Newbie and virgin Porsche owner - good spare parts shop?

[tartan_rob]

Hi guys. I am new to the Porsche world having come from big engine Audis for the last 15 or so years. I thought it would be good to get into a project and duly purchased a 1987 944S. The car has 10months MOT and is in great condition for the year. She really 'only' needs a few bits of rust to be tidied up, the rear o/s wheel arch needs a spot of welding, new interior, etc

My question is: I bought the car cheap from a geezer that knew nothing about cars and in fairness did not have the cash to repair this...

1) The engine has a knock when running, could be a worn big end
2) The oil pressure gauge reads about 1bar from cold idle and although i haven't blasted her, only gets to about 2 bar at 3k revs
3) The voltage gauge sits about 12v even though I have relocated a larger 110A battery
4) The camshaft timing chain is in good condition and tight (as is the tensioner)

I have the car in bits, the sub frame is down, about to take the sump pan off and check or replace the big ends. I was looking to simply replace:

a) Oil pump with a re-furbished unit
b) Alternator
c) Oil pressure relief valve
d) MAF
e) Big end shells

Is there a good shop to get spare parts from..?

Also - what is involved to convert the 2.5 into a 2.7 or 3.0 engine? (now that I have the bottom end clear of subframe etc...)

Thanks in advance,
Rob

 

[edh]

Well you've definitely got an oil pressure issue - you should see 5 bar when cold at 3k, and probably 2-3 bar at cold idle. I guess you could have a cracked oil pickup, OPRV stuck open, or as I think you suspect, some bearing wear / damage. (My S2 is currently looking sad in my garage as it cracked the oil pickup at Spa in october). Your knock could be tappets (mine is) - hydraulic tappets will be noisy with no / low oil pressure. They also cost an arm and a leg, although someone has recently used a VW equivalent which is much cheaper. Were any soft when you checked the cam chain?

Always worth trying Porsche for spares - they can sometimes be the cheapest (or only) source
Make sure you're sitting down when you get the OPRV price though...

I think there's an FAQ on here with supplier lists
I'd avoid a place near Birmingham that uses Porsche in its name - overpriced and often sends the wrong parts

To be honest, I think you're about to embark on a project that could well cost you more than the car's worth, especially if it's rusty (make sure you check inside the sills..), and because there's always more "while you're in there" jobs to do. I'm seriously considering breaking my S2 & not fixing it as it's worth much more in bits.

Is there a reason you want to replace the AFM? (not MAF on these cars) I doubt it's related to any of your problems.

 

[tartan_rob]

Excellent, many thanks. I'd agree with the tappets. RE the AFM, I suspect the unit on there is the original and if they are anything like Audi's that go frequently (every 4 or 5 years) then I fear this one may not be telling the whole story. Without diagnostics its hard to tell. I may leave it on the car and then do the old, drive with AFM connected, then disconnect it, if the car performs better or same, the AFM is shot to bits.

Rocker cover still off so I'll check some and see if they are soft or hard.

No thoughts on other parts shops though? There seem to be a few stateside but few here.

 

[robdimond]

Hi Rob and welcome.

The plastic slipper pads on the cam chain tensioner are the weak point on this engine. If it's white then it's been changed recently but otherwise it's worth changing them for peace of mind (easy job relative to what you're doing right now!). The plastic goes brown and brittle then shatters and bad things happen, usually taking out at least the valves but usually the head casting as well.

Bear in mind that often the parts are often cheapest from an OPC (Official Porsche Centre) and they will discount them if you're a club member or just ask nicely and are restoring a car. Parts prices vary from bargain (huge bits of dashboard plastic for a few pounds) to the outrageous (like that OPRV that edh refers to!).

Never heard of anyone replacing an oil pump because of wear or heard of a reconditioned one... and they are expensive new. I would replace cheap consumable parts (oil seals, belts etc.) and leave everything else (alternator, MAF, oil pump) unless you know it's broken otherwise this is going to be a seriously expensive project.

The 2.7 and 3L engines both use a different bottom end... so I think a straight engine swap for an S2 or Turbo engine is all that makes sense if you want more power.

Rob

 

[Diver944]

Hi Rob. Congrats on the purchase and welcome to the forum. It sounds like you don't mind getting your hands dirty and have a potentially huge project there so I look forward to reading your reports and please post pics along the way - we love pics []

There is a list of UK parts suppliers in the 944 FAQ at the top of the 944 forum page but here is a direct link to save time:

http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=405337

The fact that you have two dashboard gauges reading low may be that you have some poor connections behind the instrument binnacle. It is easy to take out, clean the pulgs and re-attach. There is a good guide to this and many other DIY jobs at http://www.clarks-garage.com/ Just look in the 'Garage Shop Manual' section. It may become your bible []

Whereabouts in the country are you?

 

[tartan_rob]

Thanks guys. really appreciate the posts. I am based in Wiltshire and hoping to do some nice things with the car. Sprint Blue (Audi colour) wrap, the interior is being completely re-trimmed in Feb (Leather and alcantara), new carpet set ordered, many new engine components, battery re-location, wheel re-furb etc

I'll post before and after once she is all done - only the battery has been completed thus far.

R

 

[tartan_rob]

Meant to say....current colour is gold with cream interior....

 

[ChasR]

I would be willing to get an endoscope down the bores to see what state the bores are in. If it has been run low on oil there is a chance that the bores may be scored which can also start knocking/slapping.

As for the low oil pressure I would be willing clean the connections up as Diver944 was saying. If the pressure does turn out to be low it could be as simple as a loose crank pulley (they need to be torqued up to 250NM, something which a number of people tend to overlook and simply make them 'tight'.

As for suppliers, that has been covered well. In the past I have used:
-OPC
-FrazerPart
-PH Sportscars (breakers and repairs)
-Faze 1 (breakers and repairs)
-Berlyn (now run by David Barker).

 

[944 man]

Whats happened to Bert then, has he retired?

My advice would be to avoid anywhere which sounds like Pork Chop unless there is no other option.

 

[944 man]

Its all on the home page... I hope that David (and Tom, I presume) can maintain Berlyns strengths (much of which was knowledge/experience).

 

[Ewan]

Bert has retired - he's got a few jobs on his yacht to catch up with.

 

[ninesixfour]

Welcome, 944 great choice, one of the best handling pound for pound Porsche I own, unlike the 964 it behaves[]