1986 motor mounts and odometer

[porsche4life]

I have a 1986 n/a 5spd that is currently in need of motor mounts. I was wondering if anyone had any helpful hints or links to other sites to help with this procedure...i have an inground lift to do this on so getting to it is no problem...the fact that my only help just messed up his shoulder is but i can wait to fix it if i have to...My other problem is that the odometer and trip odometer have stopped working i think it is the gear and was just wondering if anyone had any tips for getting to that as well.
All help would be greatly appreciated.

[Beau]

I have an 87 na 944, same problem with the odometer. Trip did not work when I bought it, and odometer just quit working about 8 months later. I'm in the same boat as the above poster, and probably know less about where to begin.

[Eldorado]

check out clarks garage, guys... they've got writeups on both procedures.

www.clarks-garage.com

[Icey1174]

www.clarks-garage.com

On the left there is a navigation table. Clcik on the "Garage Shop Manual." Everything is in alphabetical order there. READ the whole site. You'll be amazed at the things you can fix on your car! Both the motor mounts and the odometer are in there. There is a lot of great reading in there.

The odometer is a plastic gear. It's often times broken by resetting the trip odometer when the car is moving. ONLY reset it when the car is NOT in motion, otherwise you'll break it and loose the odometer till you fix it. They sell the plastic gear on this website under the parts section. You have to take the gauage cluster out to do the gear. Taking the steering wheel off will make it easier, but it is possible to do the job with the steering wheel in the car. Just take your time putting it back together.

While you are doing the gear you can upgrade your dash lights too. They are prob pretty dim unless the PO changed them already. Upgrade the 3 2W bulbs to the 3.8W blubs. They will be bright enough and you will not melt the blub sockets.

When was your timing belt, balance belt, and water pump changed?

[Icey1174]

Kyle, you are toooooo fast! Where in Ontario are you? I'm in Buffalo.

[Beau]

Heh, thanks for the info. Sorry if I ask questions that have already been answered previously, but I'm pretty new here. Been reading older posts to try to avoid this, but am only up to page 9 so far. I keep meaning to read only posts that are directly related to my car's current issues, but it seems like every thread teaches me something new, so I'm reading them all =). For example, I was wondering just yesterday if I could brighten up my dash with stronger bulbs, but didn't know what wattage to use...thanks to this thread, now I do.

The Clark's Garage seems like an awesome resource, thanks for pointing it out. However, since summer is here, I think I'll work on the moon roof first. At first glance from what I've read, sounds like I need that $5 plastic gear. I had given up on my moon roof originally, because the porsche mechanic here said my motor was burned out, and would cost quite a bit to fix. I'm pretty sure that's BS, since I can hear the motor running when I activate it. Then again, this shop seems kinda shady. He charged me $400 to replace my ignition coil...that's when I went online and found this place. Wish I'd know about the buy/sell forum, because I just spent $429 on a passenger side fender, and tonight I found one going for $150 on that forum...and don't get me started on the $189 I spent on the hazard light switch, just to find one for $25 on the aforementioned forum. I'm not much of a wrench, last car I really worked on was my '76 Camaro when I was in high school (I'm 35). I'm coming to understand that I better freaking learn to work on my Porsche unless I want to give up such extravagances like, electricity in my home, and food other than Top Ramen. It's worth it though, I've wanted one of these cars since they came out when I was in high school, and now that I have one, I'm happy as a clam. I'm even looking into getting a junked one for parts.

BTW, since you asked, my timing belt, balance belt, and water pump were all changed under 4k miles ago, if the PO's service records are correct. It's pretty mechanically sound for a car with 138k miles on it.

[Eldorado]

Originally posted by Icey1174
Kyle, you are toooooo fast! Where in Ontario are you? I'm in Buffalo.

Mississauga, a city just west of Toronto.
my girlfriend lives in Fort Erie, and we go to buffalo quite a bit! mmmm Olive Garden - SO disappointed they took all of those away from us up here... the bread sticks... oh god.. *drool* lol

anyway, what part of buffalo are you from? I've gotta go and pick up a euro bumper in the next week or so from CanAm, just on the other side of the bridge in the Falls.

[Beau]

Hmmm, just read Clark's garage instructions for repair/replacing the plastic gear for the odometer, and I think I might let my shady Porsche repairman do that, and damn the costs. I'm pretty sure I'd bugger it up if I had to disassemble/repair/resassemble it myself, not to mention that circuit ribbon looks mighty fragile.

