First trip to the garage. Ouch!

[Sandspider]

Well, having owned my 944 for about two months now (one month of which I was abroad for) I've just got back from the garage. Took her in to have the belts done, and was expecting a total bill of maybe £200. (Belts including parts and labour were £150). The final bill was a touch over £600! Firstly lots of the rollers were a bit knackered, so they've been done. Then the CV joints were apparently a bit knackered (there was certainly some play in them if I held the joint and turned the wheel). Then the distibutor cap, rotor arm and HT leads were also a bit knackered! I was going to replace the HT leads myself (they were the cause of the ignominious death of my car in a (admittedly very deep) puddle on the way back from the pub), but just thought I might as well get them done while I was there.

So, the bill was a bit of a shock (my wallet is still groaning in pain), but the car did feel a bit nicer to drive. (Shame it's wet and trafficky so I can't take her out properly). The bugger is that the strange wah-wah noise from the back of the car at high speeds is still there. I thought it might be the CV joints as it's related to road speed not engine speed, and doesn't vary with cornering, so I assume not the bearings. I originally though it was the torque tube / prop shaft, and I'm now back to thinking it must be that. Anyone know how pricey this is to fix, and how to tell when it's actually near breaking? (I heard the rumble gets worse before it fails - it's not a rumble yet, just a strange oscillating noise).

Oh, and as I've been meaning to post pics of the car for a while, here are a couple

Cheers all.

Giles
(Poorer but still happy).

 

[Sandspider]

And one more pic. They might be expensive in the garage, but they certainly have their advantages. (Note - I didn't ask her to do this, she wanted to! On the other hand, I wasn't going to say no either now was I!) Ignore the fact that I've parked literally feet from the kerb... On the other hand, I doubt you were inspecting the parking too closely!

Giles

 

[Riverside]

I've had a few of those bills, really take your breath away don't they? [] The upside is also breathtaking of course, as is superby demonstrated by your second pic []

 

[Black_JPN]

Get used to the bills, its part of the fun of ownership.

Interesting second pic...

 

[Diver944]

We've always said that the annual cost to keep one of our cars running regularly is going to be around £1000 a year, that includes servicing, repairs and the MOT. Some years it can be more when a few big things wear out together, other years it can be a lot less as basically these are very reliable cars with long lasting parts. Once the major things have been replaced they are generally good for another 10 years or so []

 

[John Sims]

ORIGINAL: Diver944

......Once the major things have been replaced they are generally good for another 10 years or so []

Assuming you don't wrap them up against a tyre wall. []

 

[Diver944]

All just routine replacement of parts []

 

[Robbo149]

I wish my first garage bill had been £600... add a 1 in front and that's more like what I had to fork out! Good job I had a contingency & was prepared to have to spend money on it. They are well worth it though!

Cheers,
Robbo

 

[zcacogp]

Pretty car and pretty girl! Well done ...

Sounds like the indie took a bit of a liberty in replacing several bits which may or may not have been at the end of their life. Still, it will mean that the car is good to use for a fair chunk of time to come.

The noise from the rear ... I have recently had something similar and it turned out to be a loose brake pad at the back. A combination of factors caused it, and mine is an S2 so has a different design of caliper, but it does make a noise fairly similar to a duff CV joint (cyclical and related to road speed.) If it is the torque tube then it shouldn't be noisy when coasting out of gear (I think), so try that as a diagnostic.

Apparently duff differentials can cause a similar noise as well, but you probably don't want to hear that right now!


Oli.

 

[Sandspider]

Thanks all.

I was expecting some reasonably sized bills, but that was still a bit of a shock!

Oli, when you say replaced bits that might not have been at the end of their life, do you mean the CV joints? There was definite play in them, and they've not been replaced since new as far as I can tell. (73,000 miles ago). After replacement, the CV joints were solid as a rock, but not sure how much difference it really made to driveability. They had two other 944s up on ramps at the same time, and the guy tried to show me what a firm CV joint should feel like, but both the others were the same as mine! (Probably both worn).

Anyhoo, noise wise the noise does continue if I roll in neutral, but I understand that the torque tube is still rotating in neutral... The noise doesn't occur at all below about 40mph. I don't think it can be single wheel related as it doesn't change at all if I corner. (Surely it would get louder from the affected wheel as I put more strain on it?) I hope to God it's not the diff! Will keep investigating.

Today I bought the rust killer and underseal to stop the patch of rust on the sill. I understand (from the indie) that I shouldn't sand or grind the sill (just brush loose rust away), as that will break the galvanised coat and make it more prone to more rusting...?

Lots more stuff to do, but it is indeed well worth it.

Thanks,

G

 

[Wigeon Incognito]

Is your noise not just the usual 944 gearbox whine? It seems to be a case of 'they all do that sir'.

If you're stationary, and the noise is occurring, but is stops when you put the clutch in then I think I'm right in saying that could point to torque tube bearings.

I had a scare about mine last week, and discovered it was just the loose baffle in the exhaust which had got worse after the exhaust was removed and refitted a couple of weeks ago!

(An excuse to get a nice twin pipe ESS exhaust I think...)

