Q – My mid 70’s 914 windshield is scratched and I wonder who you would recommend for a replacement. I would rather have it repaired rather than replaced but I don’t know where to have that done either. Mark
A – You are in luck. On April 24th, John R Auto Glass will be demonstrating the repair process at Devils in the Details at Autometric Collision in Troy. If they can’t repair it, you can get that opinion direct from them
I was recently talking to a 944 owner who had a problem with the rear hatch on his car. Somehow the glass “moves” in the frame and creates a leak at the top edge. According to our intrepid (and picky) safety chairman, John R was also able to correct this problem as well. It was not cheap but well worth the price compared to a replacement hatch.
I am also told that they can repair scratched rear windows which (to the best of my knowledge) are made of tempered glass. I am looking forward to the demo since the rear window on my Hudson Hornet could use a little TLC. – MC
Q – I am interested in finding (and using as a daily driver) a late 70’s Porsche Carrera. Where is the best place to shop for a car, which version is the most reliable, and are there any pitfalls for a carbureted 911? Thank You. Tom
A – First of all, join the Porsche club if you are not already a member. The best cars stay within the club membership. Rarely do you find a great car on Craigslist; but look anyway. Check the want ads in the Panorama, in regional newsletters and in Excellence magazine.
Look for a southern or western car and have it inspected at its current location for obvious problems. If it passes there, conclude the purchase. Once it is transported to you, have it inspected at a local shop with experienced Porsche technicians. Do not buy a carbureted version…period. They are a pain in the butt (but I do work on them). For an occasionally driven car, fuel injection is far easier to live with and much easier to understand.
Regarding the price, spend 2/3’s of your total budget for the car and save 1/3 of your budget for repairs and updates. Remember: Good versions of this car are not cheap and cheap cars are usually not good. Now if you find a car you are considering, send me the link and I will be glad to offer an opinion. MC
Q – I’m getting ready to do a clutch job on my ’87 944S. Like most, I’ve been to the web and shopped there. In the interest of keeping local guys in business, I thought it would be good to get a quote from my local shops as well. I’d like advice on what would be considered a “reasonable price” on this job. Also, if I get this out and the only worn part is the disc, can you guys resurface the flywheel and pressure plate and simply replace the disc? I’ve done this on American clutches, but never a Porsche. Some are telling me to just get a kit and make sure all is new. What are your thoughts? – Jeff
A – Thanks for your interest in keeping local shops in business. I assure you that they appreciate it! Clutch services on 944s are complex and expensive compared to any other car we service. Based on the labor alone to do the job, I have never done a “budget job” on a 944. An old mechanic once told me, “If you don’t take the time to do a job right the first time, somehow you will always find the time to do it over again!” It is just not worth the risk. The “reasonable price” is whatever price it takes to only have to do it ONCE in a 100,000 mile time-frame!
Another factor is the condition of the linkage components that keep it all operating smoothly. If you only focus on the clutch and overlook those related parts, you might miss the original issue. On my own car, I would inspect the components then make a judgment call about replacement or simply servicing. Any shop you choose can do that for you as well and it is a reasonable request. It will probably cost something for the inspection, but it would be cheap insurance rather than just firing the parts cannon at it!
Typically I recommend the kit since it is not exorbitantly expensive (compared to Porsche genuine parts) and satisfaction is guaranteed. At my shop, we rarely replace the flywheel but we always have it machined or surface conditioned in a media blaster or with an abrasive disc…just like a Chevy.
I gotta ask though…how does the clutch feel on your car and are you sure you need one? I just drove a 944 that had a bad clutch master cylinder causing the clutch to act up. If it still drives, take your car to a shop that has driven hundreds of these cars and let them take it for a drive. One test drive by a qualified technician’s is worth a thousand web opinions. There will be no shortage of volunteers. I know that when I test drive a Porsche, sometimes I pinch myself and think “You call this a job?!”. – MC
Q – About a month ago, the clutch pedal on my 944 went to the floor and now I can’t shift. I can shift through the gears with the engine off but when I start the car, it lurches forward. Before it went all the way to the floor, it felt kind of mushy and the car was hard to shift. What happened? – Elliot
A – On your 944, the clutch pedal is linked to the clutch master cylinder which produces hydraulic pressure that is directed to the clutch slave cylinder. That action in turn pushes the clutch release bearing. The release bearing causes the clutch to disengage. My hunch is that your clutch master or clutch slave cylinders have failed or the flexible hose has ruptured.
Have you checked the brake fluid? When either cylinder fails, brake fluid which also feeds the clutch hydraulics can be lost. Typically when the clutch master fails, fluid will end up inside the car in the drivers foot well area near the clutch pedal. Sometimes the cylinder will fail with no leakage due to an internal valve issue. When the clutch slave cylinder fails, brake fluid leaks into the transmission clutch housing (and onto the ground). If the hose fails, the mess should be easy to see. Another far more insidious problem might be an internal failure inside the clutch itself but this is far less common, so we won’t even consider this until we eliminate the basics.
