bmstraight081

Okay, got 951 with just over 200k on the odo. Guy I bought it pulled it behind his RV and said the engine has about 130k on it. The guy owns his own little performance shop and is a pretty respectable guy but you never really know. I rebuilt the front end already because the pulling of it destroyed almost all the bushings.

My plan:

Change timing belt/ water pump he said was done 5k ago. pull the head and replace all seals and make sure the cylinder walls aren't nuked. replace all the cooling hoses and vacuum hoses (replaced the tee that broke by #3 and #4 cylinder that was causing an overboost shut down) and repaint it because there are chips all over the front from the rocks kicked up by the RV. Is there anything else I should really pay attention to?

bmstraight081

Also, what is the going price for a front wiper motor and are these cars equiped with a neutral safety switch? Because I dont have one...

running_cold924

thats BS unless he left the key on while it was being pulled (which would be stupid)...........electronic speedo...

bmstraight081

Exactly the type of info I was looking for... Thanks, that brings a new light to things.... So definently need to double check everything... Like I said above is there any absolute specifics that I should be checking outside of what I mentioned?

black944 turbo

No there is no neutral switch. Good luck with car and it is nice to see someone saving one.

Tedro951

Great to have you on here! Usually 1st posts are "how big a turbo is too big" or "I'd like 300WHP" stuff.
Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, oil and fuel filter, transaxle fluid, check engine mounts, check entire exhaust sys for leaks, and flush brake fluid. None of these things will bankrupt you, although the engine mounts aren't cheap.

Get to know the people on here, at least as well as you can. Search is your friend, but these guys will jump in, even when you ask insane questions.

bmstraight081

Thanks Ted, I changed the oil, which by the way is kinda tricky, I changed the plugs but still need to do the wires and cap and rotor. Not sure on the motor mounts. I replaced the brake pads but used semi metalic which was a huge mistake because they still squeek from time to time. There is one thing bothering me though. The car smokes abit from under the hood toward the exhaust manifold. Does anyone know what this could be. I'm guessing its the valve cover gasket but not real sure. It only does it for about 2-3 minutes after the car has cold started.

racerxrick

hey welcome to the club! When I first bought mine the main issues were loose power steering and A/C brackets. From your post you've already been there.

Black51

If it's still got the original turbo, pull the J boot off and have a look at the wheel.

black944 turbo

The smoke is common and can be either the cork gasket at the back of the cam tower or the cam tower gasket itself. The cam tower is a bit tricky as you have to pull the timing belt to get it off among other things.

Tedro951

My cam housing gasket would smoke a little at all times, but most embarrassing for a few minutes after shutdown.

Mark944na86

Then why not just change it? Cheap and easy job. Just curious.

89-944NA

Don't jump to conclusions about the PO, it may just have 130k since a rebuild. An excellent source for info and DIY's is located at www.clarks-garage.com.

If you have to pull the cam tower to change a leaky gasket, do yourself two favors; 1) before attempting to remove the cam tower bolts, put the wrench in the bolt and tap it with a hammer, this will completely seat the wrench (you don't want to strip a bolt hole inside the cam tower) and "wake up" the bolt to make it easier to remove. 2) BUY a new set of cam tower bolts. Cheap insurance, and always nice to have on hand if you notice that some of the heads are beginning to strip.

I buy ALL my nuts, bolts and washers from McMaster-Carr, a box of 25 is usually about HALF the cost of the cost of the 15 required. They have just about all the fasteners required for these cars.

www.mcmaster-carr.com

bmstraight081

Thanks guys for the heads up....and what should I look for in the turbo wheel mentioned above....I'm not having any boosting issues at all...only thing I had was a vacuum leak that would shut down the car...also I plan on doing the timing belt soon and planned on pulling the head and replacing all the gaskets from there up just to be safe. As far as the cam tower....I guess I don't follow....Do you mean the valve cover, I come from a world of drag cars with V8s and thats what I call them I guess unless you mean something I don't know about....haven't really dug into it yet....Doesn't the valve cover just bolt on the head with the allen screws?

Black51

As far as the turbo, I'd check for play, look at the compressor blades, check the hard pipes and intercooler for excess oil; basically anything thinkable that can go wrong with a 130k-200k, ~24 yr old turbo. The k26's are relatively cheap to rebuild. I cringe at the though of what a compressor blade could do to an alusil cylinder wall and piston.