WC944

Proud to say I'm a new owner (of 2 weeks) of a 1984 944 NA.. in pretty decent shape..but no real records. The motor runs fine and is fun to drive. I'll be posting some photos later today. 117K miles. I acquired this car on what some would consider a "whim", as I'm new to the world of 944's.. but what a beautiful car... Fuchs wheels. The body is in pretty good shape but will need a paint job, but likely the least of my worries at this point. Yesterday I did get it inspected by a reputable mechanic in Evanston and I was able to see the underside for the first time. Of course some issues are obvious...some are urgent.. and some fixes are down the road.

I've not been doing any mechanical work on cars for about the last 35-40 years.. so I'm rusty at best but would like to try to do what I can and don't mind getting my knuckles busted now and again... yep, I do plan on investing in some tools, but I'm also very interested in finding folks in the Chicago area who have some of the more specialized tools or are willing to help in some capacity with some of the work. Of course I'm willing to help others and have experience holding a light.

I'm not sure which is the most urgent thing that needs addressing but it is either the tie rod assemblies..or the timing belt/waterpump etc. The front wheels have a huge amount of play when pushing them left to right..and just a little play when pushing on the wheel top to bottom. The mechanic (approx 5 miles from my home) described it as really bad and suggested that replacing the tie rod assemblies asap (IE the #1 issue to address) I've seen some of the video's where folks are replacing these and it looks like something I might be able to do. This would include the control arm bushings as well. Would you recommend someone doing this who hasn't been under a car for 40 years? I know it will need to be realigned after this.

I do understand the urgency of addressing the timing belt etc issue, as no reliable record exists, but not sure which I should address first.. tie rods etc, or timing belt etc...

Some other issues to address:

Rear Crankshaft seal has a small leak.
Drivers side outside handle linkage broke soon after purchase.. have ordered the new linkage which should arrive next week.
Transmission output shaft seal replacement.. obvious leak with oil around the seal.
Rear wheel bearings (inner and outer).... slight noise in right rear.. but not really prominent..
Rear pads and rotors... mechanic suggests this
Looks like there is brake fluid leaking from the brake boost assembly.. peeling off the black powder coated paint.
AC works, and is r134, but small bubble can be seen in the view port.

To do the tie rod assemblies and bushings, transmission bearing, and rear wheel rotors, bearings and pads, the mechanic estimate is about 2.2k.

That's enough to warrant getting back under a car.. If I can.

There is no issue up shifting at all, but when down shifting, it's very hard to go from 5-4 or from 4-3... though 3-2 and 2-1 is pretty easy... which I think is a linkage problem but the mechanic suggests this is likely a clutch problem.. but I'm not sure as the clutch seems to work fine up-shifting.. I know I don't want a clutch problem..but he seemed really pretty certain.

The mechanic noticed that there were bolts missing from the upper belt cover and pulled it back a bit so we could see the timing belt. He says the timing belt looked "bad".. as it was brown on the teeth and a kind of dull blackish brown.. which he said indicated it is old.....

Some things about this car.

Passengers leather seat is in good condition.. though the seat of the drivers side is ripped a bit on the seat.
The odometer is working, the trip meter isn't, and the speedometer does work at speeds above 40 mph... but not really under 30-40 mph.
Clock works usually when the ignition is on, but not when the ignition is off.
Cigarette lighter works, as does the Alpine cd/radio.
Have the original Blaupunkt Montery sq23 radio and bracket, but it is not installed.. not sure it works.. but hope to check it out soon.
The car came with some spare parts, including clutch master and slave cylinders. A set of brake pads (not sure if they are for the front or back, and the mechanic suggests they are not OEM.. I can see he turned his nose up at these).
There has been some brake line work done in the past... as they look fairly new.. so says the mechanic.
Has a spare DME relay.

I really liked the mechanic (his DD is a beautiful 1976 924 that looks great.).. so I think he really knows the 944. I was impressed with him and his obvious knowledge. He even gave me a bumper guard, as one of mine is pulled out slightly.. he reached in box, pulled one out, and said "here you go.. it's been in this box for years."

