor inconvenience. Want to get some of that stuff fixed in time for 944fest...