heybiff

The only poeple I will trust to touch my car is Woodlawn Automotive in Germantown (Philly). One of the owners used to race 944's. They've always been fair with me and the one time I didn't take my car to them I got screwed royally (took it to the dealer Don Rosen to adjust the timing belt and they bent the car). Now I fix it, and if for whatever reason I think I can't do it, I'll take it to Woodlawn. If they're too backed up to take it, I'll let it sit until they or I can fix it. Period.

OTOH, it isn't whether a shop makes mistakes that should make you mad, it's how and what they do to fix thier mistakes that you should focus on. Coming from someone in the service industry, you can't be perfect all the time, but you can own every mistake you make.

heybiff

ubercooper

Thats a good point, I will contact them tomorrow (without the hostility) and see what they can/will do.

I did all that myself, it was easy bolt on stuff.

1. Yes, but its filled with my parents ****. Since I am in High School, I cannot really negotiate on that one.

2. Wrenches and screwdrivers, yes... anything else, i.e. a lift or jacks, no.

I think I will sleep on it tonight and consider my options when I have cooled down some more.

Thanks for the help so far.
-Seb

btw: for those wondering, I do have pictures of the splash guards, I'll have em up some time tomorrow.

Pauerman

Seb,

I've got a 944S tranny available. It's an 083 D or AGP tranny which is similar but not exactly like your 016 J tranny. Same ring and pinion (3.889) but slightly taller gearing.

016 J 083 D

1st 3.600 3.500
2nd 2.125 2.059
3rd 1.4583 1.400
4th 1.0714 1.034
5th 0.8286 0.829

Sorry but the colums of gear ratios didn't come out like I had typed in the reply window.

$350 plus shipping.

Techno Duck

You can just do it in the driveway. It should not take more than one afternoon. I would come and help (and bring my tools) but i am a long ride from south Jersey.

PeteL

The absolute truth...you have got to do your own work on these cars.

EMBPilot

i purchased a 924 about 5 years ago without having the schedule, time, tools, or a garage to do my own work and it bit me in the a$$ big time.

although limited on experience i have about 90% of the tools needed to work on a 944. Itd be a slow go but we could handle it. Where in south jersey are you?

if you need a hand or a few hours in a garage id be glad to lend a hand and my garage.

im near point pleasant NJ (exit 91).

good luck and keep your cool.

UDPride

Dont listen to these people. They talk transmission swaps like a neurosurgeons talked embolism removals. You wouldnt in your right mind cut a mans brain open without proper training and practice practice practice practice. So why would you do it to a sophisticated complicated piece of machinery many people spends thousands in education on just to be certified to work on such cars.

Sure some people can work on them in their garage just like some people can paint a Monet in their garage. Doesnt mean you can. Doesnt mean you should.

The best advice I can give is know your limits. You cant be a master of all of life's hobbies. I wouldnt so much as start ****ing around in my engine as I would show up for an audition on American Idol.

Fishey

Throw caution to the wind and pull that transmission out of there! invest in some cheap tools at first and you will be able to do the job cheap!.

Transmission jobs on 944's take about 60min *unless there is an oil cooler then its 65min* and its very common sense to do it in your garage. (I can do it in 21min as I have been timed! with air tools)

Here is the job in a nutshell.

1. Pull Shifter boot up and remove clip holding shifter linkage to lever
2. Remove Lever (two 13mm bolts)
3. Go under car and and undo the shaft coupler you will need to rotate crank to lineup bolts(2 x 10mm hex)
4. Remove inside axle shafts on both sides of transmission (triple Square)
5. Remove 4 bolts holding TT to tranmission (I belive you need 19mm and 10mm hex)
6. Remove linkage ontop of transmission (safety wired thing) 13mm nut.
7. Pop off linkage and shove it forward untill it clears transmission
8. shove plastic thingy forward that the linkage sat in.
9. Remove the two bolts holding up transmission
10. Do it so you can lay on back and get the bolts rolling over as the transmission falls on you.

You have removed the transmission (Note, this was all done from memory so I might have missed something)

Dynamite 76

Good luck with the car. I spend a lot more time working on my car than driving it. You can fit 2 Rino ramps, a jack, jack stands, and chocks in rear hatch. I keep mine covered with sunroof jacket. Doesn't drive like a Porsche with all that stuff wating to break through the glass , but since it just sits there not moving most of the time...

FRporscheman

F'ing A!

A 944 shouldn't cost more than $5000 to get completely sorted out, nice, and trusty. The only catch is, you have to do the work yourself, otherwise add another 10k to that quote. If you need a new tranny, you can find one for a few hundred bucks and slap it in in a few hours.

And it sounds like you need a mechanic that will recognize a bad synchro when he sees one.

Good luck!

