Aircooled VW South Africa

Buddy got one about 2 years ago, a 1984, had electrical issues with it from day one, one huge kick in the nuts was the timing belt, it let go and bent several valves cost him R14000 to fix. He paid R48000 for the car WTF it had 96000 km's so it should still have been good, so he expected, big mistake, big disapointment, no power, heavy on fuel. The water pump has now packed up and due to the hefty cost has parked the car. Porsche part prices are crazy, water pump R4800

Buddy of mine has a pump that was removed as per service schedule nothing wrong it seems wasnt leaking or anything
Armand

Porsche prices mad? Ha, try Nissan - my terrano's water pump, at AGENTS aka Global Nissan, a little over R5k.... and thats for a regular 2.7 têhbo diesel !

IMPI wrote:Buddy of mine has a pump that was removed as per service schedule nothing wrong it seems wasnt leaking or anything
Armand

WTF never knew a water pump was part of a service schedule on any car. If Porsche does it, is because they knew it was a common fault. Or shit quality

calooker wrote:

IMPI wrote:Buddy of mine has a pump that was removed as per service schedule nothing wrong it seems wasnt leaking or anything
Armand

WTF never knew a water pump was part of a service schedule on any car. If Porsche does it, is because they knew it was a common fault. Or shit quality

This is also the case on all the new vw's audis ect , all models that use the cam belt to drive the waterpump.

Hi the reason pump was removed was due to horror stories about 944 cambelts and water to oil colers and balance belts breaking Buddy bought car same as mine without service history and decided to replace pump as matter of course. when the pump was off it was found to be very good but as the new part has been sourced it was replaced. He imported it himself from the US and paid about R2600. One thing to remember about Porsches is the fact that they are not cheap to run. My Audi s4 20 k for a clutch 11k for a flywheel and the list goes on. I speak from experience in that it costs as much in parts as any modern car. Nice thing though is that most servicing is easy and parts are accesible and available Build date on both radiator and rubber hoses were 2012 and that for a 25 year old car.
regards
Armand

Porsche 101: No service history = replace cambelt immediately!

Little update. the 944 started running a bit roughly with a huge hesitation problem. With Google as my friend I found the problem: the distributor cap was cracked and if it wasnt for the black rubber cover one terminal would have fallen out completely. A bit of superglue and she was fine. As this is my daily i need complete reliability so a new cap was ordered from Porsche SA. 944's have a unique cap and its dealer only. the price was rough R910 before vat but wth It lasted 29 years.

The new one had a 2012 manufacture date (porsche parts always have a date of manufacture on them)

Whilst I was at it I decided to replace the air duct between the Airflow meter and the throttle body. I patched the old one with stitching and a generous layer of polyurethane sealant (the repair lasted well and is still ok after almost a year of daily use)


The new one was considerably cheaper than I anticipated at just R 640 It was also manufactured this year which just goes to show that Porsche looks after older models
I ordered early on tuesday morning and the parts arrived at my house this afternoon at 14h00 Porsche arranged the courier to Orkney and didnt charge a cent for the delivery. I am impressed.

The car is smooth again and I am Happy
Armand

thats customer service for you. Nice one Porsche.
Maybe VW can learn something from them.

Tony Z wrote:thats customer service for you. Nice one Porsche.
Maybe VW can learn something from them.

+1

Hi all one thing I have learned about old cars is that there is always something. the 944 had a sort of rumble from the rear Gor gor gor, it was driving me nuts
surfing the net revealed stories about disintegrating gearboxes and ring and pinions. I drained the oil but found no evidence of metal in the old oil. reading a story about a guy who rebuilt his gearbox only to find the wheelbearings were shot prompted a stripdown of the rear hubs. these were sourced from VW but had massive mods before Porsche deemed them fit for use. the bearings stayed VW though and I bought new ones from Bearing man.
The seals are also VW so again easy to find.
The cause of the Gor gor sound
The right outer bearing started brinelling and even had a crack through the inner race


944 is quiet again
Armand

Caps are not dealer ONLY; as I keep them aftermarket @ R550

Hi Dirk I thought you were on holiday thats why I didnt bother
Armand

Hi
I am a proud owner of a 83 944 Porsche. Strange enough it also came from Cape Town. I live in Durban so the car was sent down.

Being 30 years, this car look good, only the dashboard is cracked and the seat inlays are torn. The worst is the door handles and catch which must be changed. I'm told the Golf one or two door handles will work so I am looking for an original VW set of handles, not the cheap pirate part.

I had a slight oil leak which was sorted. I am looking for a spoiler that fits under the back bumper (S2) series have them.

I just use my car for a Sunday breakfast run.

I am also busy building a 62 half roof VW Baga Bug for show n shine. I am looking for an original carb. I have a twin port motor.
regards
Little Loafer

Hi Buddy
I have a 83 944 german spec porsche. It was featured in the Sunday Times Extra 16th June 2013. I am having problems with door locking catch. I purchased a set of original golf one door handles and am looking for the unit that bolts on to the side pillar. This is the unit the door catch clicks into.

Enjoy your ride.