SigAlphAdam

A sad end to the 944...if you're faint at heart read no further:

After dealing with the overheating on and off all summer, and changing hoses, thermostats, etc...I got in the pcar today and heard a loud "click-click-click" sound as soon as she started up. Having just changed the oil less than a month ago, I got curious and checked it out. I discovered that the oil was now a brown muddy mixture of oil & coolant!

Basically the block is cracked and the heads are blown, and I've been told that I'll need a whole new engine! Since I can't afford to buy an engine that costs more than the price of the car, I have no choice but to send her on her way.

This is a sad way to end a great year with an even greater car! Seems somewhat ironic that Labor Day supposedly marks the unofficial end of summer...and the end of the Porsche.

I hope others are having a better labor day than me. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to sell it for parts or try and sell the whole thing outright to someone who wants to do an engine job, if anyone is interested let me know.

On the bright side, I can now look forward to next summer and buying a 951!

Kevin Baker

Man that sucks! I'm sorry to hear that. Before you resign yourself to getting rid of the 944 check some of the salvage yards, with the help of area listers you could probably swap in a "used" motor fairly easily.

MM951

Try and fix it up, if not...sell it to someone like...me?

SigAlphAdam

Personally I don't have the skill or experience do a complete engine swap. My brother goes to WyoTech and I'm thinking of lending it to them. (all labor is free, i would just have to pay for parts). Anyone ever heard of putting in a Corvette LT1 in a 944? probably too big of course, but just curious.

Some info on the car, I bought it last summer for $4,000. Its got close to 140k miles on it. It has been running fine and only major repairs have been the transmission linkage. Brand new tires have about 4-6k miles on them. I'd pull most of the stereo before selling it but I'd leave in the kenwood 4x6's and tweeters, and all the wiring is set up for an amp and sub in the trunk.

Any experts know how much I might be able to get for it? I'd like to get at least $1000 if not $2000.

MM951

Maybe if you put it on AutoTrader you'd be able to sell it arond $2,000, but depending on alot it would affect the price. For example, doing an engine swap I'd imagine would be about 1-1.5K including the labor, right? I'm not sure, just making a guess. If that is the case, and nothing else has to be done (decent paint, interior, etc) someone may get a great 944 for cheap, if they can do the labor. I might be intrested..got any pics?

-Thakns!
Mike

brrt50cal

The Lt-1 is possible.

josephsc

Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear that! I'm going through the exact same thing right now on another 87 944 -- blown head gasket and a scorched cylinder. I decided to have a shop drop in a new engine, even though it makes absolutely no financial sense to do so -- purely sentimental value. If I had the time and the facility, I would have loved to try the job myself (nothing to lose, right?)

I got a quote of $1500 for a used engine out of Parts Heaven ($250 shipping), and about 12hours of labor at the Porsche specialist. You can probably find a used engine for around $600 on eBay or someone on the list, but it'll be of unknown quality. Since I'm dropping in a new engine, anyways, I decided to have the shop drop in a 968 engine. If you do a search on engine swaps, you'll find a lot of info -- including Chevy engine swaps (see discussion on Renegade Hybrids, for instance). But it entails replacing a whole lot more than just the engine.

This will get to be a very expensive path, and you should figure out for yourself what it is you want out of the car before you think about engine swaps. At the very least, though, I would opt for finding a used 944 engine and finding a cheap (but reliable) way of getting it put in.

seb928s

Mike and I have an good running 944 engine that we are willing to sell for a sweet deal. Email me seb928s@ij.net for details if you are interested.

Seb

ERAU-944

yup, i have the engine. if you're interested email either seb or myself @ERAU944@hotmail.com

regards,
-Michael-

sharky47

Find a totaled but running one on Ebay or something. Buy it and transfer the engine and anything else you want into yours. Sell the rest and make up some of your cost.

SoCal Driver

I paid $500 locally for an 86 auto with engine fire. Engine has about 130k on it. Lifters clatter a bit. Cost an additional $300 in incidentals to swap the long block into my 83. New clutch disk. Will dig into the lifters next week.

I also got the electric seats, radiator, power steering, windshield wiper motor, rear deck lid with center brake light, rear remote hatch system, complete doors, full front fender group (hood is toast!), fairly new speakers, custom after market wide rims that fit the early offsets, tail lights, extra spare tire, etc...

Pulled and sold the two gear box sunroof assembly, the instrument cluster, the AC-fresh air controller, fresh air blower. Almost made the $500 back.

So shop around to the local J-yards and see if you can find a rear ended 944 you can buy the engine out of.

ttwitc9516

Adam.
I might be interested in buying if the rest of the car is decent. I work in Champaign and could swing by and have a look. Let me know. Also have a friend at work wanting to sell a 951. Terry

User 41221

Um, are you sure your block is cracked? It sounds like it might possibly just be a blown oil cooler seal, which is substantially less expensive, unless you let it sit so long that the coolant ruins the engine bearings.

Regards,

esanmiguel

I am too doubtful that the block is cracked. Seems kinda rare to crack your block if the engine was not over stressed and overheated. Was the car ran while overheated? Maybe it is just the head gasket that blew?

pete944

Is the coolant and oil in the overflow tank or on the dipstick? If the mix is on the dipstick, you may only have a blown headgasket. That would also explain the overheating. If the mix is only in the overflow tank, then you probably only have blown oil cooler seals.