Hey All!
I'm a proud new owner of a 1989 944 Turbo with about 95k on it. High milage, but what a sweet car! Black on black, and spotless black leather inside. Anyway, I've got a few questions:

1) Oil pressure and gauge: How high should it normally read?
2) The exhaust pipe section that goes into the cat from the engine: I don't know the name, but it rattles. A lot. sounds like a can filled with rocks. It appears that the flange on the pipe that diverts exhaust to the turbo has broken off. There are two flanges bolted to the short bent pipe. It is still held into the cat, but it rattles. can i just go ahead and get it spot-welded back?
3) How hard is it to change out the shifter? Getting lots of rattles, and It looks like an easy job.

That's about it for now. Nice to see a group who knows a good car when they see one. All my friends looked at the 944 and said "fake porsche". Well, that's what you get for being an un-educated cuch potato!
~DTS

 

Follow-up:

4) When I start the engine, the idle drops to about 800 rpm and sounds like it's going to stall. I give it some gas, and it stabalizes a little higher. Normal?

5) While driving, when I want to shift, the RPM does not drop when I push the clutch. It stays about where it was. Example, shifting from 2nd to third, the RMP will remain at around 3500 until I let out the clutch, then it drops. What's happening to my car??

 

my oil pressure usually reads 2 when in neutral(also warmed up) and 4-5 when running.my gauge shows .5 bar at idle,you should get a boost gauge,its way more acurate.if its both steel why not?hehehe.as for the shifter job,too easy.all the tools you need is a 10mm socket wrench with extension(i think its 10mm) and a flat head screw driver(to take the C-clip off).WELCOME TO THE BOOST ADDICTION!!!!

 

the flanges you are talking about are not supposed to be welded to the pipes, the exhaust does not get diverted to the turbo, it all flows thru the turbo except when the wastegate opens, at which point it passes through that short bent pipe and small dia. pipe and joins the main pipe behind the cat. Rattling is usually loose or broken heat shields, there are a lot of them, check to see if any are loose. Replacing the shift lever is no big deal, pull up the boots, remove the circlip that holds the shift **** to the shaft and undo the two 13mm hex bolts that secure the base to the torque tube, you will need to push the foam rubber aside to see the bolts. The base of the lever pushes into a white nylon bushing under the plate, either order a new bushing when you get the shift lever or use some heat on the bushing when installing the new lever, put a little grease in the cup before pressing in the lever. Oil pressure should peg the gauge when the engine is cold, it should be around 1bar warm idle and increase 10psi to 1 bar/1000rpm. Welcome to the best performance car bargain in the world.