 

[appletonn]

ORIGINAL: Wigeon Incognito


(An excuse to get a nice twin pipe ESS exhaust I think...)

Matt, amazing just how quickly you have adjusted to life here in the sanitarium....[]

Mine goes in for its lower front wing work at the end of the month. After that, I'm not spending another penny......[8|]

"Hi, my name is Nick and I have an addiction..." []

 

[zcacogp]

G,

Yes, it was CV joints that I was referring to. They get 'clicky' and then they get 'noisy' and then they do at least another 10,000 miles before packing up! (Or at least they do on a FWD Golf ... don't ask me how I know!)

Noise; I don't know what noise the torque tube makes, but I suspect you are right - with the gearbox in neutral and the clutch out, they will be still driven by the rotation of the engine. Therefore a definitive test would be to coast along in neutral with the engine not running (take care - PAS and brakes will both give up!) Alternatively you may not be bothered ... other suggestions could be (as already mentioned) just the fact that 944's are noisy from the back end and are rarely silent in the cabin. My loose brake pads were only really audible below about 30mph - above that, the noise from them was drowned out by other noises.

It's probably worth checking the level of gearbox oil and giving the working bits of the back of the car a decent once-over, to make sure that there isn't something obvious that you are missing. (The CV boots have clips at each end of them - is one of these catching on something as the wheel goes around, for instance?)


Oli.

 

[Lancerlot]

ORIGINAL: Sandspider

Anyhoo, noise wise the noise does continue if I roll in neutral, but I understand that the torque tube is still rotating in neutral... The noise doesn't occur at all below about 40mph. I don't think it can be single wheel related as it doesn't change at all if I corner. (Surely it would get louder from the affected wheel as I put more strain on it?) I hope to God it's not the diff! Will keep investigating.
G

Wheel bearing maybe? [8|]

 

[zcacogp]

Ooooh, good suggestion.

But it would be affected by the loading/unloading as you go 'round corners. So perhaps a little less likely.


Oli.

 

[Sandspider]

Thanks peeps.

I assume not wheel bearing due to the noise not changing on corners. I don't think it happens when stationary with the engine running, but now I'm not totally sure. (It's certainly not loud when stationary) If anyone has a desperate urge to come to Bristol and listen to the noises my car makes I'll happily feed you beer! (I'll be the one pressing the stethoscope to every panel of the car with a bemused expression on my face). The best way I can describe the noise is "like something spinning under the car, but not firmly held at each end, so there's a bit of an oscillation and a wah-wah noise". Poetic, if nothing else! Would the differential be noisy at lower speeds too, or just 40 plus? I'm not quite sure what normal gearbox whine sounds like, but it doesn't sound like any other 944 I test drove. (On t'other hand, I was probably over gentle during the test drives).

Oh, and finally, probably an obvious question, but how would I check the level of gearbox oil?!

Thanks again.

Giles

PS - CV joints wise, it does feel better now thought it might just be me wanting it to. Presumably it would be more responsive as there's no lag between acceleration and the wheels actually starting to move... That said, once moving, I suppose it doesn't make much difference!

 

[tr7v8]

Try swapping tyres with someone else. My Alfa 75 had 2 wheel bearings under warranty as both the dealer & I were convinced they were knackered. It was still there. New tyres on the back a couple of weeks later fixed it instantly!.

Completely dead CV joints make a clopping noise like a horse running at the back of the car, generally they make a little noise & all they need is some grease. Sounds like these weren't that knackered!

 

[zcacogp]

Giles,

Can't help with your description of the noise, but what else affects it? You said it is rhythmic with speed, and is only noticable above 40(ish)MPH, what else?

Gearbox oil can be checked and topped up by following the instructions here on clarke garage - it shows you how to drain and fill the oil. Clearly you don't need to drain it, but could take the fill cap out and check what's behind there. (The instructions say to fill to 7mm below the level of the plug, or something, but I fill up to the plug and it seems to work fine.)


Oli.

P.S. Clarks Garage - here. http://www.clarks-garage.com/ Fantastic resource for all things 944-esque. Click on "Garage Shop Manual" for instructions on how to do just about anything on the car.

 

[Sandspider]

Thanks muchly Oli.

Took me a little while to figure out that "transaxle" means gearbox, but after that it's all good - like that site a lot. Will try and investigate this weekend, and also listen more carefully to the noise.

From what I remember, the noise starts at about 40mph, and doesn't really change at any speed above that (the oscillations don't really get faster). If I drop back below 40mph, the noise slowly fades out if I'm coasting, but fades out more quickly if I'm in gear. Not yet tried it while coasting with the clutch pedal down, but will do so. I've not noticed the noise while stationary with the engine running, but I've probably not revved the engine above 2000rpm while stationary - I'll try that too. I've not noticed the noise while in first or second gear, but possibly only because the engine is louder then.

Jim - I do have the old wheels for the car somewhere, so can try them one day. But surely the noise would keep getting louder / faster oscillating as I went faster if it was the tyres? You're right, sounds like the CV joints weren't that knackered- but they're good for another 100,000 miles now, so no worries.

Cheers,

Giles