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

Chris944 · Chris944's Garage

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

mrmunky · 03-17-2003, 11:36 AM

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

AaronM · 03-17-2003, 11:37 AM

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

TSNAPCRACKLEPOP · TSNAPCRACKLEPOP's Garage

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

SoCal Driver · SoCal Driver's Garage

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.

SoCal Driver · SoCal Driver's Garage

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.

Frank B · 03-17-2003, 12:33 PM

Quote:

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

Give it to me...

Sam Grant · 03-17-2003, 01:53 PM

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

Frank B · 03-17-2003, 01:55 PM

Quote:

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

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

justin · justin's Garage

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

Frank B · 03-17-2003, 02:19 PM

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

Chris944 · Chris944's Garage

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.

stray15 · stray15's Garage

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!

Frank B · 03-17-2003, 06:46 PM

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

stray15 · stray15's Garage

haha

Chris944 · Chris944's Garage

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?

Scott R · Scott R's Garage

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.

SoCal Driver · SoCal Driver's Garage

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

plandy · 03-18-2003, 08:09 AM

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?

Roger Hall · 03-18-2003, 04:09 PM

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!!!!!!!!!