944 S2 General Questions

[time]

I did exactly that - on the trans tunnel, firewall and floor and has made a massive difference. Driving daily in peak hour traffic in Melbourne without aircon used to be unbearable on a 35+ day. 

[brian in buddina]

Time 

What product did you use? Does it come in different thicknessess? any installation issues? glued, taped or just loose under the carpet? I assume the seats needed to come out.

 

B i B

[time]

Hi Brian

Its a long story....briefly... My 1982 944 came complete with a rusted out battery tray and inner guard, this was painted over with body sealer which didn't seal anything. So all of the factory underlay and carpets (including fuses/relays and loom) were underwater - perfect! So I had to strip out the whole interior and weld in new panels etc. And scrap the carpets and underlay.

I used two rolls of insulation products: one with a sticky backing - this was a lamination of cellular foam and rubber, for sound deadening (quite similar to factory). I used this everywhere except on the trans tunnel. On the trans tunnel I used cellular foam with a silver reflective surface - this was the secret to the heat reduction. Both products are about 6 to 8 mm thick, and procured from an auto carpet supplier. I don't have a brand to follow up with other than Dynamat (Autobarn) - which I found a little thick at 12mm. 

Good Luck!

Tim

 

 

[Stepo]

 I don't have a brand to follow up with other than Dynamat (Autobarn) - which I found a little thick at 12mm. 

 

I used some Dynamat on my IB car a while ago and it was about 6mm thick, so there must be options.

[brian in buddina]

thanks Tim much appreciated response. I don't even have a car yet, the final transaction coming soon. Starting to compile a preservation, restoration & maintenance work list.

Any other issues your working on with your car?

[Stepo]

How many S2's is too many??

Maybe I have rocks in my head, but I purchased the recently advertised "black"  S2 that was advertised on carsales.

Murphey's law, I travelled to Syd and drove the silver S2 back to Melb only 4 weeks ago, then I see my dream 944 come up and it is in pristine condition.  Leak down test completed today proving the engine is just as good as the interior and exterior.  Factory black and Aus delivered, it has had a re-spray in 2013 with Paint & Custom in Thornbury.  The work has been done to a very very high standard with new rubbers and dash which is an added bonus.  The interior is black leather and I can't fault any of the switches, lights, labelling and operation, I even get a nice white coolant bottle . 

I nearly cut my finger off with a circular saw last Monday so I cant drive a manual at the moment........its going to be frustrating!!

 

[time]

Unfortunately my 944 was thrashed and put away wet by many a previous owner, I would love to thank them all personally....So consequently everything perishable, all rubber and most plastics and moving parts - bearings etc needed replacing. I started at the front and worked back to the back. Complete front end and steering, engine (head upwards) all air/fuel and vacuum, complete brakes and lines, clean grounds all switches and connectors, replaced most bearings throughout, glass and paint.

It is supposed to be the first 944 in Australia. It's a Jan 82 build.

It will never be concourse, in fact it's a bit ghetto. I drive every day and it survived the recent PFA track day and more to come.

It's easy to work on, a Haynes manual and the schematics are helpful. I have found the parts to be cheap, either online or genuine. Cheaper than bicycles.

Currently: I purchased another dash board to repair the cracks and flock, then swap over so I can drive to work on Monday....

Cheers

 

[Stepo]

It will never be concourse, in fact it's a bit ghetto. I drive every day and it survived the recent PFA track day and more to come.

It's easy to work on, a Haynes manual and the schematics are helpful. I have found the parts to be cheap, either online or genuine. Cheaper than bicycles.

Good on you Time, I saw your red 944 at the track day, nice to see it out there and looks to be running well now.

Keep us updated on your projects!

[time]

Cheers mate. Admiration and respect for both of yours. Lucky man!

[brian in buddina]

tim

yeah bike parts can be expensive

[Stepo]

Cheers mate. Admiration and respect for both of yours. Lucky man!

Once the dust settles, it will be only one S2 in my stable.

I will put a post up on the forum prior to listing the silver S2 on carsales. A lot on at the moment so it will be a few weeks.

[brian in buddina]

Money moved, the deal is done! I am now an offical member of the 944 preservation society, pending a credit check. I will post some photos soon but I am still in negotiations with the modelling agency on scheduling the photo shoot. Some models don't get out of bed for less than $10,000 !

In all seriousness I would like to thank the PFA community members for their generous sharing of knowledge & time in responding to questions. This has allowed me to get to this point.

The previous owner of "my" car said that there is one issue about owning a P car. I was thinking: only one issue??? He said it was the amount of time spent reading about them. Well I hope it is less than the time I use to spend on studying them, before I actually even bought one. I've been studing P car for 40 some years. Now its time to spent my recreational reading time on maintaining & fixing them. I have a list of items to work on. The first maintaince item is to replace the notorious timing belts. 

My first Question

what is the best shop manuals for working on the 944? I am going to try to do as much of the work myself. Is it worth getting Hynes type manual or just get the offical porsche shop manuals. I see you can get a digital P copy on ebay.

I have downloaded a porsche parts list for my model, 1988 944S, but the pdf copy I have has no table of contents or index. This makes access to specific pages time consuming and means scrolling through hundreds of pages to find what you are looking for. There must be a better version available.

Second Question 

From watching youtube timing belt replacement videos, I take that 2 specific tools are required. A flywheel lockout tool and a open ended wrench. Are these tools something I should purchase or is it something that you just fabricate up when you need them?