Start by checking the brake fluid. If it is low, inspect under the dash for signs of wetness. If nothing looks amiss, then remove the inspection cap in the transmission clutch housing (if it is even still there) and peer into the clutch area to detect wetness. Odds are it went one place or the other. Now if nothing is wet, and if the fluid level is OK, pressure bleed the clutch while exercising the pedal up and down and bleeding the slave. If clutch action returns, you win (for today). Some times in very cold weather, the clutch master will lose its prime and take in a big gulp of air leading to loss of pedal.
If you find wetness at either cylinder then the problem is obvious and the repair is inexpensive. Typically when a clutch slave fails, especially on a 20 year old car, I recommend that you also replace the clutch master since you can’t expect it to live much longer. While you are at it, inspect the flex hose for external cracks or discoloration around the ends that might indicate seepage. If you plan on keeping the car, replacing all three hydraulic components is the only guarantee that you will never have a problem for the life of the car. – MC
Q – On my early 911 I installed the WEVO semi solid motor and transmission mounts. Now my wife is asking me what is wrong with the car. Do you know anyone who might want to buy some good used mounts! I am going back to rubber. – Charles
A – I have done this too. Sometimes a product sounds much better in a catalog than it is. For every action there is a reaction. The added vibration in the car would not be worth it to me unless it is a track only car. I recently drove a Turbo with solid mounts and I had to wear ear muffs. I think I heard and felt every moving part in the entire engine and transaxle. If you have ever driven or ridden in a proper race car, you know what I mean.
For the street, compromises are made for good reasons. If it were my choice of mounts, I would suggest the Club Sport mounts that are harder without being ridiculous. The fit and look just like standard mounts so they are not as sexy to as the Wevo mounts but your teeth and passengers will thank you. – MC
Q – Over the winter, I am re-bushing the rear suspension on my 944 S2. I plan to put in the Paragon Products hard compound poly graphite bushings. At D.E. I am aiming at the advanced group. Any tips that I should be aware of? I was warned that after a year or two, they will squeak – Scott
A – Sure Scott. First of all, are you planning on driving the car on the street? If you are, expect the car to ride considerably rougher than before since the hard compound bushings are…well, hard! For street use I recommend the softer compound.
Now I know that in the instructions, they tell you to liberally grease the bushings as you install them and that will be fine for a while. When the grease squeezes out though, dirt and water will get into the bushing and cause them to wear rapidly. Getting grease into the bushing later is impossible unless you engineer a method of directing it and have a grease fitting for it. Without regular lubrication, your passengers will ask: “What is loose in the back of your car?” – MC
Q – I plan to take my 2002 Carrera to drivers school. I have heard that removing the catalytic convertors will really increase the power. I have also heard that removing them will also cause the “Check engine” light to stay on. I also wonder if the car will be too loud. What is your opinion? Stan
A – Stan if your driving skills are so good that you need more power in your Porsche, I salute you! And if you really want to eliminate the cats, go for it. Just don’t ask me to do it for you. No shop can legally remove your cat and dozens of people have asked for it.
What a shop can do is make it easy for you to remove your own cat. Essentially, the frozen, rusty bolts can be removed and replaced with nice fresh stainless steel bolts and nuts. The OXS sensors can be removed, threads freshened up and then sensors screwed back in. You can then remove your cat whenever you want without the busted knuckles and cussing that goes along with it.
When the cat is removed, you simply fabricate a method of hanging the post-cat sensors in clean air and that should keep your check engine light off. The cars that I have heard that no longer have cats are not too loud for my taste, just don’t remove the cats and the muffler! You will attract the wrong kind of attention for my taste. – MC
Q – My 92 Carrera 4 has developed a funny noise that intensifies the faster I go. It does not seem to change in intensity in any particular gear or under load. I thought it was coming from the engine but now I am told that it is coming from the transaxle area. I had the transaxle fluid checked and it is OK. There are no warning lights or anything that provides any clue. What is your opinion? – Chuck
A – You are not going to like it but here is the bad news. Most bearings, which produce this kind of noise, are within the transaxle. But when a transaxle bearing fails, usually the noise will change depending on loading, changing gears, application of power, etc. Your noise does not fit this scenario…and you have a Carrera 4.
