New 924S Owner, with a few questions.

[Marks924S]

For starters My name is Mark, and I have inherited the car from a friend killed in a motorcycle accident. It's a silver 87 924S with 67k miles. I plan to slowly restore the car and use it for autocross aswell. But I know very little about the little things on these engines (not new to engines in general however) and the Haynes manual is quite vague.

One, the oil gauge reads at 4.5-5 when cruising from 2500+ RPMs is this normal?

The struts are the original factory ones and the fronts are leaking, can I just replace the shock or will I have to purschase a whole strut assembly?

The engine has a slight tapping noise, I'd like to believe it's injector noise as that's where I find the noise located with a stethoscope. Does the engine in the 924S have Hydrualic lifters and no shims? If it's a valve how hard would it be to replace the lifters and such?

I appreciate any advice, and I'm sorry if these questions were answered already.

Thanks, Mark S.

[John_AZ]

Hi & welcome Mark,

The oil pressure is OK. It could drop to 1 when at idle. I use 20-50 Castrol GTX. Keep using the same oil as the previous owner until you know the car better.

On the '87, the strut cartridge is replaced inside the front shock housing. Get a pair of spring compressors at Harbor Freight if you do not have a set. If you plan to autoX, look at Koni all around. I use the OEM SachsBoge for comfort and control.

If it is only slight tapping, get a $8.99 can of SeaFoam and follow can directions. Change the oil and use a Mahle or OEM Porsche filter---K&N also good. No store brand filters or Fram.
Hydraulic Cam Followers (lifters) no shims. Aftermarket INA =not so good.

If the tapping does not go away, post again and we can give more advice.

Sorry about your friend.

GL
John

[88Silver924S]

Sorry about your friend.
My 1988 engine also has a clicking/ticking/tapping which I assume are normal fuel injector noises for this engine. I also used a mechanics stethoscope to pinpoint it to the injectors. Is this not normal? My engine runs strong and beautifully so I have never thought twice about it.

[AaronM]

The fuel injectors for these cars are quite loud. If the noise is a "ticking" or "clicking" noise, it's most likely just the injectors that you're hearing. A collapsed lifter would make a VERY noticeable racket; you'd hear it from inside the cabin with the radio on.

[ernie9944]

Welcome to Pelican Mark, it a relief to have a new to me Porsche owner who is not talking about trying to get 400 HP out of that 2.5 or fitting that poor 924S with 20" wheels, but is asking about normal maintenance procedure,as you will find out listening to peoples here will keep your car up to date & running for a long time.Beside what John has mention since winter is around the corner it will be a good idea to make sure your cooling system is in tip top shape (Anti-Freeze -thertmostat- all hoses- no fluid leakes & cooling fans).Also all grounding points should be clean,another things that easily forgotten are those (antic ceramic fuses ) witch should be replace once in a while ,they are none expensive & your electrical system will be happier.Sorry about your friend good one are hard to replace in our days. Mahle OC 142 approx $7.00 here on Pelican.

[Jrboulder]

sorry about your friend as well.
I will be the first of many to say that if you don't know when the belts were last done do them.
My 944 has loud injectors also.

[Marks924S]

Thank you for all the repiles and condolences, I greatly appreciate them. I did the balancer shaft belt, and timing belt, I actaully bought the contitech belt kit off pelican. This car is only driven in the spring and summer, but I always make sure i run the motor about once a week in the winter and move it through it RPM range (this is what I did for my turbo MR2) The car has been run with 15 40 for the last 12k, and always used a porsche filter, so that's what I use. I run 93 octane in all my vehicles, but the throttle body looked dirty when I took the intake elbow off, so seafoam probably wouldn't hurt. I'm going to assume it's the injectors as I can't really even hear the noise with the hood down.

And ernie9944 I know what you mean alot of people keep telling me I have to make it a 300- 400 horse beast or put new wheels on it, but I already have a 350 horse Roadmaster, and big wheels don't mean better times on the autocross course. I think the car has more than enough get up and go as it is and it's a really fun car to drive! Why change that? But thanks again all, I appreciate the advice and warm welcome, it's good to know I have some place to get solid answers.

[AaronM]

Originally Posted by Marks924S

I run 93 octane in all my vehicles, but the throttle body looked dirty when I took the intake elbow off, so seafoam probably wouldn't hurt. I'm going to assume it's the injectors as I can't really even hear the noise with the hood down.

Running 93 won't hurt the car, but the 924S will be perfectly happy on 87 (in the US rating system). Some people cite 91, but that's on the European rating scale and is identical to US 87.

Since the injectors are at the ports and well downstream of the throttle body, the type of fuel won't have any effect on how clean the throttle body stays. The only thing going through the throttle body is air. Seafoam definitely won't hurt though.

Keep enjoying the car and keep the memory of your friend alive.

As the truckers say, keep her between the ditches.