Buying an 87 924s,couple questions?

[99TJSahara]

I'm about to be the new owner of an 87 924s,within the last year the PO has done the timing belt and balance belt, water pump, power steering pump, fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator, shocks, struts, tires and I have a couple questions.

The speedo tends to bounce around within a 10MPH range, could this be a busted speedo gear?
Also,
-What oil and how much does the 2.5 use?
-What are the major problem areas for the 924s?
-Anything else to look out for?
Thanks,
Joey

[racer]

oil questions - stand back...

Per the manual, 10W-40 is fine for most climates. If "hot" where you live, a 15-50 might be a nice alternative.

How many miles on the motor?

problem areas? age and neglect. off the top of my head, consider checking and replacing anything rubber (especially engine compartment lines) as rubber items tend not to age well. The car is 24 years old afterall.

[ERAU944]

Originally Posted by 99TJSahara

I'm about to be the new owner of an 87 924s,within the last year the PO has done the timing belt and balance belt, water pump, power steering pump, fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator, shocks, struts, tires and I have a couple questions.

The speedo tends to bounce around within a 10MPH range, could this be a busted speedo gear?
Also,
-What oil and how much does the 2.5 use?
-What are the major problem areas for the 924s?
-Anything else to look out for?
Thanks,
Joey

speedo bounce is ususally due to a binding cable. i need to lubricate mine. Broken (on the 924S it is usually a gear that has slid on the shaft) odometer gear means that the speedometer works just fine, but you get no mileage on the car. don't press the trip reset while the car is moving.

i use castrol 20w50 dino. never had a problem. change every 3k miles. 6 qts w/filter change.

major problem areas are the belts (due ever 3 yr/30-45k miles) and as was said, everything is old on the car so expect a bit of work now and again to keep her in top shape.

thigns to look out for are idiot drivers in who are doing their hair/makeup/reading a book/texting their bffs lol omg wtf bbq

[99TJSahara]

Originally Posted by racer

oil questions - stand back...

Per the manual, 10W-40 is fine for most climates. If "hot" where you live, a 15-50 might be a nice alternative.

How many miles on the motor?

problem areas? age and neglect. off the top of my head, consider checking and replacing anything rubber (especially engine compartment lines) as rubber items tend not to age well. The car is 24 years old afterall.

The ODO say 70,000, I'm going to assume 170,000, the PO replaced the radiator hoses, the power steering hoses are leaking.

[John_AZ]

You should not guess at the mileage. A CarFax report would give you a lot of information.

Ask the seller if the rubber clutch disc was replaced. Expensive and time consuming.

Look inside the coolant reservoir. Put your finger in. Do you see any coolant & oil mix that looks like "milkshake"? Could be bad oil cooler seals.

Take off the oil fill cap and check there for milkshake as well.

If the seller lets you, pull off the air intake boot. If you see a layer of oil laying on the bottom of the throttle body, the AOS seals need replaceing.

Lastly (never happens), ask if the HG head gasket has been replaced. The '87 has a reputation for bad head gaskets. A HG job with machine work will be about $600 in parts plus labor.

Power steering hoses leak? Then your PS rack will leak too. A rebuilt ps rack is about $250 exhange.

More?

Sure.

GL & welcome
John

[99TJSahara]

Originally Posted by John_AZ

You should not guess at the mileage. A CarFax report would give you a lot of information.

Ask the seller if the rubber clutch disc was replaced. Expensive and time consuming.

Look inside the coolant reservoir. Put your finger in. Do you see any coolant & oil mix that looks like "milkshake"? Could be bad oil cooler seals.

Take off the oil fill cap and check there for milkshake as well.

If the seller lets you, pull off the air intake boot. If you see a layer of oil laying on the bottom of the throttle body, the AOS seals need replaceing.

Lastly (never happens), ask if the HG head gasket has been replaced. The '87 has a reputation for bad head gaskets. A HG job with machine work will be about $600 in parts plus labor.

Power steering hoses leak? Then your PS rack will leak too. A rebuilt ps rack is about $250 exhange.

More?

Sure.

GL & welcome
John

When he replaced the water pump he said the coolant that came out was clean.

I have no reason to believe the head gasket is blown, no water in oil, no oil in water, no smoke.

The PO stated that the guy he bought it from did a clutch job in it, clutch felt good, and grabbed consistent.

What is an "AOS seal"?

[John_AZ]

AOS are the 2 seals that hold the oil fill tube up to the engine. Air-Oil-Separator. If the seals fail, the engine will draw vapor/oil mix into the throttle body. Intake has to come off to replace.

Does the AC work?

John

[99TJSahara]

Originally Posted by John_AZ

AOS are the 2 seals that hold the oil fill tube up to the engine. Air-Oil-Separator. If the seals fail, the engine will draw vapor/oil mix into the throttle body. Intake has to come off to replace.

Does the AC work?

John

The A/c does not work, he said it worked a year ago, but I was planning on doing a R-134a conversion, and put in some dye so I can see if/where its leaking.

[John_AZ]

You can try to put in dye and try an AutoZone/Interdynamics (or) conversion kit.

I have not seen much lasting success with this.

The system should be vacuumed down for at least an hour to see if it will hold a charge.

Here is a simple check to see if the compressor needs new seals. Take a LED flashlight with you and see if you see any oil buildup on the compressor behind the clutch and pulley. If you do, it is the main shaft seal and it is almost a certain conclusion the compressor needs new seals.

If the compressor needs new seals, you then buy a new receiver/dryer and replace the line "O" rings.

Continued....

The fuel tanks on 924Ss crack in the center of the top of the tank. If the PO only has a gallon of gas in the tank it maybe because the tank is cracked.
This is very common! To fix the tank, you drop the transaxle and have it welded.

Gas fumes? Tank leaks? Read this.

John

[99TJSahara]

I bought some carfax's and it shows 170,000 miles

[John_AZ]

OK,
Thats a lot of miles.
Back to the HG. It will be the next to fix.

Have you pulled the plugs to see if any oil deposits?

What type of oil has the owner used in the past---not what you plan to do.

What type of oil filter is on the car? If it is a black can and says Mahle ====real good.
If it says Fram or any store brand ===bad.

I hope you are getting a good deal on this car. How long has the current owner had it? Is he flipping it?

John

[99TJSahara]

Originally Posted by John_AZ

OK,
Thats a lot of miles.
Back to the HG. It will be the next to fix.

Have you pulled the plugs to see if any oil deposits?

What type of oil has the owner used in the past---not what you plan to do.

What type of oil filter is on the car? If it is a black can and says Mahle ====real good.
If it says Fram or any store brand ===bad.

I hope you are getting a good deal on this car. How long has the current owner had it? Is he flipping it?

John

He bought it as project car, but is selling it to fund another project, his wife has been using it a DD for 6months, the only obvious problems are cosmetic.
I am buying it as a project car.

[John_AZ]

Enjoy.
John

[99TJSahara]

My plans are to restore it close to its original glory in a couple years(when it needs another timing belt), but for now just enjoy it.

[99TJSahara]

What are the compression specs for this engine?

[racer]

1987 is "low compression". Runs on 87 octane. 1988 was the higher compression. Yours has 147hp. Check Clark's Garage Home Page for LOTS of 944 info!