I inherited an '89 944, not sure what to do...
 

Hi All,
Great site here. My uncle left me his prized 1989 944 with 72,000 miles on it. It was maintained religiously (I mean fanatically) until 2 years ago when he became ill. Since then it has just sat in the garage, never even started. It hasn't even been registered or inspected.

I want to get this car back on the road. I need to buy a new battery and hood shocks for it (the hood almost crushed my head). After that, I'm not sure what to do. I'm by no means a mechanic, far from it. I assume it needs an oil change. Are there any other fluids that need to be changed or anything else I should do? I don't want to just bring it to a shop and get ripped off.

There is also an oil leak that needs to be addressed (which a friend said will be a major job), but I'll take care of that last. Also, some small things like the passenger side window switch and inside turn signals need to be replaced. Hopefully this will be it, I don't want to sink too much $$ into this.

Thanks a lot for your help, I'm really looking forward to getting this car going for the summer.

Chris

hey dude. if you're afraid of sinkin too much into it, you should probably sell it. put time and work and love into it and the car will make it worth it.

jus so ya know.. congrats on the ride!

ian

Widnow switch probably just needs to be cleaned, that seems to be fairly common.

I'm not sure what you mean by "inside turn signals". Do you mean the turn signal switch on the steering collum? If that's the case, you should try cleaning the switch first also.

As for the oil leak, your friend is right that it's not going to be anywhere near cheap. Figure about $600 if the belts have to come off. (If you try to do it yourself, the ONLY tool that will properly tension the belts is around $500, so you wouldn't be saving much money.) If the leak is in the oil cooler, then you've also got problems with coolant contamination.

Also, unless you know with absolute certainty that the belts were changed less than 30,000 miles ago you will need to change the belts NOW. Do not assume that your uncle had the belts changed unless you have a receipt proving it. If you have to take the belts off to fix the oil leak, it wouldn't be a bad idea to change the belts regardless since rubber degrades with time.

Aaron

chris, send us some pix!! put your girlfriend next to the car and click away. we will then share our opinions with you!!
congrats!!

Change the timing belts!!!!!

The car has sit with out running the belts have taken a "set" meaning that they will NOT like being run around the pulleys again!

I would do this BEFORE even thinking of starting it.

IF you don't and the timing belt breaks it's over $1,500 to get a shop to replace all the bent valves.


Also change the oil and drain and refill the cooling system.

Draining the old gas is a good idea. As has been mentioned you might have to clean the gas tank but not likely unless there is fuel starvation. I parted out an 86 that had sat for four years and didn't find much of anything in the gas tank.

When you put the new battery in it clean the ground wires at the engine as well as the chassis too.

I would pull the plugs and the coil wire and crank the engine till the oil pressure goes up to at least one bar. No oil pressure can quickly ruin an engine.

As to the electrical. Get a can of electrical contact spray from Radio Shack. Make sure it's safe for plastics.

Oh yes, this is NOT A DRAGSTER!!!!

The clutch and eventually the trans will not take burn outs.

Now going around corners is like having your own private steel rail modern roller coaster!!!!

Did you say this was a turbo or a "regular" 944.

Give it to me...

yes I am with Frank B, Ill take it off your hands.

I called it first Fart Face.... It's mine..

LoL,you guys are not right......he should give it to me!

DIK!!.. get off!!.. it's Mine!!

Ha! You guys are funny but I think I'll be keeping it for myself. I actually had the choice of taking $$ or the car and I opted for the car, even though I understood that it is probably going to be a subtantial cost to get it running correctly again. I was thinking about getting a new car though, so this is actually going to be less than what I was planning on spending.

The car is not a turbo, just a regular 944. It's Guards Red/Black. The paint, body and interior are flawless. I'll see if I can take some pics. I loved driving this car when I was younger. If it was anything but a 944 I would have taken the $$ and got something else, but IMHO it's tough to find even a new car with the style and handling of a 944. I'm already thinking about bigger wheels/tires, and maybe a new steering wheel but that's down the road.

Thanks for the tips though, please keep them coming. This is exactly what I was looking for.

Hey Chris, these guys that posted before me left you great advice, EVEN Frank...I'll pretty much do whatever he says...

Anyways, I don't have anything to say except, sorry to hear about the loss of you Uncle. Just think about it like this, you just GAINED a bunch of new friends here. We all (most) get along real well.

WELCOME!

Welcome Chris....
Good work Stray.. send him a button and a pennant..

haha

Thanks for the welcome guys, I really appreciate it. I'm a bit concerned with the engine leak, it seems like it's pretty bad. I plan on taking it to the shop in a few weeks. The last mechanic who saw the car said it was a leak in the rear main seal of the motor. He said it was a big job. Any of you guys know anything about this type of job?

Not a huge job on the non turbo. If you have the time and the tools you can do it over a weekend.

You need to basically get to the clutch, then remove the flywheel and then pull the rear main. Take you about 12~14 hours the first time.

Here is a link to the clutch procedure:

http://www.clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/clutch-01.htm

Also you may get lucky, sometimes the O-rings on the dipstick crack over the years and start to leak where it enters the oil pan, it often looks like a rear main leak.

Yes! Check the oil filler/breather seals!!!

Chris, you made the right decision. Take the plunge learn all you can about the 944. Get Haye's maintenace manual and maybe the factory repair volumes. The 944 engineering is second to none to this very day. How many cars built in 2003 can you list with a transaxle at the price a 944 goes today?

