More Dumb Questions
 

Sorry, I forgot to ask a few more questions about the ’87 944S.

My door locks are all but seized up completely and after taking off the door panel, I noticed that Porsche so nicely made the window track wide enough as to no be able to see where you unhook the locking mechanism for extraction. Any tricks to this?

I also noticed that my “X ignition” relay (position 10 – 928 part number), has turned a nice shade of burnt on one side. I ordered a new one, but should I be concerned that the car cooked this? The car idles wonderfully (even cold), but does display some serious hesitation and pulsing, while under load. Does anyone have any info on this relay (I guess it has been superseded by a new one??)? Thanks again-

Jeff

If the door locks are seized, and I assume you mean the outer door handle releases, get some spray lube and squirt it into the handle area and then remove the Philips screw that holds the handle on (on the side of the door) and spray in there for a while. That will fix the handles assuming nothing is broken.

The relay may have been loose, or at some time the vehicle had an electrical problem. Check the charge rate and make sure the alternator is not overcharging or that the fuse box has been "played with' by your local friendly alarm/stereo installer. While you are there, check the fuel pump relay and replace if more than 5 years old.

The running fault may be due to maintenance issues, check plugs, cap, rotor arm, wires etc... If you have had a timing belt done recently, the belt may be one tooth off, this causes a similar symptom and also "pinging".

I hope you have had the timing chain tensioner (in the cylinder head) checked and replaced if necessary. Obvious advice to have the timign belt/water pump/tensioners inspected and replaced as required.