Cass944

Well... I havent been on rennlist very much recently because ive been too busy for the 944. But now its time to get some stuff done with the car.

I JUST put a new battery in the car because the last one was toasted after about 5 months. I have driven the car probly about 10 times total since the new battery was put in and it is now also toast. wont hold a charge at all... this is the 4th battery my car has gone through in less than 2 years... wtf can be making this happen.

number 2. my car seems to be missing on one of the cylinders. the car is shaking a bit and sounds liek a deisel. Im guessing i can figure out which cylinder it is by unpluggin the spark plug wires one cyl at a time. I know its not the plugs because i just put in new ones and its the same. im thinking maybe fuel injector? anyone knwo of a good way to find out if the injectors are good or not?

other than that, me and my dad have been talking and we would like a nice involved project to begin plying with. My dad wants to know if it would be worth it to COMPLETELY rebild the car. liks strip it down to the body and start form there... I told him no way unless it was a turbo would that ever be worth the work or the money. what do you guys think? would it be a good idea to try to sell my N/A and try to trade up to a turbo then rebuild the entire car? how much do 951s go for these days anyway compared to how much i could get for my n/a... its not in the best condition but its still nota junker in any way.

thanks for your input everyone

Cass944

a picture for the heck of it

billthe3

For the battery issue:
Do you have any electrical things that might be on to kill the battery? It could be a radio or interior lights or whatever. Aftermarket stereo power wires (to subs or whatever) seem to cause issues like that fairly often. Also could be a short in the wires somewhere. Maybe something hitting the terminals on the battery once you close the hood?

I take it the battery doesn't die when the car is driven a lot, so its not the alternator? Or does the battery die with the more you start the car? Alternator could be bad if thats the case. If it isn't an alternator problem you could just disconnect the battery when the car isn't being driven to save the power.


Aside from that, nice pic!

luckett

voltage regulator?

luckett

Running a batttery down will not permanently kill it. A short would cause other problems unless it shorted across the terminals like you stated. If that happened there would be a nice fireworks show and some messed up parts.

billthe3

Oh, ok. I have a friend with an older toyota with aftermarket stereo stuff that he assumes has a grounded wire somewhere in the setup because since he installed it the battery will die in the car if its left sitting for a while. Battery doesn't die though, just needs a jump.

Cass944

yeah its nto the alternator... i can drive the car around for an hour or so with no real problems... but then as soon as i turn the car off, i immediately try to start it and its COMPLETELY dead. I do have an amp in the car for the sterio... i think im going to try to unhook it and see what happens

Big E

I don't think any car, save for something ultra-rare and exotic, will make a complete restoration (which is pretty much what you're talking about) a good investment. But, to me, the magic phrase was that you and your Dad were looking for "a nice involved project to begin playing with." To me, that means that it's not about recouping your investment, it's about doing something you enjoy, learning something while you're at it, and probably also spending some quality time cursing at stripped bolts w/ you pops. That will be worth way more than whatever the project ends up as.

xsboost90

if your alternator is charging- but not completely- see voltage regulator- then it will run and drive fine, but will not recharge the battery. Meaning- you need an alternator.

Pull the new plugs- is one wet and the others are nice and brown or blackish? I would say if so then you have-a bad injector/ a bad wire not getting spark/ a bent valve holding open....

when you figure all this stuff out, learn alittle more before you go tearing into a whole car project or you'll be in over your head....

Cass944

thanks for you input guys.

I dont think i owuld be in over my head. I have been through complete overhauls with a few 944s in my day. I also just went through putting a TT motor in my gti... also a complete build from the engine block up.

I would go out and start taking apart my N/A engine right now but i really feelthat it would be a waste of money and time and i would really like something more challenging likea turbo or possibly a nice early 911 turbo. like an 89 maybe...

oh and i guess i wasnt so much asking for help with the engine problems as much as just ranting about how mad i am at that car right now... i really just was wondering about how hard it would be to trade up to a turbo.

can you buy a 951 for under like 8 or 9 grand these days?

Bri Bro

Eight to nine for a turbo, no problem. I just saw a 87 944T with a bad #2 rod but was very clean inside and out that was in your neck of the woods. I suspect it could be had for 3-4K. Drop me a PM and I will send you a link.

Cass944

just to let you guys know, i got the enjectors out and took a look at them. one of them almost looks like it had a peice of something stuck under the pin in the nozzle, i cleaned it out good. im goig to reseal and rebuild all of them anyway.

also all of the spark plugs were a slightly brown color except for one, its still completely white and brand new looking. like there were no detonations happening in that cylinder.

billthe3

Were the messed up injector and the clean plug in the same cylinder? I wonder if that cylinder hasn't been getting any fuel or something wierd... (is that even possible?)

xsboost90

too shay.... got my turbo for under 6k.

Cass944

thats good to hear. I would like to just find one somewhere within a couple hundred miles with a spun bearing or something so that i can just trailor it here then get the engine out.

also, yes the one with the weird injector and the spark plug were the same cylinder.

that cylinder has not detonated since i started the car up for the first time a few days ago apparently... good thing i didnt take it for a drive to try and get it to fix itself or something.