Ebagup

I recently purchased a 1987 924S (my first Porsche ) roughly 2months ago. It's in excellent condition. 93,XXX miles with great body and interior, I've had zero problems with it and I've been nothing but impressed. It drives and handles very well, the only concern worth mentioning is that upon start up, there is a growling noise with some minor shuddering for about 2-3seconds and then it goes away (again the car only does this at startup). I didn't think much of it up until now.

The PO had given me all the documentation/records of service, however prior to the purchase, the car was not being driven often and it was last serviced at 80,XXX miles (normally this wouldn't seem of too much concern, but it was done 11 years ago in 1998, roughly 1,200 miles driven a year). During this service the WP/Timing Belt and Power Steering Pump were all replaced. I should note that on the 1998 service record it mentions the "growling noise" I described with a "Poss. P/S Pump" explanation (which I'm guessing is why it was replaced). However I am left unsure whether or not the growling problem was resolved or not as there have been no other service records. So to recap the current WP/TB is 11 years old with 13,XXX miles on it.

A couple days ago I had it serviced for the first time. I ordered for the brake fluid to be flushed/filled, changed engine oil to synthetic, replaced oil filters, had the transmission oil replaced, replaced cam cover seal (small oil leak), and had the tires rotated. The mechanic mentioned the growling and said it could be a loose timing belt or the WP. Since I don't have the means to do it myself, the shop charge is about 1200 all said and done for both.

I don't really want to replace both if I don't have to, would I be safe just replacing/retensioning the timing belt?

ernie9468

First welcome to rennlist very helpful peoples here on this site- Timming Belts ASP otherwise" by by motor", 11 years for TB-BSB-water pump ect is a very long time being on the that car milages on them does'nt apply in your case ,call yourself very lucky . Good luck & happy Holidays

white924s

Definitely do both right away. 1200 is I think pretty much par for the course for a decent shop, but on the other hand, it's less than the engine rebuild you'd need if the timing belt snapped

Grandpa#3

Hello and WELCOME TO THE FORUM. You are taking a big risk driving your car anymore. You do not have a choice in the matter of replacing the cam and balance belts right away. The very very outside life of the belts is 5 years max as they dry rot. The water pump replace it now or pay the man extra, because he will have to remove and replace the belts again to do the water pump. These cars do not like to set up for long periods of time. Do you have any mechanical skills at all? The car is not that hard to work on, but you do need a good set of metric tools. Check out the link below and read each article/section. Check out any TECH Section and the SEARCH option at the top of the page. Look at 944online.com forum and their TECH Articles. All of us will help you as much as we can, but do read what you find to know how to ask questions and how to interpit our answers.

http://www.clarks-garage.com/shop-ma...ure-index3.htm

Cheers,
Larry

luftpirate

Definitely go ahead and do the pump, mine sat for 7-ish years and the impeller was corroding.

Ebagup

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I'm going to just replace both, and save myself from paying 2400 if the timing belt snaps. Watch the timing belt blow out on the way to the shop!