Like Eldorado's quote from Socal says, "Never break more than you fix!" I know my limitations.

At least now I know what's wrong, and if I buy the worm gear and he tries to charge me more for extra parts (ie, which means HE messed up), I can call shennanigans. I don't mind paying well for labor, but I'm pretty sure I paid for his mistakes on my previously mentioned ignition coil dilemma, because when I got the car back, it had a different distributor cap, some no-name brand, when I had had a Bosch installed three days prior (by a different mechanic) to bringing it to him. No mention of a distributor cap was on the bill, nor labor on that part.

[Eldorado]

remember, the gear might not be worn - it may have just slipped down the post.

it really is a simple job.. i'm sure you could do it yourself..

[Beau]

Yeah, but like I mentioned earlier, when I bought the car, the trip was not working, and it was eight months later that the odometer quit working. If they both went down at the same time I would suspect a slip, but since it they broke down so far apart, I'm not sure. The part that worries me is taking apart the speedometer to get to the odometer, if it is indeed broken. When I see 'jeweller's tools' in reference to car repair, I'd rather take it to someone who knows what he/she is doing, even if they fleece me on labor, because if I'm unfamiliar with the car (which I am) I'll probably do more damage than good.

That's why I want a parts 944, so I can tinker with it and not sweat it if I break something.

[Icey1174]

Do the dash yourself! I was worried about the "ribbon" too. It's really not that big of a deal, just best that you know it's there first. My odometer went from 100+K to 700+K one day, so I have some gear issues in there too.

I would spend more time reading all of Clark's before you read all these posts. It will help you better understand what they are talking about here. When you're done with Clark's then come back here.

The sunroof is in Clark's too. Sounds like you already read that. The CORRECT way to remove the sunroof from the car is in the same section.

Do all the work yourself on this car. I am finding that the car is VERY easy to work on. I have made many repairs to mine already that would have cost thousands of dollars at a shop.

'Jeweller's tools' are just the real small set of screw drivers. At least that I know of. They are not expensive. The same small screw drivers you would use on a pair of your glasses.

Taking the gauage cluster apart is easy. Really, don't worry about it so much!

Good news on the belts and pump. That cost at a shop is $1,000+.

You said something about the distributor cap. Be careful with the rotor in there. They are EXPENSIVE on our MY (model year) for some reason. Mine was $111 just for the part, and yes $111 is NOT a typo!

Got any oil leaks?

Kyle,
Let me know when you'll be in Buffalo next. My girlfriend used to work at OG. She sells Chevys now, but it's always good to go back and see some old friends. I spent some time playing hockey in Mississauga. The 360 is my favorite resturant. We'll send you all the OGs you want if you'll send the 360 to Buffalo.

[porsche4life]

Hmm havent had time to read clarks garage yet i have to go to work but thanks for the help so far...my belts water pump were replaced about 3,000 miles ago with a retension by bob dumont in OKC about 1,000 ago so they are good to go I'll prolly tear into the dash as soon as i can get the required parts

[Icey1174]

At least read the part of Clark's for the dash.

[Eldorado]

indeed.
i've never picked up a wrench to work on a car before, and I'd done nearly every repair on this car myself.. as an extreme novice, even I think (with the jobs that I've done) the car is easy to work on.

the dash is an easy job... I'd suggest you dig in and at least give it a whirl. If you come to a point that you feel uncomfortable, *then* take it to a mechanic... or better yet, post back here so we can give you some of your confidence back!

John, believe it or not, I've lived here for 24 years and have *never* gone up the CN Tower!!!
speaking of chevy's, my girlfriend drives a 1990 Z24.. she's had to replace the engine in it twice in two years! I have a feeling if they ever met, there may be some tension lol

[Icey1174]

It's an awesome resturant. The food is great, the view is amazing. The Sky Dome is right below it. There's a glass floor in the tower and the Sky Dome looks so small that it doesn't even look real. The restuant revolves too. The food is very reasonably priced for what you get. Not much more, if not the same price as OG.

Same here with the repairs on my car. I couldn't even tell you where these parts where before I found this site. I really think you should try. Follow the Clark's procedue spet by step and take your time. The Porsche is easier to work on than my Taurus!