My new 944 ... and it's issues

[PSU_Crash]

Loving this thread @PSU_Crash - thanks for sharing. I had to resolve many of the same issues when I got my n/a 944 at the start of the year, but nowhere near as challenging as yours! Amazing work to date.

Thanks!
I think I have most of the big issues covered. Now on the the smaller stuff. Working windows and wipers would be nice. Although I have identified the problem with those. The hatch alignment is probably the biggest remaining issue.
I should post up a list of what parts have went in so far ... but I'm not sure I want to add it up!

[blueline]

PCA show & shine season is almost upon us! Paying to show your car has always been counter-intuitive to me, unless it's for charity. With all the Tennessee Carpokeans, I'm guessing you guys could have your own get together...

Lots of goings on in TN - Cars/Coffee, meets, etc. We had our Nashville area PCA's (Musik-Stadt) Concours today at 111 Motorcars in Franklin. A lot of nice cars but we could have used more transaxle participants...

Maybe I'll make it up to one soon! Nashville is about 3.5 hours from me, so it's a commitment.
There are definitely other meets and shows closer to me. Just have to start going.

I did a Perplexity AI query asking "What is the PCA Region for Decatur, TN" and it gave me Tennessee Region PCA which I think is based largely out of the Chattanooga area. (I guess AI does have a few things going for it after all. I better be nicer to the machine and say good things lest it decides to turn on me!! )

Anyway, I imagine they do events, C&C, Concours, etc. and at the least should know of events going on that are not unreasonably far from Deactur.

https://tenn-pca.org/

[PSU_Crash]

BlueLine, Decatur is kind of in the middle of nowhere. I had the same findings when i looked. It seems there may be a smoky mountain region too that is loosely based around Tellico Plains. That would be the closest to me. Chattanooga is about an hour from me, same with Knoxville. I just need to join a region and ask the locals. C&C is always a good time. Surely there are a few within reason.

P.S. The machines are already turning on us!

[PSU_Crash]

I know you have all been through this before so you know the pain. It's my first time and I know who I can vent to Decided last night was time to do a "quick front brake job" .... boy was I wrong! Doing research ahead of time at Clark's garage and a couple videos, I thought ok, that's different, no big deal. I've done hundreds of brake jobs over the years on all sorts of things. I'm from the rust belt, so I'm used to things being destroyed. Mine was pretty clean for the most part. I didn't even struggle much getting the pins out. They were actually in decent shape. I thought I was in the clear.

Putting things back together was a different story. I went with EBC rotors and red pads. Trying to get the outer pad in that notch and also get the pins holes to line up while keeping that big spring plate in place is a serious PITA! The whole thing actively fights to not be where it should be. A BIG pair of channel locks and a strategically placed C clamp was the final solution.

I sat there at this point for much longer than I'll admit trying to come up with a plan. It was either get the pad in the notch, or get the pins in. Not both it seemed.


There has to be a better way?

On a bright note I took the ol girl for cruise last Sunday over the Cherohala skyway In Telico Plans TN over the mountains into NC and back. Zero issues, all the smiles!

[PSU_Crash]

Sunroof worked fine earlier today. Left work and stopped at a friends place. No more sunroof movement. Excellent ... I'll dive in tomorrow

[ROB III]

Maybe a fuse or switch contact corroded?

[PSU_Crash]

Maybe a fuse or switch contact corroded?

Diving in as I type this. Printed out the switch troubleshooting from Clark's and I have the motor assembly exposed. Time to grab a helper and my meter.

[PSU_Crash]

In typical fashion everything works just fine once I get ready to start testing. I even recruited my step-son to come help. When it was opening/closing properly it wouldn't go to the back position to remove the sunroof. I thought I would find a microswitch broken and/or out of adjustment. Everything checks out. Even the motor clutch slip. 48in/lb throughout a few full rotations, checking many times. Perfect. While I was there I cleaned and greased all of the electrical connections. Maybe it was just a poor connection on one of them.
Time to replace the sunroof seals, since that was the original goal last night

[PSU_Crash]

A little update.
Odomter gear installed and working. (Thanks Tom!)
New MT-90 fluid in the transaxle and flushed the brake lines. That brake fluid was in ROUGH shape.
The "to do" list is getting smaller. Unfortunately after the front brake job, caliper rebuild is also now on the list.
Time for yard work since the rain finally stopped. Then it's time to focus on another project for the day. With a little 944 cruise therapy likely in between.

[PSU_Crash]

Dropping in to give an update.
I've been driving the wheels off this car and it hasn't skipped a beat! Running great and the AC is cold, thank God. I love all the random thumbs up and chats with strangers. It's just such a cool car IMO.

I still don't have working windows due to the hacked drivers door harness, the wiper motor "works", but really needs replaced, the fog lights are broken pretty bad, don't work and threaten falling out completely with every bump, I found a rusted through spot on the driver rear into the cubby in the hatch, the hatch is badly delaminated and doesn't open without serious "persuasion", and the brakes are spongy even after a full brake job and flushing the lines. Braided lines are on the short list.
944Barn isn't far from me so I've contacted Elliot and sounds like he has me covered on all these items. Can't wait to swing down and meet him. Looks like he has quite the collection

The outter window scraper seals are shot, so I ordered a new set with clips from 944online. The other window seals can wait for now. Doing a little research these appears to be a serious pain to replace.

One more thing. After replacing the battery cables I noticed that little deflector plate on the hood is pushing right on the positive terminal cover when it's closed. It was immedietely removed. Maybe it's just the wrong battery group. I haven't investigated yet.

Decided the cabin air needed a filter. Just used some UNI filter material I had laying around. Seems to work just fine.


I also wish someone warned me about this little gem in the brake resevoir before I ran it low and tried to fill it up... Only to immedietely overflow all over. I bet a lot of cars out there are missing this part. I put it back as I'm sure it helps the float level switch.


I'm trying to make 944Fest work for me too. A lot of plans were already on the books before I even owned this car. VIR is a cool track! I'd love to take the ol girl out there, even if I don't do any HPDE with it.

Anyways, happy Saturday Carpokeans!