944 sills worry

[test789]

Hi,

Just signed up and been learning alot of info. I am going to look at a earlier 944 turbo and both the sills are meant to have only a little surface rust and need cleaned and sprayed. I have not seen pics of them myself yet. From reading on here they rot from inside out mostly and could be costly. How when looking at one of these would you know if it is just nothing or a more costly fix ? Basically, I need an idiots guide to make sure I dont buy a lemon with a 2000 sill problem

Thanks for any help.

 

[ukmastiff]

Have you been told to remove the plastic vents inside the door pillars and look in with a torch ?

Apart from that if the sills even look like thy 'could' be rotten , I would rather just have it up on a ramp and then is is fairly easy to see.

I hope if its an early turbo there is some reason why you are looking at that one and not the low mileage one on this forum for £3500 with sound sills ? , superb engine gearbox clutch etc []

Regards Mas

 

[pauljmcnulty]

I hope if its an early turbo there is some reason why you are looking at that one and not the low mileage one on this forum for £3500 with sound sills ? , superb engine gearbox clutch etc

Nicely put! []

Remove this, lower a camera phone inside (careful not to let go) and you can get a passable picture of the whole sill interior. Some surface rust is almost inevitable, but plenty of gunky waxoyl is a good sign. If there's so much daylight that you don't need flash walk away. []

 

[test789]

Im not in Mainland UK or theres plenty I would have See them plastic vents..do they just clip off easily with a flat screwdriver ? Im just wondering how I could actually see anything really doing that say near the front wheel end ? It looks like you would be lucky to see a bit near the back wheel What would be main things to look for on a turbo model ? Got the peter morgan book but its not much help really.

 

[ukmastiff]

If there's so much daylight that you don't need flash walk away.

lol, now I do like that quote I really do , that needs to go on a Porsche Club christmas card [8D]

 

[pauljmcnulty]

See them plastic vents..do they just clip off easily with a flat screwdriver

No, they have a little tab at the top. See thread on broken black vents, and go careful! I'd not expect every owner of a 944 to think it was normal to pop this out and inspect, but if they are very against it, or don't seem genuinely surprised, then they might be hiding something.

Im just wondering how I could actually see anything really doing that say near the front wheel end ? It looks like you would be lucky to see a bit near the back wheel

If you point a camera along the sill it will give a fairly decent view of the whole length. 944s tend to rust at the back of the sill first, so it's directly below that vent. Pic shows a view of the inside.

The rear wing bottom is easily visible if it's corroding, as are the fromt wing bottoms.

 

[Neil Haughey]

Whatever you do don't get side tracked from checking everything else. I think ppl are putting to much worry on sill corrosion and forgetting that you could easily end up needing to spend several £K on one of these cars to get it up to scratch mechanically. As an example my 968 has just come back to me with a bill for £3K, of which £600+vat was to fix both rear suspension mounts for corrosion and clean up and re-underseal the seams at the back of the floorpan.

 

[Elliot]

ORIGINAL: sc0tty


I tell you guys I could make some money by setting up a 944 pre sale inspection service !!!

mmm perhaps we should offer this together as part of my new venture.

 

[mike220]

To be honest I think if half a dozen guys got together (equally spaced around the country) to offer an informed service then it could well have some legs, especially for the new guys joining here and if it was kept to a sensible cost for them ?

Mike

 

[robwils]

ORIGINAL: mike220

To be honest I think if half a dozen guys got together (equally spaced around the country) to offer an informed service then it could well have some legs, especially for the new guys joining here and if it was kept to a sensible cost for them ?

Mike

I'd seriously take you up on that, seen a few now and while I'm doing the checks I've read about I'd prefer to have someone with a lot more experience pop along to look at a car I was serious about.

 

[JM1962]

Sills tend to rot from the inside out as you have said, so if they're rotten on the outside, chances are they are worse inside. Rear suspension mounts are also a problem area and a potential mot failure. Don't take a chance on buying one without looking inside the door vents, surface rust is almost inevitable, anything worse, walk away unless the car is really cheap and you're prepared to pay big bucks for the repairs. Also check wheel arch areas particularly the bottoms of the front wings which can be expensive to replace if they are rotten. Get down and have a good look underneath at the floor pan and chassis, make sure it has not been damaged by being jacked in the wrong place. Take the car for a test drive and check for blue smoke on accelertion and when you lift off, the former indicates ring or bore wear, the latter valve stem oil seals or valve guide wear, check oil pressure is healthy, 4-5 bar at 4000rpm and at least 2 at hot tickover. Also listen for a whining gearbox.

When you go to look at a car, have a notebook of areas to check, its easy to forget areas if you are not methodical.