Howdy all,

I recently picked up an '87 924S that was mechanic owned (motorcycle
racer) and he did all his own work on his two 924S cars. I'm thinking it
might be a good idea for me to learn how to do more then just oil changes
and waxing to save me some $$ in the regular maintenance and repairs.

The previous owner gave me the Haynes manual which he said was
pretty basic, but would help me get started.

Are there any online guides to "front of engine" maintenance on these
engines, especially with lots of pics? Are there any books I should pick up
on this? Anyone in the Chicagoland area want to school me?

I am rather mechanically inclined having been a guitar tech, arcade video
game tech, mountain bike tech, and most recently computer tech, but I've
never done more then very basic repairs on any of my cars. I'm sure I can
handle the work, but I really don't want to muck up my Porsche learning!

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!!

 

My understanding is that the 924S has the same motor as the 944 so all the procedures should be the same. Check out Clark's Garage for procedures on just about everything. Look at Paragon's tech sessions as well.

I think you're going to find the most pictures by doing searches on this site, but the pictures don't archive forever so you may find some old threads that had pictures that have expired.

Good luck!

 

Yea, i was just going to say Clark's Garage also. Helped a great deal when i was doing the belts and water pump. I think i was on the same boat as you...i am pretty mechanically inclined, just working on the belts seemed like a huge job for someone who was used to just doing basic stuff like changing out alternators and the like. Lucky i had my fathers mechanic to help me out. He told me a great quote that day also...

"A good mechanic dosent always know how everything works...hes got a great memory with remembering where everything goes".

He took out all the gaskets, nuts, bolts, screws and threw them into a magnetic pan. He somehow knew where everything went.

 

Ahh, Clark's Garage is a new one on me! I'll have to check that out!

I was reading the Paragon Guides last night and they scared me....

Duck, I used to rebuild laptops from the plastic up. While my memory isn't
too terribly good, I somehow managed to get all the screws back in.
So yeah, that does make sense!

I'd really like to do the belts and water pump myself, especially after
reading about the SoCal Belt Party that just happened. I wish we had
something like that here in Chicagoland!

 

In direct reference to your thread title "Belt Replacement", most of us experianced owners will not let the timing and balance belts go much past 30,000 miles or two years. Though hardly as critical include the power steering belt and AC/alternator belt with the change.

You will find the 924S/944 a joy to drive. Keep decent close to stock size wheels and tires as the suspension gets a bit cranky when you step out side it's design boundries. Make sure the shocks and bushings are in good shape too.

 

Yeah, shocks bushings and belts were done 10k ago, though the shocks
might have come off a retired 924S. He couldn't find the recept for the
waterpump, but had recepts for everything else. The clutch is the only
thing he didn't replace, and it feels old, though seems to hold it's own.
I'm hoping it will make it through the winter, but I've got $1000 set aside
just in case.

I'm hoping to learn to do all the belts and water pump myself so I can
personally maintain the car, and shave what...half the cost at least?

 

Really not much to the hard maintenance such as belts and shocks. You will get greasy and dirty. I rather enjoy it myself but then there is a masochistic streak in us 944 owners.