Porsche 944 front end Vibrates

weg253 · 06-17-2008, 08:26 AM

I have a 1986 Porsche 944 Non-Turbo. It vibrates at about 45-up mph. It's been sitting for a while because I hit a dog. I believe it's something with the steering. I also have another problem. When I put my power steering belt on it's too close to my water pump to radiator hose. It's rubbing through my hose. Does anybody have any solutions to these problems? Thank You.

flash968 · 06-17-2008, 08:40 AM

vibration is probably tire balance

sounds like the wrong belt too

weg253 · 06-17-2008, 08:50 AM

I just had the tires balanced and that didn't help. Do believe it had something to do with hitting the dog (Boxer)? That's where it's mainly vibrates on that side. I was reading the forum and somebody said that it might be the wheel bearing or nut on top of the strut in the front.

Slam · 06-17-2008, 09:01 AM

Could have knocked off a wheel weight or knocked the car out of alignment. Front-end vibration could be caused by a number of things.

You should have a bracket on your air box mount that holds a round clamp to keep the coolant hose from rubbing against the acc belt.

HTH

hpservertech · 06-17-2008, 09:29 AM

I would still vote for either a bad wheel or a missing weight.

Try swapping the front with the rear and see if it either goes away or moves to the back. Even if you have staggered wheels this is a good enough test for just a temp basis.

flash968 · 06-17-2008, 10:34 AM

vibrations are almost always caused by something out of balance - could be a bent wheel, a tossed weight, popped cord in a tire, or merely a bad balance job - believe it or not this happens a LOT, especially with the budget shops who fail to calibrate their machines often enough (should be at least once a month)

anything else would also exhibit other syptoms, i.e. noises and such

flash968 · 06-17-2008, 10:34 AM

vibrations are almost always caused by something out of balance - could be a bent wheel, a tossed weight, popped cord in a tire, or merely a bad balance job - believe it or not this happens a LOT, especially with the budget shops who fail to calibrate their machines often enough (should be at least once a month)

anything else would also exhibit other syptoms, i.e. noises and such

scottieboy561 · 06-17-2008, 06:35 PM

cheak the wheel bearings they were bad in the rear of my 944 and it shook 2

weg253 · 06-19-2008, 07:12 AM

Thanks guys for your help. I had and still have a couple of problems. They put my directional tires going in the wrong direction. They also put the same size tires on my 7x16 as on my 8x16. On one side they also put my front tire on the back and my back on the front. After this was corrected it ran a whole lot better. I still have all of my original equipment on the car so the guy that check it at "Auto Works", who specialzes in Porsche, said that need to change a few things such as struts, shocks, tie rods... He said these things will make it ride even better. Thanks again for your help.

flash968 · 06-19-2008, 08:13 AM

yup - those harmonics happen very frequently - it takes very little in the way of balance or tread wear to throw things off

running_cold924 · running_cold924's Garage

needs alignment, unibody car........i know this from my unibody cherokee...

flash968 · 06-20-2008, 06:33 AM

yup - on top of that, in stock trim, these cars have a LOT of rubber bushings, with a lot of adjustment - that is one of the things that makes them a nice GT car, and separates them from the more limited flexibility of a sports car - you get comfort in exchange for performance - however, it does mean an alignment every year

Tidybuoy · 06-20-2008, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weg253

I also have another problem. When I put my power steering belt on it's too close to my water pump to radiator hose. It's rubbing through my hose. Does anybody have any solutions to these problems? Thank You.

Loosen the radiator hose and twist a little before reclamping. I had the same problem and this solved it.

Vern