TheAllusionist

I had a black 1988 944 in the 90s and loved the car, but had to sell it and get a family car when my step sons got a bit older and we needed a family car. Shortly afterwards the marriage ended and I was stuck with no family and a four door sedan! ;(

Fast forward to present time re-married and my wife works for a doctor who has heard the story and knows how much I liked the car. He has/had (mine now) a 1986 944 turbo with 47,600 original miles and we had great discussions about it and he just made me a heck of a deal on it as he just ordered an Audi S8 and needs the space in the garage.

So currently I have replaced hood/hatch struts, center console doors... all the little things that a 27 year old car might need. Now even though I am not at 60,000 miles, the timing belt is old and I probably should have it replaced when I get some extra money. My first question would be if the kevlar timing belts such as those made by Gates are any good, they claim to be 300% stronger and I am wondering if I can go longer without replacing them as I am told the price to do it an the parts you should be replacing while you are at it (shop doing work) is around $2,400.00 and if I can stretch that out, it would be great.

I don't want to drastically modify the car as it is still in great shape, it does have a high performance chip and I thought about doing some slight mods like better exhaust and maybe a boost enhancer, always happier with more power, but don't want to strain the drive train too much and I am on a budget. I know to search the forums for the standard upgrades, just curious about bang for the buck subtle enhancements for now.

I also notice when I get to about 70 mph in fourth gear there seems to be a deep throaty woo woo sound from the rear so maybe I better have the CV joints or something in rear end looked at unless that is something common for the earlier 951s?

Anyway, when I had the NA 944 I was envious of the Turbo versions, now I have one and love the power once you get it up on the power band, both of them are a tad squirrely on roads with tire treads worn into them unless you are on the gas a bit, but I have a grin ear to ear when I am driving it. I got a wife and my Porsche back, kind of hoping I will get my hair back to! LOL

TexasRider

The timing belt and water pump is certainly first on your list . When was it last done is the first question for your Dr friend .

Porsche calls out 3 years and for good reason. With the interference fit of the valves on our motors a timing belt break can be really bad .

Other things on your list are to reseal the front while the above is ongoing. Plus look over all rubber hoses and that kind of thing that you dont know has been changed. There are lots of hoses and rubber on a 951. And most of it is old and waiting to break if it hasnt been changed within the last few years. Any number of guys on this board have replaced one, then the next, then the next, then frustration, ..... so check that rubber .

How old is the water pump?
Are ALL of the water hoses in good shape?
What kind of shape are the vacuum lines in?
Rubber intake hoses in good shape?
Spark plug wires OK?
Exhaust manifolds cracked?

That rear sound could be bearings - wheel bearings in particular.

As to the Gates belt I cant say. I just use the Porsche ones with the updated water pump. Never had a problem. If you do it yourself, you can and probably should use the tensioner tool, or if you have the auto tensioner, it is less of a problem. Get the timing right . Get the balance belt right . Might need tensioner for this too.

My 951 is stock 28 years on . They get considerably less relaible, and the maintainance needs get higher too, with each modification. It can be fun, but it can cost you. Budget and Porsche are rarely used in the same sentence unless the word blown is somewhere in there.

Congrats and welcome to RL.

TheAllusionist

Thanks TR! The doctor bought it with 40,000 on the car years ago and just put over 7,600 himself and he doesn't know anything about timing belt being replaced, hence I figure it is a need to be done item. I had one go on my old one and it was a fiasco because the guy that replaced it had the balancer installed wrong and wouldn't stand behind his work even though the thing vibrated like crazy approaching 3000 RPMs and then the guy that fixed that work, didn't replace the tensioner bearing and that went...... I know, budget and Porsche don't go together, just making it clear I wasn't rich! LOL

Upon rudimentary inspection it all looks good as far as hoses, only wear is from the original owner obviously having problems getting in and out... Some wear on door sill and door pocked carpet and I replaced broken center console door... Hoses and lines in engine compartment all look good. Small oil drip, but it could be from oil filter. The standard hatch squeak, need to tighten passenger side it appears...

It will be a labor of love, maybe down the road I will start doing as much as possible on it, but I am more of a vintique hot rod kind of guy. Thanks for your input!

Russell

TexasRider

It depends on how much you are going to drive it and how hard too. That is for the mods - not for the maintainance.

But trust me on the coolant hoses. You can go to my page and look at Sentinelist posts from his purchase of his 951. He blew a hose. Then another. Then another. These 951 Turbos run a LOT hotter under there and it takes a toll on hoses. Another thing is that when hot coolant goes everywhere underneath that hood it makes a mess of everything. Especially the second or third time. You can get grumpy cleaning it too if you are like me and want a sparkling engine bay.

Get that timing belt and WP and front reseal done as soon as you can. Then you can start driving and enjoying the car and catching up the other items. While it is a excellent low mileage car, it still needs things at this point. And you dont want to be looking at BIG bills - or another "part out of low mileage 944 " thread. The last I looked I think a valve is $300 or so . Yes for one ! Without the head work and the shop and tech labor .

TheAllusionist

Thanks for sharing your experiences and advice!

TexasRider

Mine with 91,000 when it is cleaned up for the Car Show. You will see that I practice that about the rubber items .

Reimu

The kevlar belts are still relatively new to us so I don't think a strong opinion of them has been formed one way or the other.

However the general consensus is you'll be changing the belt in 3 years anyway so why not just buy a regular one rather than spending big bucks on a fancy blue belt. The extra strength of the belt doesn't really have a function since belts usually don't just destroy themselves when tensioned properly and replaced in the proper time spec.

Put the money towards a new waterpump instead and change it with the belt.

TexasRider

There will be some other guys along too .

And one other thing . Now that you have a Porsche - - go up there and become a RL Member . Best thing you can do for the money !!! Just stay out of P&C LOL. And then go look up Clarks Garage and save it too.

odurandina

Gates.

50~60 k mile range. that's as far as you'll be going on your water pump anyway, so.

thirdgenbird

Thanks for the reminder. I just realized my belts are almost exactly 3 years old. Now I need to decide if I should change them now or wait till next season. 5 more months a can't hurt right?

TexasRider

^^^^

Probably not hurt a thing. Porsche uses that as a way to insure against 99% of failures - even those driven hard. But you might want to check the tension. Just sayin ',

XrussianX

U guys make the 944 sound like a 348. Is it really every 3 years for the belts? I was under the impression the 4 banger would hold up quite a bit longer then the Italian v8's

TexasRider

Some guys go longer . Some have failures. Some dont. Some have to have big $$ motor work too. It just depends.

But overall the 3 years is a good guideline. When they designed the car they came up with this to reduce failures to a minimim.

Race 944s replace them more regularly.

XrussianX

I'm actually about to get the belts changed with the WP. Anything else u guys recommend replacing "while we're in there"

XrussianX

I was qouted $1800 for belt change and WP with labor. Sounds a lot cheaper then a 348. Averaged out 3 years that's $600 a year so it's not bad at all