1st start in 3 years....

[richard300]

Hi everyone, i am about to buy an old 1989 944 (2.7 lux) i have paid £400.00 for it, cosmetically in needs a couple of bits, but nothing major, and nothing that a good bodywork guy i know cant do for me.... BUT the car has not been used and has sat for 3 years, now i imagine the brakes will be seized, and the fuel and battery will be shot, the oil may be bad?? but being a mechanical novice, and wanting to use this car as a learning tool, i am not sure what is the best way to getting the car ready for its first start, so any ideas, tips and advice would be very much appreciated, i guess really i should have walked away from the car, but i used to have a 1986 944 years ago, and i have fond memories of it, and really found it sad that this car was sitting, languishing away in an airport car park, and want to give her a new lease of life...|Am i mad?.............. Lol.

 

[Peter Empson]

Not mad at all [], sounds like a good purchase to me (I followed the Pistonheads thread).
In my opinion you really ought to consider getting the belts changed before starting it, it's just not worth the risk after this length of time.
Please keep us posted how the car goes []

 

[pauljmcnulty]

In my opinion you really ought to consider getting the belts changed before starting it, it's just not worth the risk after this length of time.

Agreed. The good news is that, with a new battery and petrol, the damn things will start. But, every perishable component will have hardened and shrunk. I'd not be tempted to start it without a full front-end overhaul.

 

[xenon]

Without question the belts need changing - the belt will be deformed around the sprockets after that time and will simply strip. Once they've been done, turn the engine slowly, with the plugs out, using a breaker bar and socket. Don't let it try to run under its own power until the engine is moving freely.

 

[stevespic]

Im sure i dont need to tell you the amount of work you have ahead of you so Good luck, and look at it this way you will be a 44 expert by the time you have finished. []

 

[Diver944]

I've been following the thread on PH too, sounds like you got it for a good price and are going in with your eyes open.

I too would not risk starting it until the belts have been changed, after that you are looking at oil, filter, battery and plugs and I bet she will start fine as long as there are no underlying problems that caused the three year layup in the first place.

Whereabouts in the country are you? We could direct you to the nearest independant with a good reputation

 

[cococola]

Good luck,it would be good to see pictures of the ongoing project[8|]

 

[zcacogp]

As Paul said for the engine. The idea of cranking it by hand before starting is a good one, and new oil is an essential item ...

Brakes may be a game. If they have seized on then freeing them off could be best done by taking them apart and removing the pads, or by trying to drive the car and waiting for the 'bang' as they free off. If the disks are badly pitted and rusted then new ones may be in order. And, of course, new brake fluid will be needed as well. Good news is that it's a Lux, and I don't think those had the same problems with caliper plate lift that the S2s and Turbos did.

Same applies to the clutch. This may be seized on as well. I know what was suggested to my grandfather when he took his Triumph TC2000 out of storage and the clutch on that was seized, but the thought of it made me wince. (Disconnect the coil so it can't start, put it into first, foot on the clutch, and then drive it into something solid using the starter motor. A wall, for instance ... apparently the clutch will free off easily with minimal damage to the bumper or wall - TC2000 had nice chrome bumpers as well).

If it is in an airport car park, how will you get it home to work on it?


Oli.

 

[Diver944]

I haven't heard Oli's 'drive it into a wall' clutch fix method before [&:]

Are you on commission from a local bodyshop or something?

 

[richard300]

Firstly i would just like to thank everyone for the friendly and helpfull advice, and to those PH'ers, i will also keep the thread on there ongoing too []

To answer a couple of questions....

1.A better desrciption of the car would be....

EXTERIOR.....
After having a quick look around it, i can see that its been standing since 2005, it has a scrape/dent along the bottom of the rear arch, a cracked rear bumper, a scar on a front wheel arch/bumper, a dent on the rear panel under the spoiler and there is some light corrosion on a wheel arch lip and rust on the drivers side sill.
INTERIOR.....
Cant really say much about this, as there was nobody to unlock the car for me when i went to have a quick look, but it looks ok, a very small sign of wear i think on the drivers seat bolster (it has the leather effect outers and Logo cloth inner trims) the stitching on the stearing wheel is coming away badly, but the worst thing is that its all in navy blue (no problem if the car was silver or white)but the car is Gold!!!
MECHANICALLY.....
She has covered 140.000 miles (in 2003 and at 126.000 miles the cam/balancer belts and rollers and tensioners were changed and the clutch replaced, and a service and oil change carried out. However the car has been parked up since mid 2005!!!!

2. As soon as i have some pics, i will post them, so you guys can see what i have got my hands full with (at the moment i only have some on my phone and for some reason the card reader on my laptop isnt accepting my MSD card?? But i will take some on my camera [][][]

3. I am based in Worthing (West Sussex) and the car at the moment is parked in a car parking space at Shoreham Airport (on an industrial section, open carpark)

Now to ask a couple more questions...lol

1. On this model year, am i correct in thinking that i dont need the special cambelt tensioning tool? and if not, i have a friend who is quite hands on and mechanically good.... could it be possible for us to do it, and how long would it take? or is this a strict dealer/specialist job?

2. Also, does anyone know if a Specialist that used to be in the Brighton area called 'A.N.YATES-SMITH' or 'AYS' is still around??

Thanks..... Rich

 

[Diver944]

Hi Rich I'm looking forward to seeing these pics and following your progress over the next few weeks.

Checkout the Garage Shop Manual at www.clarks-garage.com it has a whole wealth of procedures for the amateur mechanic to follow whilst working on their 944 and is far better than the Haynes manual which is a waste of time for our cars. The Porsche factory manuals can also be downloaded from Ricks excellent website www.cannell.co.uk but they are very large.

The official Porsche tensioning tool can be borrowed by members from the Club Office at Cornbury House but there is a cheap aftermarket alternative that some have used called a Krikit and made by http://www.arnnworx.com/ in the US

For all your parts and good advice on the phone call Bert at www.partsforporsche.co.uk - he is the 944 tech rep for the club

 

[zcacogp]

ORIGINAL: Diver944

I haven't heard Oli's 'drive it into a wall' clutch fix method before [&:]

Are you on commission from a local bodyshop or something?

I was about 10 when my late Grandfather was describing the process to my dad, and it sounded a little odd to me then. I recall my father being somewhat surprised as well, but my grandfather assured him that it worked fine.

To this day, it still sounds odd to me. But I guess it makes sense, in a way. I guess the idea is to give the clutch a good firm 'bang', and th emethod as described would certainly do that.

Anyway Paul, you are in the bodywork business - you should approve of this sort of thing!


Oli.

 

[Fred Hindle]

Squirt some WD40 into the plug holes before turning the engine over. Then check which piston is at BDC and squirt some more in, then do each one in turn. This should ensure cylinder walls have some lubrcation initially.
When you change the petrol think about putting some injector cleaner in it (a reasonably strong mix.
Sounds like a bit of fun.
Cheers,

 

[j4mou]

I have a 944 I paid £350 for just over a year and a half ago, it was stood for 6 months when we picked it up, changed the oil etc. and its started on the key..

last time I used it was the 19th of april last year, went to it yesterday, put a battery to it, (i didnt climb in because of the mould!!) and it started on the key to my surprise lol!!

made me smile any way []

its in the garage at the minute for a quick service and a the mot, then we will be going round europe in her again []