I'm planning on selling some music equipment to feed this 944... planning on spending about 4 k to get this up to snuff mechanically.. but I can see if the mechanics does all the work it's likely more like 6-8k (if he does the clutch). Mostly just want this to be a restoration project.. and occasional driver...

I'm looking forward to, and somewhat scared of, this ride with the 944.

Suggestions about priorities welcome!

Thanks for any comments and thank you all for being here!

PaulD_944S2

Timing and balance shaft belts first, along with the tensioners and idlers for the belts.
You should be able to do this yourself, it may seem intimidating, but read up and ask questions here, plenty of people and resources to help you do it right.

After-all, you can drive the car with loose steering but not if the engine is broken!

WC944

Thanks PaulD, I get the logic of that, and thanks for reassuring me that this may be possible for me to do. The mechanic thinks that when doing this it makes sense to do the water pump and thermostat as well. Currently there are no issues with either as far as I can tell, but do you think this makes sense to do as well?

PaulD_944S2

If you have the $$$ to replace the water pump and thermostat at the same time as the belt, by all means do it.

Also, while you have the timing belt cover off check to see if you have any major oil leaks from the front seals. There's more info on this in the forums, but don't sweat the small leaks.

The idea is to get the car running by removing points of failure. The small things can be caught up with later. And once you have done the timing belt, everything else is easy (well almost, wait till you find out about replacing the clutch!).

Mr. Toasty

I second what PaulD said about the belts. I'd add fuel lines connecting to the fuel rail to that since that's my pet peeve. A leaking hose can cause a fire by dripping onto the exhaust headers at the back or into the alternator on the front like mine did.

The door handle linkage can be a pain in the neck (and back and fingers) to see and connect. Clark's Garage has a nice write-up that helped me a lot, but I found that it helped to remove the black oval vent on the back end of the door as well.

If you've got the time to work on it and are prepared to wait longer than you expect right now, you can definitely do the work. Take your time, get a PDF or hard copy of the factory service manuals (PM me if you have trouble with this), and go piece by piece. Once you start turning wrenches and opening things up, the itch will not stop and you will become more and more confident and competent. I'm sure it will be a rewarding journey!

WC944

Thanks PaulD and Mr. Toasty,

I'll be looking at these options today, as I now have parts for the TB change etc. and will look into the fuel lines. Certainly something I would not have considered.

You have helped me get a bit of confidence so I now own some tools and a jack and stands and hope to get it up on stands today. Then we will see what happens.

A couple of pics of my prize.

Thanks again!!

Mr. Toasty

Very nice! Beautiful color and wheel combination. That's going to be a really great car when you're done.

Be careful when jacking it up and make sure the jack points are solid. Check frequently as you raise it so you don't wind up bending a once-hard-but-now-soft jack point. The center jack points tend to be ok, but the ones on the inboard front frame rails as well as the rear outer frame can rust and become soft. There should be an additional jack point behind each front wheel. This one isn't mentioned by Porsche in the owner's manual, but it seems like a solid piece to use for a jack or stand. [Anyone else want to chime in and disprove or confirm?] Placing a wide pad or piece of wood on the jack would help, too.

WC944

Thanks Mr. Toasty for the jacking tips. I have jacked it at the center points, and placed it on 4 stands.. Wheels are off and, and I've started on the timing belt.. I'm sure I'll have some issues but having the community here gives me a bit of confidence that I'll make it through... fingers crossed now wish me lucked as I put my new wrenches to the test.

ryan@usaimage.com

Man, you have quite a list of things that need fixing. Since you have rear main seal leak as well as trans seal leak, you will have to remove tranny and pull back the torque tube for that work. At that point you should be able to check out the clutch as it will have to be removed to do the seal anyway. See if it is the original rubber-center clutch disc. If it is you need to change it out as those fail with age and you already have everything apart. Clutch change on these cars is a very expensive job at a shop because of the labor of removing trans etc. Do it while you are fixing seals and save money down the road. Nice looking car...have fun.