Wachuko

I have a late 1987 951 with LSD. The previous owner did not take good care of the car so I have been, for the past three years, fixing different things in the car as they break, need attention, or I just can hold off on replacing. It has been a little frustrating since I have yet to go a good six months without having the car in the garage waiting for me to fix something. Do not get me wrong… everything was in the car, even the original window sales sticker, but the seats are in need of refinishing and the dash has a few cracks.

I will use this site to relieve some stress.

First thing I did when I bought the car was to replace the timing belt and balance belt with all bearings; all water hoses, brake rotors, brake pads, brake fluid, front and rear shocks, hood and rear hatch shocks; replaced ignition switch, distributor cap and rotor, spark plugs, spark plugs wires, hinge in the cassette compartment, shift boot, a/c control unit (used), expansion tank, wiper washer bottle, rear speakers, doors, hatch, and sunroof seals, bushings, and wiper blades. Also replaced all four CV joints. I did all this work with the exception of the timing belt (do not have the tension tool).

New S02 all around (that I am afraid will go bad due to age rather than use ).

I probably used the car for 6 months and the clutch went out… since I did the work and it was the first time I have had to do this, between work, travel, blah blah blah, it took me three months to put everything back… used the car for another 4-6 months and the computer went crazy… turn out it was a solder joint of one of the transistors, I check all solder joints with a magnifying glass, found a couple broken (hard to find though) and resolder all solder joints as a precaution.

Four months later, while entering a parking area, there was a pot hole and the oil cooler and one of the fans was damaged… so it now has a new fan, new oil cooler and lines, (good thing the insurance paid for all this) and a new under cover pan.

Changed the DME relay, as a precaution and the two speed sensors.

Well… about 7 months ago… the car stops charging and eats the battery. So I order a rebuilt alternator to replace it (silly me, thinking it was an easy task). I have had to take out a lot of parts just to get to the @!#% alternator. Well, the car is still in the garage, on four stands (so the tires do not suffer all that stand still), and as I am taking stuff out I am having to replace the additional air hoses that are cracked due to old age… the metal pipe that flows coolant to the turbo (all rotten out), the hollow bolt that holds that pipe in place (US$19.00!!!)… and I still do not have the alternator out… the funny part (and the reason for my post) is that all this was probably not required if I had only check the car from time to time and inspected the routing of the wires. PLEASE TAKE TIME AND CHECK THE WIRES THAT GO BY NEXT TO THE AIR CONDITIONER COMPRESSOR!!! It seems that the wire rap, that hold that bunch of wires out of the way of the compressor, snapped letting the wire touch the compressor belt… the belt ate through the wire outside cover (the one that hold all of them together), and then it went trough a few of the wires. Probably making a short and killing the alternator…

It will, probably, take me another month to finish everything. I just hope this time the car goes on without many more problems.

I remember a friend telling me that I would make more money just by giving away the car… how funny (not! )

If it wasn’t for how much I like the car… A lot of the stuff I do it to make sure that there is one less thing to worry about, but then something else pops up… oh well… …thanks for listening. Someday it will be ready and good enough to take it to a DE session and enjoy the heck out of it…

ddramoneshaw

I can relate, past week. new clutch, replaced 2 coolant hoses, contro; arms and boots next

Wachuko

ddramoneshaw, what goes wrong with the control arms??? The bushings go bad, they break, get disorted?

I also have the boots and will probably replace them while doing the alternator... I have been meaning to align the car in a respectable place... last alignment was done at a tire shop and I do not think it was done correctly... when I turn I can hear a metalik sound in the back... weird Maybe I should post a new topic to see if someone has experienced something similar...

Dan87951

Your story reminds me of my first 951. If it wasen't for how much I loved that car, it would have been gone a long time ago. Just keep at it, sooner or later everything will be replaced and nothing else could go bad!? Right?

Skip

Jaime, the only consolation I can provide is that I and many others been there too... even more so in my case, but this makes the whole experience for you none-the-more painless. On the other hand (there's 5 fingers ) I know pretty much every nut and bolt, and nook and cranny on the entire car now.

I believe the control arms mentioned in the earlier message are in reference to the front control arms. I assume you were speaking of the rear, as you mention the boots and a sound from that area?

First, the front control arms' weak spot is the ball joint. This plastic-lined, glued-in joint fails (meaning "needs service" not "falls apart") quite often on older 944's requiring the replacement of the entire arm ($150-$600 depending). Signs of failure include clunking while turning or over uneven surfaces, and steering vibration or drift. Easiest way to check for health is with front wheels off the ground. Either shake the whole wheel assembly, or use a pry bar [gently] to wriggle the ball joint around. There should be nearly no movement other than normal pivot. The boots should also be inspected for cracks, which can lead to premature failure. This unit is one of the most important safety checks on the entire vehicle... for if it fails, the wheel is now free to move within the wheel well... or not.

