New 944 repair questions

[mikeran]

Just bought my son a 1987 944. It was a one owner car but not a garage queen it has 192K miles on it. Looks like he did as needed maintenance but not preventive.

NO real history so I took it to a good shop and had them go over the car.
Here is what they found
1. Needs new battery (NO big deal got one)
2. Front struts are shot
3. Front tie rods are worn
4. sway bar bushing have oil all over them from the leaking seals.
5. Apparently there is a hose on the power steering rack that equalizes air pressure on both sides, and it's missing on this car. Not sure it's something to worry about or not.
6. There is an open red wire on the positive battery terminal, but the funny thing is everything works?
7. Front seals are leaking, and no history on the belts/water pump. So they will keep the car and replace the belts, seals, water pump.
8. Rear wiper just shoots off the side when you try to turn it on
9. Sunroof doesn't open makes no sounds when you hit the switch to open but makes a rattle sound if you hit the switch to close.
10. After the car has been running for more than an hour when you sit at an overly long light the oil pressure light will just start to flicker. The garage said it could be due to the leaking seals, or could be just due to the high mileage on the engine.

Otherwise new tires, new brakes, no dents interior has no rips other than a really worn out shift boot.


any thoughts on above, any thing else I should check or be concerned with, this will be a daily driver for my son but only about 10-20 miles a day. Not trying to restore or make perfect just want a reliable car for him to drive.

[phoenix_iii]

Put the right oil in it and see if it does that. I know the older cars say it's okay on hot days... but you typically want 2 or higher.

[John_AZ]

Greetings mikeran,

A very good review by the mechanic and very expensive for a shop to do the work-item 7.
When the initial repair is over, we can help your son with the "little" things.

GL
John_AZ
1988 924S + 1987 924S

[mikeran]

The shop is doing the belts all 3 seals, water pump, outer belts and all the misc for $1100 which is about what I expected to pay for all of it.
The rest we can do slowly aafter teh main stuff is fixed, appreaciate any and all advice on repairs or things to check.,

[mikeran]

What oil would you recommend we have hot summers and cold winters here in Ohio

[John_AZ]

Originally Posted by mikeran

The shop is doing the belts all 3 seals, water pump, outer belts and all the misc for $1100 which is about what I expected to pay for all of it.
The rest we can do slowly aafter teh main stuff is fixed, appreaciate any and all advice on repairs or things to check.,

That is an excellent price!!!!! Pelican Parts "Retail" price alone for new (not Porsche) WP, seals, belts (rollers not mentioned-should be considered) and shop misc would be ~$600. A rebuilt pump less $200. Shop prices for parts may vary.

My guess on the red wire by batt is for the alarm. Disconnected due to malfunction, relay or owner ?.

I suggest you ask your mechanic about oil since he is doing seals. Many would say do full synthetic for year round in Ohio. New seals would eliminate drips/oil leaks on floor. I would use Castrol 10-40 GTX in summer. You did not mention the front crank seal and oil pump drive gear replacement. This is your next oil leak. Easy to do with front engine work.

GL
John_AZ

John_AZ

[bleu951]

The air compensating hose on the steering rack should be replaced. It will allow dirt into the rack and ruin the seals. A cheap fix.

Sunroof is probably stripped gears. Very common and not a difficult repair. This is a good DIY.

Unless the hoses look fabulous, I would have the shop replace all of the cooling/heater hoses while he has the coolant drained. Also, consider changing the thermo switch in the radiator while it is open. Coolant...you need to have some extra on hand to top off the tank after the repairs are complete. It will drop a little until all of the air bubbles are gone. If it continues to drop, there is a problem. Ask the shop to give you some, or mix up your own and give it to him to use for the entire repair. Any good quality phosphate & silicate free mixed with distilled water will work. I use Zerex Extended Life.

Buy a spare DME relay and put it in the glove box. I have a spare cooling fan relay too, but they are pricey.

A cheap DIY is to clean all of the grounds on the car, and this may effect the gauge readings too. There are several ground points on the car, and most are easy to reach except the two on the back of the engine.

Two under the dash on the drivers side
One in the rear hatch near the jack
One on each side of the front frame rails near the head lights
One in the battery box
Two on the back of the engine (one on the block and one on the clutch bellhousing)
There is a diagram of this around somewhere.

