I spotted a 944 local to me that has 140,000 miles on it. Not a turbo just reg 1987 manual trans.

Seems to have been well cared for but I don't know much about them. Price is low and I just thought I might buy it and drive it for the summer then sell it.

Any thoughts on what to look for? Many thanks for the .02's to come

Standard suspension, brakes, balls joints, tie rods. etc.
Timing belt needs to be done every 30k, get a reciept or two.
Water pump typically gets done every other time.
On the timing belt, see if they changed the balance shaft pulleys, adjuster, and the balance shaft belt.

Other thing is the oil cooler seals...junk design, should have been changed at least once in 140k.

The rest is cheap ass audi interior switches, gauges, all sorts of small annoying things that you can find while looking at the car.

Rich

The clutch would be one of my biggest concerns. Find out when it was done and if they used the rubber center (bad) or spring center turbo clutch.

You don't want to buy one of those and have the clutch go. Ask me how I know!

Next is the timing belt and balance belt. And, I agree 30k miles is a good safe interval for a 944 timing belt. Again, ask me how I know!

Front engine seals leak.
Oil pan leak requires dropping the front suspension/steering Xmember.
Steering racks leak
Tired motor mounts will make the car vibrate badly
Door handles break
Rear hatches leak

Be careful, a cheap 944 can be the most expensive Porsche you will buy.

Bought the same car and soon after it rained.....

there was 6" of standing water on the rear floor. the sunroof seal had a problem. I also had to to a timing belt and water pump. the pasenger door handle was broke from the outside. the window switch went up. The radiator sprung a leak (new radiator) and for some unknown reason the car would not start all the time and sometimes it would not stop even with the key out of the ignition. Lots of fun to drive though

Big Investment, I sold it for 1500$ I could not afford two toys

i just looked at a 87 924s today that shares the same engine as the 944. the water-pump, timing belt, alternator, battery and steering rack has all been done within the last year, it has a start problem with the weak starter solenoid like that of the 914. this car has 102,000 miles on it and a auto trans. i talked him down to 2000. i too am pondering the purchase.

with all above. I have and have had several of these and have worked on several more.IMHO Timing belt is THE biggest concern, clutch is second. Check oil cooler for leaks, check steering rack for leaks,

One thing never montioned is to check the spare tire well for a dent on the inward side. I have seen these cars take a hit on the nose hard enough to push the trans into the spare tire well, this will not only tell you if it has been hit , but is also a warning on the torque tube, When these cars take a good lick and the drive train is affected it typically will tweak the driveshaft within the tube just enough to eat pilot bearings.

Motor mounts need to be replace/updated, if there is no evidence or proof of a recent water pump & belt job, take 1600.00 aside and have it done as soon as possible. I just did a broken belt job 2 years ago that ended up costing the customer 2600.00 He was lucky the pistons weren't damaged, that pretty much ends a 944's life.

CLutch if rubber centerd will have a noticable " boing " feeling when shifting gears, when the boing goes away so does another 1500.00 of your money

Don't get me wrong I love these cars but they are quite maintenance needy.


Oh and if you ever see a n/a 944S run away. They have a nasty habit of breaking cam chain teeth. TOTALLY different setup on that car and the parts are near impossible to find.

I decided to pick the car up, the owner that i am buying it from has kept it serviced at the local dealer and independent Porsche shop near by. The car is a little rough around the edges as far as exterior and interior but i have a good feeling about it. i have been looking at quite a few cars for 2000 bucks and most are real piles. This car is going to be for my 25 year old son has been driving rusted out POS that i am always fixing and ghetto rigging all the time. If something major wrong happens to it then it will become a parts car or if he loves it, we can learn to fix it together.

I agree with everybody else. The 944S (the first 16v 944) was troublesome - the S2 s are great cars, however. The sunroof motors are known to fail, the power steering leaks causing the front swaybar bushing to fail. The belts are the #1 concern.

Todd, is this a white car?

If you buy it, you won't want to sell it
Normally aspirated 944s make great club racers

Thanks all.... you make this sound really scary. I have asked all the posed questions and expect the emailed answers shortly.

Sean... no this is a silver car. Quite nice looking.

One thing I forgot to mention... it needs a AC compressor... how spendy is this or should I just go 55 and 2.

Yes, all the mecanical things everyone mentioned. No one mentioned the Lucus electrical system. Well, it may as well be Lucus. The ignition switches fail, the cheap ass dash switches die and the sunroofs leak. Of the hundreds of cars I've had this was The absolute worse car I ever owned. I sold it 30 days after I purchased the car at a substantial loss. I double warned the buyer what he was getting into. He had the car 30 days and the belt failed and took out all the valves. Too bad there such a dog pile. They are one of the nicest looking Porsches from a design stand point. If porsche was trying to launch an entry level car that would eventually bring new up scale buyers to their mark they failed miserably at delivering a product that represents their standard. I would run screaming in terror

Well... after careful consideration and the email reponse... I decided to walk away. I don't need another project. I already have the TR6 sitting in a million pieces in the garage... don't need another one.\

Thanks boys. You're always a great source of common sense and widsom.

what are you thinking about todd? you thought you had a nice deal in the works, folks gave you the straight poop, and you took their advice. usually that's not the way it works.

k

I had an S2. It was a great car. I changed the timing belt and water pump and then when I felt a strange vibration I went in and did it again only this time I lined up the intermediate shaft or whatever it is called right... If you don't do that work yourself you are looking at $3-4K!!!

hehe.... yah... what the hell am I thinkin'

I should bitching and moaning and telling everybody they are wrong and slingin mud and then pissing an Admin off and getting this moved to sandbox and then leaving this place in a huff only to return three days later and apologize.