The rear control arms (trailing arms) are pretty fail-safe. No moving parts outside of the attaching parts like CV's and wheel bearings. That said, these items are most likely the source of your noise. CV's click and clank when dried out or out of tolerance, especially when cornering. Wheel bearing make more of a rubbing sound when failing, again especially during cornering.

You may find that with those CV boots (?) and some good grease, you can prolong the life of your joints and reduce or eliminate the noise. The complete failure of a CV joint would most likely be less dramatic than the front ball-joint... but, none-the-less painfull to the psyche.

Good Luck!

Wachuko

Skip, thanks. I can see how my post might have confused everyone...

I mixed several issues into one post.

(1) I have a noise in the back of the car when I take a turn. From your comments, this can be related to a CV joint needing grease. I will check them. They are fairly new and were packed well (measy job). When you refer to "out of tolerance" you mean due to wear? I hate to deal with them because everytime I take them out I need to replace the bolts. The head strips so easily. The boots are new (again, there are three years old but have not seen to much road).

(2) I was refering to the front control arms and the boots in the steering rack. In my car the boots are broken and need to be replace. Since I have the car on jacks I will check the ball joints.

Nevertheless, you did a wonderful job explaining both issues. Thanks a lot!!!

michael2e

It would be an interesting thread just to see how much work we have all done apart from the performance mods just to keep these cars running. I can't even remember all the stuff I've had to dig into. Now if it would only all go at the same time to make life easier! Yep, gotta be a labor of love.

Mike

btimes4

Jaime....When I first read your complaints I
could have swore my wife had written it. We bought our 86 951 about 18 months ago and by far spent more fixing it up than we paid for the car. We have an entire folder full of receipts to prove it(always to afraid to add them up). It only had 36,000 miles when we bought it, but had been sitting for a long time. It is definitely a true labor of love though. My wife originally wanted to get a 911, but we decided on the 951 since it was cheaper(or so we thought), but now we could never part with it. She uses it as a daily driver and we have gotten far enough we have been able to do a few mods to it like chips and a BE(whole new car). Stick with it and like Dan87951 said eventually you will get to the end of the tunnel(although as I say that we just replaced a blown radiator hose two days ago ). The funny thing is we test drove a 94 911 the other day before the mods to our 951 and my wife did not like it as much as her 951. We have taken up the philosophy in my signature as words to live by with this car.

Wachuko

Well btimes4 I just hope I can have some quality time with my car (driving it!! ).

I was able to take the alternator out, and I am now in the process of putting everything back in place. I had taken the timing belt cover to check tension and condition (it was changed three years ago but has not done more that 4-5k miles). I am debating if I should change it (and the water pump) or not...

Anyhow... to have more access (since taking the bolts out was a pain with everything in the way) I decided to take out the pipe that sits in between the radiator and the engine (the one that bolts to the chasis on both ends). After inspection I see a few areas were is was leaking coolant... so that will be another stop at the dealer to buy one more part.

I still have to decide on chaging the timing belt and the water pump... I will probably let the wallet rest for a while and tackle that later...

I really, really want to get the car back on the road again.

Wachuko

You know that part I was referring to? The part number is 951 110 171 02, guess how much it costs… sit down… US$700+ (US$528.00 with all possible discounts from the dealer). OUCH!!! No, I did not buy it (if you were thinking that…).

Any ideas where I can find one for a heck of a lot less??????

951Tom

Jaime, I've seen those coolant pipes on ebay before or anyone with a parts car. Check with Ian at www.ianseuroparts.com. I bet he has a couple for cheap. I got a new clutch hose from him for less than half of what the dealer wanted.

Wachuko

Thanks Tom. I had called Pelican Parts and they told me to call Parts Heaven. Turns out the had a few around and will send me one (should arrive next week on Tuesday). And for a lot, lot ,lot less than a new one.

Steve Lavigne

Currently at $20 on ebay. This one is from an '86. I believe the part was changed for '88.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cg...925446&r=0&t=0

-Steve

Perry 951

Jamie.. believe me.. I feel your pain.

Hang with it. Before long, everything will be replaced and you will have nothing left to do! (Oh god... then I will buy another!)

Back to work... and my 951 is in many many boxes at the moment, and the credit card company nomintaed me as the best customer of the year!