Garmize

That sucks man, I was given a 86, 951 with all the major issues, oil leaks cracked exhaust header, x-over pipe, bad clutch ect.... I used a shop in Shrewsbury since I live in Point Pleasant, NJ. They seem good so far letting me but the more expensive parts from E-Bay and installing them without a markup. The owner races 944 Ts so they have much knowledge of this car. I should receive my car after the following items are fixed, refurbished turbo, new water pump, new clutch, some new hoses, new SS exhaust headers, new/used x-over pipe, new motor mounts, new rear Billstien shocks and more items I can't think of at the moment. When I get the car back I will let you know how good the work was, if you are interested. I they should be done in 2 weeks. Let me know and I can give you their info..

Van

Good memory, but don't forget the plug for the speedometer pickup and the wires for the reverse light!

On your step #3, I want to add that those bolts have to come all the way out, and if you have a helper, it's easiest to have that person step on the clutch and then you can just rotate the drive shaft by hand. A large prybar works very well at sliding the coupler towards the transmission.

As for UDPride's comment, there are certainly complex tasks that novices shouldn't attempt, but removing and replacing a transmission isn't one of those -- we're not suggesting that he REBUILD the transmission, just undo the 23 bolts holding it in. Many people (who have done this before) have offered to help, even!

Just like a brain surgeon wouldn't recommend the average person go tinker with someone's frontal cortex, he or she might, however, have faith that a lay person can wash out a cut, apply a band-aid, make a sling, wrap an ace bandage, take an aspirin, etc.

tifosiman

This sounds like it isn't the synchro. Since the hydraulics were just worked on my bet is that there is something regarding bleeding the clutch that was missed, or needs some fine tuning. How does the clutch pedal feel? Take a look at the receipt. Was the clutch slave replaced as well?

If you aren't comfortable with working on the car yourself, take it back to the shop and let them know that you are having issues and they should want to make it right.

I know you are upset, and I don't blame you, but could you think about editing the language in the title and the initial post? Please don't take that request the wrong way.

MichelleJD

This is my vote as well.

UDPride

uber-

everyone on here is my bro. I include you in that context. but listen to me when I tell you these people are greasemonkeys who know cars. They know these things like the back of their hand. If you are not seriously mechanically inclined, you have no business even getting wihtin 10 feet of something like this. They mean well. They know their stuff. But let me paint another side of the argument.

I replaced my front headlights with new bulbs and lenses about three years ago. I swear on a stack of bibles the installation instructions couldnt have been more than three steps. I spent over SEVEN HOURS trying to put the front of my car back together on a task that everyone said could not take even the dumbest man on Rennlist more than 15 minutes. You see, what I found out was, theres all these brackets that that encircle the lenses and you have to put them all together like a puzzle in order to get everything to line up just exactly. You need about 8 hands to do this properly. I was trying to do it with two hands, an elbow, my chin, and one other body part. THEN, you have to somehow hold everything in place so it doesnt all fall out of line or just fall out while you try to grab the screwdriver thats sitting on the garage floor. Once you have that, you have to figure out how to grab the screws. So you put the screwdriver back down. Then you try to get real suave' about it and stick the screw on the end of the screwdriver, but you know damn well its not gonna stay. By the time you get the screw up to the lense bracket to screw it in, everything is so damn out of alignment theres nothing to screw altogether. Dont even ask about trying to replace the bulbs in the fog lights. I tried for TWO DAYS to figure it out and finally just said the hell with it. I unleashed a stream of so many f-bombs that weekend the neighbors nearly called the police on me. I ran out to the driveway and booted a basketball into the woods. Im a grown man and threw a giant temper tantrum on the front lawn.

I dont pretend to be the most mechanically inclined person, but I believe I can think logically. This was just headlight bulbs. You are talking a freaking transmission. Theres always about 29 "tricks" and "oh yeahs" no one will tell you about.

"Well yeah you need to loose bolt #29 first to give you enough play to pull bolt #6 out. I figured you knew that." Gee, any other small details you care to share? Would have been nice to know about three days ago when I started this little project.

You are gonna run into alot of those situations and when you take a pistol to your mouth, Im gonna wash my hands of any responsibility b/c I warned you about it.

So, take my second opinion however you like. Personally Id go back to your wrench and tell him to fix it or you will have his hind on a platter.

Dont get me wrong. These blokes are A #1. Id let them work on my car in a second. But theres no way in hell they will ever convince me again to tackle something I knew was gonna be trouble. Go with your gut. If you smell a fustercluck just waiting to happen, embrace it and steer into the opposite direction of the slide.

I havent even gotten to the venerable seat bolt affair which was 10 times worse than the headlight lenses. Id rather be eaten by an anaconda than step anywhere near that **** again.

YMMV.