B i B

[ANF]

Congrats and welcome to the transaxle club!

Of course we now needs photos

[Rob]

Congratulations Brian.  You can "do without" the tools, but if you want to replace the front crankshaft oil seal, you really should use the crankshaft locking tool.  PM sent.

[OzJustin]

Congrats on the purchase Brian. Post up some pics when the modelling agency allows!  

[Rob]

Money moved, the deal is done! I am now an offical member of the 944 preservation society, pending a credit check. I will post some photos soon but I am still in negotiations with the modelling agency on scheduling the photo shoot. Some models don't get out of bed for less than $10,000 !

In all seriousness I would like to thank the PFA community members for their generous sharing of knowledge & time in responding to questions. This has allowed me to get to this point.

The previous owner of "my" car said that there is one issue about owning a P car. I was thinking: only one issue??? He said it was the amount of time spent reading about them. Well I hope it is less than the time I use to spend on studying them, before I actually even bought one. I've been studing P car for 40 some years. Now its time to spent my recreational reading time on maintaining & fixing them. I have a list of items to work on. The first maintaince item is to replace the notorious timing belts. 

My first Question

what is the best shop manuals for working on the 944? I am going to try to do as much of the work myself. Is it worth getting Hynes type manual or just get the offical porsche shop manuals. I see you can get a digital P copy on ebay.

I have downloaded a porsche parts list for my model, 1988 944S, but the pdf copy I have has no table of contents or index. This makes access to specific pages time consuming and means scrolling through hundreds of pages to find what you are looking for. There must be a better version available.

Second Question 

From watching youtube timing belt replacement videos, I take that 2 specific tools are required. A flywheel lockout tool and a open ended wrench. Are these tools something I should purchase or is it something that you just fabricate up when you need them?

B i B

Brian

If you haven't already, have a look at "Clark's Garage" full of useful info for the DIY 944 owner.  http://www.clarks-garage.com/

For videos, you've probably already found Van Svenson's Channel. He's very thorough... https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNF0UDDgHaq94i30wwQsRzw

Cheers

Rob

[Stepo]

Well done Brian, welcome aboard the 944 world, although it is relatively new for me as well.

I have the Haynes manual and I don't think it is that good, more confusing than anything.  I hear the Bentley versions are much easier to use with more pics.

Good on you for giving the belts a go yourself, I'd be worried I'd stuff it up. 

I find the guy in the red overalls provides good 944 info, he provides instructions on belt maintenance but he talks funny

[brian in buddina]

Well done Brian, welcome aboard the 944 world, although it is relatively new for me as well.

I have the Haynes manual and I don't think it is that good, more confusing than anything.  I hear the Bentley versions are much easier to use with more pics.

Good on you for giving the belts a go yourself, I'd be worried I'd stuff it up. 

I find the guy in the red overalls provides good 944 info, he provides instructions on belt maintenance but he talks funny

thanks stepo

ya he talks funny. I watched his video last night, with sub titles, on fixing the glove box & fixing the electric seat wiring. Both these projects are down low on the priority list. The belts are #1 

b i b

[Timm]

I've got the workshop manuals in PDF form...pm me your email address and I can send them to you.

[brian in buddina]

email sent

thx Timm

[Timm]

email sent

thx Timm

Hmm, it appears that they are too big to email.

Though I think I've found the place where I originally downloaded them from...the first result on google funnily enough ;-)

http://www.9ss1.dk/porsche944/garage/workshop.html

 

 

 

[brian in buddina]

got it, 

downloaded, converted to pdf

that only took 5 minutes NOT

 

[brian in buddina]

Catalytic converters...

Going back to the broken seal at my shifter which has allowed heat to gain access to my centre console. I will soon be replacing this seal at the shifter. We have already discussed adding a thermal blanket around the tunnel to contain the heat. Has anyone replaced or removed their catalytic converter? I was reading about the life span of the cats. So if you have over 200k km your car, it will more than likely your cat will be worn out. A symptom of being worn out, if I read correctly on google, is HEAT! 

The cat may be clogged, if you are running rich, and not as free flowing. Has anyone cut the cat out out, washed it out & replaced it. Or just removed it & replaced it with a straight pipe or resonator pipe?

Would removing the cat have an effect on your motor settings?

Rumor is that the cat absorbs 8 to 10 hp or is this just here say? 

[Rob]

Hey Brian

Certainly the elimination of the cat converter is fairly commonplace in the Turbo community in the US, with a "test pipe" replacing the cat.  Of course, we wouldn't do it over here because we obey the emissions laws .  That said, I have a Fabspeed cat-back exhaust on my 952, which incorporates a "sports" cat that apparently complies with the regs.  If your cat is clogged, you could replace it with a "sports" cat from your local exhaust shop.  A reputable shop shouldn't remove your cat and replace it with a "test pipe" as they would then be in breach of the law.  A clogged cat will certainly have a negative effect on engine performance; whether or not this will cause your engine to run rich depends on how clogged it is, as the oxygen (O₂) sensor should be able to tell your ECU to adjust mixture accordingly, up to a point.  The same situation applies if you remove the cat.  The increased air flow will tend to make the engine run lean, but can be partially compensated by the O₂ sensor.  Re HP gains with loss of cat, the Turbos certainly benefit, but I couldn't say how much for an N/A.  Welcome to the slippery slope that is Porsche ownership.

[brian in buddina]

thanks Rob

I wouldn't want to do anything illegal! Its a slippery slope.

It would be good to hear from the N/A brain trust.