Anthony W

Hi all.

New to list, new to Porsche. Have been looking for a while.

I've just tracked down a beautiful 944S, with 80k miles on it. It's been fully serviced, has all servicing stamps, and I understand all receipts. I've got all of the stuff off the net that I can find on the 944S, from the famous 944 FAQ and similar. However, I want to know what I should look for in terms of cam belt tensioners and waterpump replacement. For an 80k mile car, when should they have been replaced? Is it likely the waterpump should have been replaced at all, assuming the other servicing is good?

Anything else I should look for that I may not be aware of?

Cheers,
Anthony.

Miles

Just to start out with, the belts on the "S" require the same attention as other '44s even with auto-tensioner. Replace religiously every 30k miles and retenion it after the first 2k, and again after 15k. Also don't forget to do the rollers. The water pump should be ugraded to the Turbo waterpump if it hasn't already been done. You can tell by noticing that is has an extra place where a hose attaches that seems to be missing. (It's for turbo plumbing but not nessasary in the non-turbo cars). The big problem with the "S" that should be watched is the Cam Chain tensioner. The plastic lobs on it that the chain runs on wear out and can be replaced. When they wear out they cause slack in the chain that eventually will cause it to fail and then look out!
Hope this gets you off to a start. Check out other topics on the "S".

Miles

Just to start out with, the belts on the "S" require the same attention as other '44s even with auto-tensioner. Replace religiously every 30k miles and retenion it after the first 2k, and again after 15k. Also don't forget to do the rollers. The water pump should be ugraded to the Turbo waterpump if it hasn't already been done. You can tell by noticing that is has an extra place where a hose attaches that seems to be missing. (It's for turbo plumbing but not nessasary in the non-turbo cars). The big problem with the "S" that should be watched is the Cam Chain tensioner. The plastic lobs on it that the chain runs on wear out and can be replaced. When they wear out they cause slack in the chain that eventually will cause it to fail and then look out!
Hope this gets you off to a start. Check out other topics on the "S".

951and944S

[quote] New to list, new to Porsche. Have been looking for a while. <hr></blockquote>

Welcome..

[quote] Anything else I should look for that I may not be aware of? <hr></blockquote>

Uhhmmm, An extra boost at about 3900 rpms from the 16 valve head, and a lifetime of enjoyment in a great car, IMO...

List a couple informative sites you have checked, and if I have something of interest, other than what you've seen, I'll add it here..

rfuerst

Anthony welcome to the Porsche club!I have a 1987-944S and love it.As others have said you want to find out when the waterpump has been replaced,if ever and when the timing belt has been last replaced and when it was last re-tensioned.Then you want to know if and when the nylon wear surface on the cam chain tensioner was replaced,this is a item that can be purchased from Zims for $25.00,I know because I am replacing mine today.If you keep after these items along with good general maint. you will have a great time with your Porsche.If you neglect these items they will bite you hard and cost you big bucks!!!!Good luck <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Michael Stephenson

As far as the water pump, my car has about 83,000 miles and I think it still has the OEM pump (no records when purchased from a used car lot). To be on the safe side, I plan on replacing it at the next set of belt changes, which will be at about 90,000 miles.

With regards to the chain tensioner, it is a good idea to have an extra cam cover gasket in your “inventory”. I have tried to reuse mine, but I had a bit more oil leakage than with a new one.

Best of luck.