iloveporsches

This weekend I test drove an 87 944 na. It seems like a pretty solid car, except one thing: when you shift, there's a clunking sound fromt eh rear of the car.

I did a search on this message board and so far I've come to the conclusion that it's the clutch. But the problem with that is that there is no play in the clutch, it doesn't chatter, and it shifts smoothly. If it isn't the clutch, what else could it be?

The owner says it's UV joints, but I havn't been able to get it to a qualified mechanic yet. Just wanted to know if you guys thought it would even be worth my time, cause I can't really afford the car and a $1500 clutch, and if it's for sure the clutch that saves me some money on a PPI.

Dave

The clutch is up front, CV joints was the first thing I thought of, left side usually goes first.
No matter how good a 944 seems when you buy it, It's a good idea to have a grand or two put aside, "just in case". In the case of a car that needs work, still put that money aside above and beyond what you think the car needs. This is WITH a PPI, without one, better make it 3-4 grand.

iloveporsches

Well, that's a relief to know that it's not the clutch. How much does getting the CV joint(s) redone usually cost?

blackandtan944

I had a clunking in the rear of my car. I only heard it when I was shifting so I thought it was the clutch too. Turned out to be the CV joints. . . when they both failed in a parking lot. That sucked. It made the worst noise i've ever heard. The PO had had them replaced within' 20K but whoever did it didn't know what they were doing and used the wrong grease and didn't torque everything properly and when we got them out, they looked like they had about 100K worth of wear.

I believe the two rebuilt cv axles were between 200 and 250 a piece. I think I also needed new bolts which were like 2 bucks a piece. The final bill was $911 bucks but he also tightened up my torque tube coupler (we thought this is what broke at first and that would have been WAY more expensive).

iloveporsches

New Cv joints seem kinda pricey, but maybe I could use that to lower the price of the car. Hopefully I'll be able to convince the owner to let me take the car for a day and a half to a dealership to get a PPI soon.

Also, a friend of my father, who owns an S2, suggested trying to find a BMW or VW dealer in the area because they might be able to do a compitant PPI on a 944. Should I bother?

Brett944Cab

The PPI on my S2 was only $86, and that was at a Porsche dealer. The shop was vouched for by the pres of my local PCA chapter.