Last week I test drove an '84 944 and noticed something wrong with the transmission. First of all the shifter would move side to side about 5 inches while in gear. Also I could hear a sound coming from the rear when I first gave some gas in first gear. At first I thought it was a loose muffler, but I'm wondering if that might be coming from the transmission. I could also hear a sound from underneathe the car as I shifted. What's wrong with this and how much would it cost to have it fixed by a reputable mechanic?

The guy is asking $5000 for the car. It has the 15 inch Fuch's from the factory along with most options, he doesn't know if it has the Handling package.Would it have the package since it has Fuch's? Interior is good, a few dash cracks and split in seam on driver's seat. So what do you guys think? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks
Jerad

 

not worth $5k, that's what I think.

I paid almost $5k for an 85.5 with 15" fuchs, but it was in nice shape with a recent belts and clutch. And a very tight tranny. And the exact color I wanted. There's no way the shifter should move that much while it's in gear.

I would have it looked at hard by a 944-knowledable mechanic before you even think about it.

 

Keep looking. I wouldn't even bother looking deeper into that car.

 

That's a pretty steep price for an '84.
You're looking at a minimum of $500-$600 for a replacement (read- not new, not rebuilt)tranny plus any installation costs.

IMHO, I would wait for another example.

 

Thanks guys, I think I will stay away from this one. I know it's not worth $5k, but I thought I might be able to talk him down little.
Now I'm just curious, what's wrong with the tranny? My buddy said the shifter moves side to side in his '83 while in gear.

Thanks
Jerad

 

The shifter on my 951 had the same problem--i.e. 5” play while in gear. Turned out to be a loose bolt where the shift rod connects to the mechanism on the top of the tranny. The manual says there’s supposed to be some kind of pin that locks this bolt in place, but my car didn’t have one. Tightening the bolt reduced the play considerably--down to about an inch and a half. The remaining play appears to be due to a missing lock washer where the shift lever connects to the shift rod (directly under the ****). I haven’t replaced this yet, so I can’t say exactly how much it will help.

I realize you’re passing on this car. But if you run across another with the same problem, you might want your mechanic to take a look at it. It could be a simple fix.

 

Thanks Dare, how hard is it to fix this problem? I am familar with problems these cars have but have never diagnosed or done anything with them in person. What you described sounded pretty simple as long as I have the manuel plus something like a Haynes manuel.
Does $4k sound like a reasonable price as long as everything else checked out ok? I'm not locked in on the car, just wanting some opinions.

thanks
Jerad

 

The loose bolt problem should be a pretty quick fix. I had the luxury of having the exhaust off the car when I did it, which made getting access to this bolt much easier. But it should be possible to fix this without taking anything off the car.

I don’t have the Hayes manual, but the Porsche 944 manual wasn’t much help for this particular problem. I think they considered it so trivial a piece of equipment that it didn’t deserve much in the way of explanation. Still, the Porsche manual is a great resource for other areas of the car. A definite must have. Additionally, if you’re going to do any serious work on the car you should try to get a hold of the PET (the parts catalog) which contains dozens of exploded parts diagrams that are great for figuring out how the car is put together.

As to the value of the car you’re looking at (or any 944 for that matter) I can’t really speculate, as I’m new to the 944 scene myself. Your best bet is to research comparable cars and see what their going for. You should also insist on a pre-purchase inspection, because what was 10 minute, $0 fix on my car could be a 10 hour, $1500 fix on the one you’re looking at.

Good Luck!

Jay
86 951