944CC

I finally picked up a clean 87 944 yesterday. This is my third car and I'm pretty experienced with forums. Although I will be asking some questions that might be answered using the search feature, I hope you'll reply in this thread.

Here goes:

She's black on black with 170,000 miles. I bought her from the second owner and the car came with a pile of maintenance records. Scroll below to see some of the recent work.

I bought this car for its driving pleasure. I'm not looking into serious power (that's what the "M" is for )nor anything radical. I just want to keep her running and maybe a track day here and there.

She has a couple of dings, but the interior is clean. I'm excited to find a 944 without a cracked dash.

Here are some pics:


The thing on the front bumper is the wax applicator..

It was pretty dull when I picked her up, but some wax fixed that.

Clean interior.. finally.. after looking at 5 or more 944s.

Dash is perfect..



The only things I'm noticing right now is a small oil leak (maybe ten drops overnight) I think it's from the power steering. There's also this strange rattling sound. It sounds like a loose heat shield. It comes and goes, but it's annoying when it comes.

1) Is 170,000 pretty up there for this car? Can I get 250k out of her? or am I dreaming?

2) Should I worry about the oil leak? All the 944's I've looked at (total of 7) have had minor leaks here and there. I poured in a bottle of "stop leak" per a co-worker's experience earlier, we'll see.

3) Should I worry about the rattle?



Here goes, the maintenance list:

-Oil changes every 3k
-150,225 - Water pump hoses - $65 for two
- 150, 225 - Battery - $95
- 149,046 - Rebuilt water pump - $200
- 149,046 - T-Stat and Gasket - $27
- 149,046 - Front brake pads / sensor - $150
- 145,706 - Hood struts - $22.5/EA
- 140,450 - Radiator - $525
- 140,000 - 4 Tires - $350
- 140,000 - Timing belt / balance shaft belt - $175
- 132,131 - Fuel pump/ Heater valve - $230
- 132,131 - Clutch - $700
- 131,922 - Transmission mount - $175
- 131, 922 - Rear axle tension bar mount - $154

Total spent in the last 40,000 miles.. $2891

The prices listed are for parts only. Labor must of been another $5,000 or so here and there...


What will need attention soon? I know the timing belt is supposed to be replaced every 40,000 miles right? Any other parts that are prone to failing?


I'm very excited. It's such a wonderful car and I'm hoping this community is as knowledgeable and friendly as the BMW one. (I hate the Mercedes forum)


Thanks in advance.

C

TheCooler

Replace the belts now....And the car is in amazing condition ..wow!

Techno Duck

Timing belt i would do at around 35k miles, 40k is pushing it a little in my opinion for a $15 part. Thats just my view on it though. It should also be replaced regardless if its over 3-years old.

The oil leak coming from the power steering area is possibly a leaking balance shaft seal. If you can live with the leak it can be taken care of whenever you get the timing belt redone.

170k is not bad, there are a few people on here with excess of 200k on untouched bottom ends, i think one person was even over 250k.

As for the rattle, where is the sound coming from? There is a heat shield over the catalytic converter which is held on by a couple 10mm bolts, might try checking that.

Clean interior, my car also came with a uncracked dash, however its been starting to crack ever so slightly. Treat it reguaruly with Vinylex and buy a sunshade for the windshield...it will prolong the life of the dash a great deal.

BlueDog944

Leaks from the PS system are very common. The reservoir is one source of the leaks. New replacement for tha can be had pretty cheap. Check out two favorite vendors of folks on this list: Paragon Products and 944 Online (www.paragon-products.com and www.944online.com).

A VERY common mistake is to put power steering fluid in the power steering system. This will cause leaks and (for me) noisy pump. When you get a new reservoir, drain the system out and refill with god ol' ATF. For me those two steps solved some leaking issues and cured the noise.

The rattling could be from the belly pan. They seem to "loose" some of the retaining bolts. On the earlier cars the pan is metal, which yours might be. Check that out and see if they are all in place.

Enjoy the forum here. There are tons of people here with more knowledge than you imagine. Everyone for me has been very helpful, including people out of the blue contacting me to see if I needed anyone in the area to come help with my car. Hang around for a while and if you find the site to be a valuable resource then get yourself a membership. (I went a year before the guilt started getting to me that I wasn't a paid member yet. That from a guy that's a web developer and NEVER paid to join a forum.)

944CC

Thanks for the replies. Where can I pick up a timing belt for $15? It's been 30k miles since the last replacement, so I think I'll do it again within 5k, per your recommendation. Is it true water pumps need to be replaced every time the timing belt is done?

Are there any timing belt DIYs around for timing belts? (Sorry didn't search yet) First time working on a Porsche, but I have experience on BMWs and Mercedes.

I'll have to jack the car up to be sure where the sound is coming from exactly, I really have no clue. I'll try and make a video this weekend, maybe that will help.

Thanks again for the initial replies.


So, anything else I should be aware of? Take a look at the recent maintenance and give me a heads up on what I should watch out for.

Techno Duck

Late cars, such as yours have a plastic belly pan. It would be a miracle if your still had it with 150k+ miles on it. Mine was long gone with only 60k miles .. .

You can get an aftermarket Contitech belt, which is as good as the Porsche belt (apparently they are made by the same company). Anyhow you can get it at Paragon Products, this forums sponser. The waterpump should be replaced every other belt change, so figure every 60k-ish miles. Of course inspect it at every belt change for any signs of failure, leakage..excess play in the roller..etc.

Plenty of DIY info out there, for starters Clarks-Garage.Com

Jeez i need to get to sleep..

944CC

We can sleep all we want when we die.. Thanks for your reply.

Your sig makes me want to go track the 944.. NOW.. nice..

Reimu

I'm happy for you...944CC

Seriously, nice ride.

Andial951

welcome.......nice ride.......where in CA are you located?

500

170K is not much on these motors if they have been treated well with regular oil changes (and it looks like yours has had them at 3K intervals - good). Your car looks very clean and that is a sign that it has had a good life.

I would consider changing the oil right away and staying away from that stop leak stuff. I seem to remember hearing issues that this can create, but can't think of any good sources right now. But I would rather live with a minor leak than put some sort of extra substance into the engine.

Do have those belts changed and the waterpump at least inspected by a knowledgable mech. I would not shy away from putting a new one in anyway, they are relatively cheap.

Jakerx

welcome! nice ride!

944CC

Thanks everyone, I'm in the Bay Area. So anyone local that wants or has some free time to help me inspect it, I'd be more than happy to come to you.

WesM951

Welcome to the slippery slope! Very nice car!!

testarossa_td

Lookin good.

No stop leak for Porsche® I would only use that in my Saturn...which I do

zbeeblebrox

very nice car. hope you can make it so some centeral califonria drives. mostly so that i wont be the only 944 na in the group. enjoy your new car.