Jeez you would think I woulda learned by now

Glad to have you back! Porsches inspire emotion and not always positively.

I picked up the 87 924S only 4000 miles on it since it had everything done on it.
Timing belt and tensioner, water-pump, oil seals, alternator, battery, fuel pump and a steering rack.
Car feels solid to me exterior needs work but for 2000 bucks i cant expect much more.
The Dad poured a ton of money into because he wanted the car reliable for his son.
I am aware of a few electrical glitches everything works but there has been some tampering in the wiring.

So much good stuff has already been mentioned. Lots of 944s that are "cheap" is because there is something wrong with them and the current owner is tired of sinking in money. Clutch job? About 10-12 hours of work or about $2k at a shop. Replacing belts/hoses/seals? Another big chunk... Suddenly you are "in" for twice the low price you paid. If you really want a 944, look for one with a solid history of maintenance. Do remember, these cars are 20+ years old...

I agree with most of what is said here. But, if you work on D-Jets, 1st gear, and rust, then a 944 is easy. Your tool expense will go up. You must learn how to change the belts, pulleys and water pump, and do it immediately. They are quick and have a modern fuel injection that always works, and handles better than tail draggers in my opinion.

Barry

I think alot of the electrical issues are related to poor or failing grounds. As soon as they start to fail I think they corrode inside the insulation and need to be replaced. I've seen the braided straps corrode over their length and require replacing. This overloads the switch contacts and heats them up. Granted, the switches are crap but then add a wiring problem and they over heat and fry. My 944 was a neglected car. Again,too bad, they are a nice looking car.

I was warned, looks like it needs new oil cooler seals, i found oil in the expansion coolant tank, and it needs a thermo fan switch.

FYI Oil in the antifreeze typically means a head gasket Oil cooler seals are usually an external leak

That was my worry, The guys at the Porsche dealership said it is a common failure.
It could still be a head gasket, but my oil so far is clean.

I will dump the oil and the coolant and cross my fingers and hope for the best, this certainly wasn't in the plans. My luck with Porsches has been kinda sucky as of late.

Note that the 924S, 944, and 944S have an oil/water heat exchanger.

Oil cooler seal leak

In the 924S, 944, and 968 series cars, the seals in the oil cooler will sometimes shrink due to age, changing oil types, etc. In 1987, Porsche redesigned the seal causing many failures. The production was not corrected until 1991. All models between 1987 and 1991 are extremely at risk for this failure, if they haven't been updated to the latest part keep a very close eye on your coolant and oil. When the seal fails, it allows oil to enter your cooling system, and coolant into your oil. If you check your oil and notice a chocolatey brown froth on your dip stick, or if you notice brown residue in your coolant over-flow tank, you should take it to the shop immediately and have the seals replaced, the radiator and coolant passages will need to be cleaned with a degreaser and the oil changed.

The first indication of failing oil cooler seals are normally a "milkshake" looking mixture in the coolant tank. This can also be indicated by a failing head gasket. However, most of the time it's the oil cooler seals. The seals must be replaced immediately at the first indication of seal failure. Oil in the coolant isn't all that critical although the cleanup can be messy. However, eventually the coolant will make its way into the oil system and the results will most likely be catastrophic.

Chappy, Sounds like the seals to me. There is no inducation that it is over heating right? Like excess pressure in the cooling system? Look at the spark plugs to see if one has a different burn color than the other ones. You can also do a leak down to see if you gain pressure in the cooling system from a gasket leak. Touch the tip of your tongue on the dip stick and see if you get that anti-freeze tingle from the oil. You know all the things to do anyway. It should be fine.

No overheating, but would fluctuate between the 3/4 mark at WOT and half on off load.
The guy in the parts department remembers the car and said the owner poured a ton of money into it after he bought it. I can get the service records from the service department on Monday. I hope this is the last repair i do to it for a long while.

I will dump the oil to make sure, and do the major flush on the cooling system.

Good news i think, drained the oil first and it came out clean no coolant in it.
I could see some coolant seepage from the oilcooler oil filter mount, dumped the radiator and the coolant is full of oil. I looks like the oil cooler seals after all, Phew!.

Lots of nice new parts attached to the engine and steering, the left front strut is leaking oil but shocks and struts are good things to replace on a 21 year old stock car.