STOP! Do not listen to these guys. I am the only one qualified to deal with this. Email me your address and I will take this problem off your hands.

These cars are a blast. I prefer to buy tools and not pay my mechanic. If you enjoy working on cars or you are willing to learn its not that bad. If you plan on paying a mechanic it will be expensive. The guys here a a great resource. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!

Like Stray, you have my condolences about your uncle passing.

Rear seal...not a huge job? Chucks-Garage says a Porsche repair shop can do it in 16 hours. (Me?..I can probably do it 16 days....no make that weeks since I'll break a lot of things in the process!)

If you are handy...handy with a check book that is...and in New York…$80.00 x 16 hours..ca-ching, ca-ching.

Then of course, if you replace the rear seal, it would be silly not to replace the clutch which might be worn or oil soaked anyway. Then there is the cost of these parts as well to consider. Not cheap.

Cars that sit for a long time seem to have problems with seals. The fronts should be done with the timing & balance shaft belts, which SoCal rightly said should be replaced before you even crank it. (Of course he didn't tell you why you should buy electrical contact cleaner. Another dirty little secret.)

btw..how is your health?

But joking aside…I did PM you.

I appreciate the condolences. I know my uncle would be so happy that I'm getting his pride and joy back in good running condition. I've decided to do it and basically pay whatever it takes. Honestly this type of work is way beyond what I'm capable of doing. I'll be taking it to a good shop in a few weeks to get the verdict, but I already know to expect a huge bill.

On the plus side, I found some of his receipts. He had the timing belt changed about 20,000 miles ago. I guess I may have them change it again just in case though. I think I'm going to follow some of the tips here and then try to start it when I put the new battery in, maybe tomorrow. I'll let you know how that goes.


Chris

DON'T TURN THAT KEY !

Just pretend that a spark plug is stuck into to a brick of plastic explosives !

This is an 'interferance engine'. If the timing is a little off - big, big problems.

DON'T even TURN the engine over by hand...do nothing. It needs belts anyway right?...and as SoCal said:

"Change the timing belts!!!!!

The car has sit with out running the belts have taken a "set" meaning that they will NOT like being run around the pulleys again!

I would do this BEFORE even thinking of starting it.

IF you don't and the timing belt breaks it's over $1,500 to get a shop to replace all the bent valves."


So spend the first several hundred bucks getting the work in the front done...belts, tensioners, seals etc.

If the rear main is leaking (I really hope it is something else!) then you may as well do the cluch. Now we are talking thousands & if you are sinking that much into it you may want opinions on the local 'wrenches' and what other things can be done as long as you are going to "do this right'.

Investing an extra $100 or so now can easily save you a $1000 in a couple of months and you will have peace of mind & be able to enjoy driving it rather than feeling like you have a 'money pit' that could leave you strandard in the middle of nowhere at anytime.

(btw...I'm on the south shore.)

tom.carson@ps.net

Jeez Carson, I was just gonna say belts and a PPI just to be sure- cheap 100 bucks spent will save a lot more- even if familiar with the vehicle's history.- You never know what will strand you... but its always something you didnt look at.

Hey guys, here's an update of where I'm at. I finally brought the car in and it turns out the leak is not the rear main seal as I was told (by someone I wasn't totally confident in). I'm not sure what this really means, but they said that the belly pan was dripping oil, probably because the last oil change my uncle had done wasn't done correctly.

I paid through the nose to have the car looked at by one of the top shops in my area (my brother is actually friends with 2 of the mechanics) and they said the engine looked in surprisingly good shape. There's a very, very small leak in the rear main, so small I wouldn't even see oil on the floor. We're going to keep an eye on it for now, but that's all they saw in terms of leaks

I had them change the oil, coolant, and all the fluids, as well as the timing belt, balance shaft, and all of the other belts, seals and tensioners. My brother was able to do some minor things for me (new window switches, hood shocks, fog light replacement, turn signal, hatch lock). Yeah it cost me a pretty heavy price, but now I have an awesome car that IMHO still kicks ass in the looks and handling departments.

The only thing left to do is deal with a water leak in the hatch. I'm not sure where it's coming in. Any advice/pointers on how these are normally handled? Or is it better to just take to an interior shop (oh no, not more $$$!!).

Anyway, thanks for the advice. These cars are so much fun, I can't wait for the weather to finally start getting better here in NY!

Chris

Great news

Yeah it can be expensive to have someone else do the work...but if it's done right it's worth it. And look at all the money you saved not having to do a rear seal.

btw...would you recommend the shop to others?

Enjoy

Carson,

I just picked it up tonight. Silver Star Motorsports in Roslyn. Expensive but worth it. Now if we could just get some normal Spring weather already!! I'm on the South Shore too (Malverne), where are you?

Man...you don't even know how sweet of a car you have. 89 was the only year the factory built a 2.7 liter, all other 944's have 2.5 liter engines. This means your car has a 3 liter block in it, you lucky dog you, but with the 2.5 liter crank making 2.7 liters. :) You have something very special, and I mean VERY darn special.

Chris...great news...I bet you love driving that thing

Rudtner's (Bill Rudtner) in Feeport is also very good...New York prices of course...but he is a great guy with a very professionally equipped shop (a new bigger place) and wall to wall P cars.

I sent you a PM

Hey chris where are you located on the island? Im out in suffolk