New 944 S2 owner but the car has a couple of issues

[willbowles]

Hi all,

I have just bought my first Porsche, a 944 S2. I've been reading through the forum and there is a good community here and it is reassuring that parts are still available. Sadly I'm experiencing a few issues with it and I don't know enough about the 944 to work out what is going on.

1) When driving along, the car stutters. I could be cruising along at anywhere between 1 mph and 60 mph. The power will go and suddenly come back again. It does this all the time.

2) The low fuel light flickers constantly. I know this is a known fault. I think my whole dash has an electrical fault as I have had the whole display go out on me when driving at night.

3) Sometimes I get a vibration when driving along. It seems to be coming from the front passenger side wheel. When I apply the brakes when this vibration is happening, they judder too. I've had the wheel off and can't see anything alarming. The shock is solid and has no play but looking in the engine bay, the sealing looked a little iffy. It could be nothing though. My car has got Boxter wheels on which are pretty large!

Thanks for any advice in advance.

Hope to chat to some of you during my hopeful long term stay.

Will

 

[eddieedmo]

vibration /juddering could be wheel balance,bearings,brake discs warped ,sticking brake calipr piston , worn bushes etc - sounds as though it needs a good check over.
When the power goes does it die completely ? or just missing a few beats and then ok.?
Again colud be many things and needs a systematic approach to finding the fault.

I am sure an expert will respond to help out ,

Good luck and welcomme to 944's

Nick []

 

[willbowles]

Hi Nick,

Thank you for your reply. I will jack the car up and have a look at the wheel. I think there is a little play in the wheel hub. Hopefully nothing too serious.

As for the power, it doesn't die as such, just goes off power and back on again constantly until I put my foot down hard to clear it. A friend of mine said it could be the master air flow sensor?

Thanks

Will

 

[eddieedmo]

Have a look at CLARKS GARAGE website a great source of help for mending 944's.
Let us know how you get on we all learn all of the time.

Nick []

 

[willbowles]

I'm on there now!

 

[robwright]

My vote for the power issue would be the air flow meter and warped discs for the shuddering.

 

[PSH]

welcome Will, I'm sure your sort the car out with the knowledge from this forum, also congrats on your choice of car.

Pete

 

[eddieedmo]

Hi Will

Regarding the power issue I would check all electrical connections to the temp sensors ,injectors ,throttle position switch etc anything which sends info to the ECU which then controls the fuel injectors.I would definitely clean the Air Flow Meter , I did mine recently after 174k miles and it was dirty and once cleaned the running at lower revs was much smoother.When you clean it you will find the S2 has a 3 contact swipe arm not 2 as Clarks garage shows.This makes it difficult to reposition the arm onto a fresh area of the track.I just cleaned mine and is fine.I used alcohol ( isopropanol ) not fine grade sandpaper and a cotton bud - I was amazed the amount of muck I got off the swiped track.It is a very delicate piece of kit so take care.Also make sure all vacuum lines are good and not split or leaking anywhere.
The brake discs need checking for run out to assess warping.Modern discs do warp and rust easier now due to the amount of iron used in the casting.If the calipers are suffering the well known 'plate lift issue' this could cause the pads to move unevenly and cause brake judder as well.
When you get things sorted and are happy get it 4 wheel aligned by a specialist who knows 944s made a huge difference to mine in how it drives and handles.

Hope this helps,enjoy it they are a great car !

Nick []

 

[willbowles]

Hi all, thank you for the replies.

A friend of mine suggested the mass air sensor could be the culprit to the juddering when driving. The owner had a brand new standard exhaust fitted in July and said the seal between new and original parts can sometimes upset the lamber sensor? I have a new exhaust seal from Porsche to fit. Could that be any cause to the problem?

Do you all still run the original brakes or are there any other disks/pads I should be using? I heard the brakes on a 944 are one of the most expensive parts to replace!

I'll find the location for the air for meter this evening and have a look at cleaning it. I'm still learning my way around the 944! Very happy with it, the amount of comments I've had from passers by is unreal!