The other possibility is the central tube or drive shaft. Unfortunately the only way to isolate the sound involves a lot of disassembly and expense. Once the central tube is disconnected from the transaxle, the source of the noise will be al lot more obvious. It may be small consolation but this is a very rare failure, and I have never encountered it before. MC
Q – I have a 2000 Carrera and the “check engine light” is on. When my car idles, the engine feels rough. When I rest my arm on the armrest, I can feel the engine vibrating and it wasn’t like that before. When it was scanned, the computer stored OXS sensing range codes for all four sensors. I had it reset and it happened again after about 15 miles. I only have about 30,000 miles on it and I wonder if I should replace the sensors. – Keith
A – 30,000 miles for OXS sensor failure is very early. They normally last a lot longer than that. The sensors are reading a fuel mixture anomaly and they are merely reporting the fault, they are probably not causing the fault. The other clue is the rough idle. There are some common, testable components that need to be verified. Fuel pressure for instance, and there are a couple temp sensors that may be sending a signal to the computer that fool the computer into thinking it is much colder outside or that the engine is colder than it really is. Another possibility is that the air mass sensor is reading a higher air mass reading and fooling the computer into adding more fuel to the engine. My bet is the air mass sensor.
You are probably wondering that if there is a problem with fuel pressure, temp sensors or an air mass sensor, why is there no code for that? Simple…The computer is not that smart! As clever as modern On Board Diagnostic systems are, sensors that are out of range often fail to set a code and instead cause other components to set codes. This in turn sends a well intentioned but inexperienced tech on a wild goose chase instead of giving useful information. Goofy isn’t it!
My suggestion: Clean the air mass sensor. This is easy, cheap, and CRC (the company that makes the cleaner) guarantees more horsepower. You can’t hurt anything for the effort and it may make your car run great again. When air mass sensors were a brand new component, they were ridiculously expensive but now that the engineering has been amortized over a few million of them, they are reasonably priced and cheap enough that I consider them an exchange test part. In other words, if I think it is bad, I replace it with the understanding that if results are not achieved, I take it back, no harm, no foul, minimal expense. With sky high labor costs, the part seems like a bargain by comparison.
I have had philosophical discussions with many technicians who feel that swapping the part is not the correct way to diagnose a car but even Bosch agrees that a part exchange may be the best diagnostic approach in limited circumstances.
Now if cleaning (or a new part) really makes a difference, the performance will be crisp, the engine will run smoother and after a few miles, the computer will relearn how to produce both power and fuel economy. As far as the OXS sensors, they are probably coated with black sooty deposits and it will take a few miles before they will operate at peak efficiency. My suggestion is to get out your Valentine One and hit the highway for a third gear, 5,000 rpm three or four mile trip to incinerate all that gook in your catalytic convertors and clean the sensors. The check engine light will be ready to monitor engine functions after a 10 to 20 mile run so you need to wait to see if this clears up all the codes. MC
Q – I just bought a 1986 944 and although it has low mileage, the former owner was not an enthusiast and mildly neglected it. I have attended two of the club detailing clinics and I really appreciate the demos and info from the vendors. I took one of my cars to the Motor City Auto Spa and I was very pleased. This winter, I would like to preserve and even restore some of the surfaces on my car particularly the rear spoiler and the leather seats. I am interested in finding out what products you use and recommend and where to find them. My wife asked me for a Christmas list. – Ted
A – Well Ted, I am not a concours guy, just a motorhead who details cars for therapy so here goes. Since I don’t sell detailing products, these are the ones I buy for myself.
For leather (dark shades only) I use Fiebing’s 100% pure Neatsfoot Oil that I buy from Arizona Saddlery. I paint it on with a natural bristle brush and let it soak in for a day or two. On older leather it may take a few applications to get it to penetrate. You can put plastic on the seat if you need to drive the car while it is soaking in.
For the spoiler and bumper rub strips, just like the leather, these plastic surfaces need to be fed regularly. I use Black Magic Pro Shine Protectant. This product is not watered down like most protectants. I have tried every brands that I could find locally and this is my current favorite. I get it at Murrays.
For chin spoilers, tires, and lower side skirts, I used No Touch Wet & Protect premium. This product is not glossy and it evens out the plastic surfaces that seem to get stained or mottled from road debris or scuffing. I also use this product for under hood plastic and rubber hoses to spruce them up. I also get this from Murrays.
For paint, I like the Magna Sponge instead of the traditional clay bar. It works just like clay but the dirt washes off instead of contaminating the clay. I got mine on the web. As a lubricant for the sponge, I use Griot’s Speed Shine or Meguiars Quik Detailer. Both work well.
I like Rejex as a protective finish for paint and wheels. I get it on the web. I have also tried a dozen other waxes. I like the clear product by Turtle Wax called Ice. They claim that you can use it on everything except glass but I have only used it on paint. Clear polish…what a concept! They also make colored car polish and again…why not? Some of them even come with a little lipstick style applicator for scratches.
I have faith is in the chemistry of synthetic polymer products. I think they are all good and I believe that for most folks, they are far better than traditional waxes. If you would have seen my car in 04 when Mike and I first drove it back from Florida, compared to now, you would agree I have learned a lot. I am happy to share it with you, Ted. – MC