Bumpy Ride!!!!

[Jax951]

Hello everybody,

I have a few questions for all of you. lets get started...

1. I was driving along today and came to a stop at a left turn signal, well all was well until i took the turn and BAM! the steering wheel is shaking(bad), feels like i have a flat, but alas no flat. I also noticed that you can hear a sound that is in rhythym to the bumpiness. she still seems to steer fine and its night so i cant check underneath yet, anyone else experience this problem? I am hoping its wheel bearings and not something more sinister.

2. My clutch is a very moody beast and every once in a while when you push in the pedal, it will give pressure just fine going down, but when coming up, it only comes up about a 1/4 of the way. It only does this for a day or 2 and then back to normal. I have noticed thought that since it began, performance has fallen off and when i drive by fences or concrete barriers, i hear very frightening "mechanical" sounds. (clicking, etc.) Any input or experience with this?

3. I am in Jacksonville, FL. Any porsche groups out here? 944 in specific?

Thanks guys, I have more for you after this.

P.S. Haynes Manuals Suck Ass!!!

[Lawrence Coppari]

Wonder if you have a broken tire cord. My mother's car did that. It was bumpy, noisy, and car wanted to swerve around.

Wonder if your clutch could stand some bleeding.

FL has two P clubs at least. One is the Citrus and the other is the Crown region. They are active regions as far as hosting events.

[UK952]

It might be worth checking the anti roll bar (is it sway bar in US?) at the front the mountings can break, relatively easy to swap,
Tony

[Jax951]

Thanks for everything guys, sorry i havent replied to let you all know. It turns out when i was in the turn lane, by some act of god there were 2 very thick strips of tar on the road that were mysteriously soft enough to clog my tread and create a huge tar blister on my tire, took 2 and a half hours to clean my front tires! all is well again.

[ronin]

did you do any investigating on the "mechanical" sounds yet? I have a similar situation and can't find anything. Wouldn't mind sharing some pointers.

[Jax951]

Originally posted by ronin
did you do any investigating on the "mechanical" sounds yet? I have a similar situation and can't find anything. Wouldn't mind sharing some pointers.

I have lifted the car and checked everything. Not really too much revealed in that inspection. I am having clutch problems and I have read that your throw-out bearing will make noises when it is failing, as this sound is mainly evident only when moving it seems. Dont know if that is true, but its all i got without ripping it apart. I can tell you some of the sounds that were there that I have cured.

1. belts, balance shaft belt was loose, resulting in a strange whirr noise, tightened and fixed problem.

2. distributor cap and rotor were worn pretty good and were making noises. replaced, no noise now.

3. clicking from cylinder head, not cam, cant do anything until i raise enough for head rebuild.

4. one muffler hanger was broke, generated a metallic vibration (clanking?) noise. replaced, much better now.

5. and last but not least, the main noise that is driving me nuts comes from the bottom of the engine. cant hear it from above with hood open, but lay on ground while car is running, very evident then, sounds like metal turning against metal. from that low it must be bearings. I am hoping just the rod bearings.

Hope that helps. just do what i did and listen to everything that moves on the engine, at least you can get a general idea where it is originating from. I am going to start a massive engine-in-car rebuild, and ill let everyone know what i find with some pics if this site allows.

[ronin]

Muffler hanger! That might be something. I'm going to put the car in the air again his weekend anyway to see what I can find. I just happen to have some spare doughnuts lying around too.