Thanks

Will

 

[PSH]

I'm still using the original brake calipers although fitted to drilled disks and using Pagid pads. They have always stopped me ok and I'm not exactly running standard power...

Pete

 

[david924s]

I am running standard calipers and discs on my S2 just replaced the discs and pads on the front £138 for SEbro discs and Mintex pads seem to work fine and not too expensive, bought the pads based on Mintex part number and discs from EuroCar Parts when they had 30% discount. Front and rear pads are the same on the S2 I believe so if you find them cheap worth doing both ends.

 

[willbowles]

That's good to know, thanks =)

 

[willbowles]

I thought I'd post a little update.

The juddering is cured! It turns out the mass air-flow sensor plug wasn't connected properly. I took it off on Saturday evening to have a look at getting the unit out but didn't. I connected it back up again and I haven't had any problems over the weekend at all.

The dash lights still flicker. I was told it could be the dimmer switch inside the cabin? I also noticed that one of the down controls on the passenger seat doesn't work. Is this an easy fix does anyone know?

I need a new wheel bearing for the front left as I can't think what else the wheel vibration could be. May as well do both front bearings if I'm doing one.

Thanks

Will

 

[david924s]

Have you had the wheel bearing out to check it, they have adjustment and it may be it needs cleaning and regreasing before proper adjustment, I think if the bearing was shot you would hear it as a howling moaning sort of noise so maybe it just needs greasing and proper adjustment. Reason I say check before replacement is the level of difficulty to get the bearing inner race out of the hub although it seems a simple job getting the inner race out can be hard depending on how well stuck it is and what tools you have availble. Just changing the ball race is not usually a good idea as the inner race if worn will soon wear out the bearing, should really be changed as a whole unit.

 

[willbowles]

I haven't had a look yet. I'll check on Clarks Garage for a how-to on the adjustment. There isn't a moaning noise when driving, just the vibration from the wheel... Thanks for the heads up.

Will

 

[Hairyarse]

Hi Will

Welcome to the forum, it sounds like you've made some good progress already and enjoying the S2 experience. I wouldn't have thought that the juddering is a wheel bearing if its making no noises.

 

[T3rra]

I had juddering, turned out 2 be warped disc. Think I got worse when braking. And over 4mph, was one off the last things I checked as I had just replaced them with Porsche disc. Will need checking with a run out tool.

Had noticeable vibrating on movement in the steering wheel as well.

 

[willbowles]

Morning,

Driving home yesterday there was this very faint droning sound but I couldn't pin point where exactly it was coming from. Sometimes when driving I don't get any vibration through the steering wheel and the car brakes fine too, no noise or juddering. Bit of an odd one!

 

[david924s]

The droning sound could be wheel bearings, mine sounded like a jet aircraft on take off at speed and yet when I had them replaced there was still months of life left in them, sound is also misleading as mine seemed to come from the rear but it was the front bearings. If you have access to jack up the car after a run out do it while the bearings are still warm and spin the wheels you should be able to hear the bearings sort of grinding/groaning bit like when the discs are bound on if they are knackered. Like said earlier it may be worth removing the front wheels and bearing cover to check the adjustment on the bearings and maybe remove clean and regrease, it is an easy job just don't over tighten, only need a wheel nut socket, screwdriver to remove bearing cover, prise it off then allen key for the bearing lock, nothing special needed to do the check. You can remove the bearing race easily (or should be able to) clean it up and see if the rollers are worn same for the other half inside the hub. If it looks and sounds OK grease it up reinstall and see how it goes.

I think from memory correct tightness is with the bearing pushed firmly home, tighten the locking nut to make sure the bearing is pulled up then back off on the nut so the washer between the nut and bearing can just move not loosely and not so you have to push it hardthen tighten up the bearing nut lock bolt (allen bolt).

What I have seen done too many times is people changing the roller bearing but leaving the old race inside the hub (awkward to get in and out) so the new bearings just wear out quickly on the old race.

 

[edh]

Wheel bearings sounds like favourites - the fronts are relatively cheap. Glad to hear you've sorted your other issues - which could have been much more complicated