The choices for new struts are long. If you just want stock type, you can buy new F&S struts, or go the Koni sawzall route. I would probably go with Koni's and replace the shocks too. This is fairly easy too, but you have to mess with compressing the spring.

Replace the tie rod ends while you are doing the struts. Make some measurements before you remove the old ones, so you can get them back close to the original setting. Have a shop do the alignment. You can get very close if you place a straight edge on the face of the rotor and measure to the frame or something else that does not move.

While you have the struts out, replace the sway bar bushings.

Bleed the brakes and clutch. Change the gear oil in the transaxle.

Rear wiper...what do you mean shots off to the side? If you remove it and turned it on and off, then remounted the wiper arm, would it work correctly? Maybe the relay is bad and does not turn off at the right time. I do not know, need more information.

Sometimes unusual behavior in these cars, weird wipers or disconnected wires, is the result of the previous owner and their "repairs". Which means, when they had a problem, instead of fixing it, they covered it up, usually with baling wire, bubble gum and duct tape.

Personally, I use Mobil 1 0W-40 for the engine. There are some other Porsche approved oils, but they are not as easy to find.

I am with John on the front crank sleeve, oring and seal. It needs to be done at the same time as the other three seals. Three seals is really not correct, since each seal has two orings and one race or spacer associated with it. Ask him if he is replacing the spacers or races along with the seals. Also, ask him if the belt tensioners and rollers are part of the deal. They should be replaced along with the belts.

These are great cars, and very reliable if well maintained. If they have been let go or poorly repaired, they can get very expensive. Enjoy the new car.

[mikeran]

Never thought about the alarm we have not tested it.

Yes he is replacing all the front seals and verifying all update/upgrades that should be or have been done in there. The price is with a new waterpump not a rebuilt. This garage specializes in European sports cars and know 944's very well.

I'll ask him about what oil he would recommend. Thanks

[mikeran]

On the wiper it just moved from the bottom of the window up the window and right off the car and then just sits there. So it starts going to the left and goes until there is no farther left for it to go.
He was going to flush and refill the coolent completely as part of this work.

Yes the tensioners and rollers are being changed as well.

Thanks

The rest I was figuring to mess with once the engine work was done.

[Dave L]

Originally Posted by mikeran

On the wiper it just moved from the bottom of the window up the window and right off the car and then just sits there. So it starts going to the left and goes until there is no farther left for it to go.
He was going to flush and refill the coolent completely as part of this work.

While Im sure you could fix the wiper I would suggest this instead.

http://www.arnnworx.com/WiperDeletePlug.htm

my first 944 was LA1Y which looks to be the same color as yours. I like it

[John_AZ]

Originally Posted by mikeran

He was going to flush and refill the coolent completely as part of this work.

Yes the tensioners and rollers are being changed as well.

OK now you have the front done. Since he will be doing the coolant you should ask your mechanic to look at the OIL COOLER. This cooler uses anti freeze to cool the oil and the seals will leak. The seals are only another $50 or so and if you do not do it now you will in a few months. When the seals leak the coolant goes into the block and distroys the rod bearings. Porsche knew of this and once the oil/coolant seals go recommended to replace the rod bearings.

GL
John_AZ

[hpservertech]

John, it's actually the opposite...oil goes into the coolant. That's how you can tell the difference between a blown head gasket and bad oil cooler seals. The kit runs about $25 from places like pelican and a few others online.

[John_AZ]

Actually both ways.

mikeran,
This is where we get our basic book learning: www.Clarks-Garage.com

hp is correct for first indication of bad trouble.
http://www.clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/lube-01.htm

John_AZ

[mtccl]

Nice car.

I had most those issues on my 1987 daily driver (100 miles a day for 3+years now).

Good price on the mechanic work.

Replaced my entire rear wiper motor off e-bay for $25. Water leaked in old one.

I run castrol 20W50 and have less oil pressure issues. Also did the cam seal last year which helped.

New front struts will cost you because your inserts cannot be replaced. There are several options described on this board and others besides replacing the entire assembly. For instance you can use an early strut and inserts.

You'll enjoy getting this one sorted out.