Living with a Porsche 944

The one common issue with the Porsche 944 is a leaking sunroof, so much so that many seek out a rare model without a sunroof. This is due primarily to the obvious fact that seals don't last forever, therefore water ingress into the cabin is a common complaint. What's more alarming than damp footwell carpets is the cost of a new sunroof seal from some suppliers. However, solving this issue may not be as expensive as replacing all the seals in every aperture! When I collected my Porsche on that sunny autumn day back in October, I was surprised that there was some condensation gathering on the windows - which is also how I found out that my heater wasn't working correctly (see my other post in that regard). I remember back to my university days and a friends Mark I Golf that leaked into the passenger footwell from the wind screen causing the windows to mist up terribly. A very common issue with that particular car in the eighties. My 944 had a mildly damp passenger footwell c...

The first Saturday of the month is breakfast morning with a few mates. It's always a good laugh and we move it around. Of course I was taking the 944 to Chichester on this trip. I was expecting a good fry up but I wasn't expecting two full size passengers to join me on a back road jaunt to work up an appetite. They parked the Lexus and announced they were going to squeeze in - well one of them at least - the crazy canuck who volunteered for the back seat! If you've seen the back seat in any Porsche coupe you'll know that it's really only suited to kids or bottles of NOS. Mine look mint for sure but I wouldn't want to travel back there. The things people do to drive in a Porsche eh?

I say the first real drive, because today was the first time I drove the 944 with all the jobs done. There was no nagging thought about what needed to be fixed next to get her running just right. Today it was pure joy to go driving. The back roads of West Sussex hide some real gems. Tiny villages. Stunning countryside vistas. I relished the solitude and thrived on the prowess of this now 24 year old car. This was our delayed birthday drive together and it was a celebration of sorts. It was almost as if she was loving this as much as I having been brought back from the beginnings of near neglect to something of her former glory. This 944 was built to be driven. And I'm loving it more and more. This is why I've forgone a newer, warrantied heap of tin & plastic with "sculptured lines" and marketing hype. I don't want to settle for blandness. Life's too short for miles per gallon and NCAP ratings. I want to drive something iconic, that puts a smile on my face ...

I can't believe it's taken this long to track down a 130mm x M10 shoulder bolt! But I found a pair on eBay and they've arrived in first class post. Great service from Spalding Fasteners . Refitting the alternator with the correct length bolt was a great relief. The best I'd found was a 120mm M10 from B&Q but I could just see this alternator ripping off and shredding my engine bay. So I am glad I waited and found the correct bolt. And I have a spare. It was a little like Haynes say "refitting is the reversal of removal" but with almost zero degree temps in my garage - my little blower heater keeping the ice age at bay - it was a fiddly affair. I'd left the tension arm bolt in place to have the correct tension on the belt when refitted - the problem of course was then getting the alternator to line up with the fixing bolt. In the end I used a little ingenuity and pushed it up into place with the trolley jack from MachineMart as recommended by Car Mechan...

Right. Finally there was a break in the snow and I got to collect my alternator from Power Components. It seems almost criminal that some companies are charging almost as much for a replacement voltage regulator as Roger is for rebuilding the whole alternator - with new bearings too! It just goes to show - I could be spending a heck of a lot of money getting this 944 on the road if I wasn't prepared to get my hands cold & dirty, and make a few phone calls. It's also great to know that there are people like Roger at Power Components in the world who don't feel the need to rip people off. The bracket is off the alternator but the pivot bolt is seized in the bracket. So I popped round a local garage who have a hydraulic press and they've pushed it out, as well as drilling out the pivot bolt hole so a replacement will fit easily. £25 well spent I'd say. So far I haven't found a bolt to use. It's 130mm x M10 shoulder bolt. Neither Porsche nor VW (it's the...

It's freezing cold all over England. I'm sure you've seen the pics. It's the ice age in my garage - not the best of times to get the alternator out for it's rebuild. To make matters worse I think I may have just botched this whole rebuild idea by breaking the pivot bolt. The head just sheered off completely, requiring the removal of the whole alternator bracket with the alternator attached. Thankfully there was a bracket to remove or it would be game over. Hopefully Roger from Power Components can sort this for me - if he can get to work in all this snow!

I have a fan - it works well. But I don't have hot air. Which means that the school run I do with my eldest is a pretty freezing cold affair. It's also impossible to defrost the windscreen let alone ourselves! I've been watching eBay and the Porsche forums for a replacement heater control unit after checking virtually everything else in the HVAC system for faults. The heater control unit is an expensive item from Porsche, and so far they've been selling for more than a ton on eBay. Thankfully one came up on eBay that was a fair bit less - sure it was used but the seller assured me it was fully working. To be honest it was cheap enough to risk and with positive eBay feedback as meaningful as it is it was well worth getting some hot air in the cabin. It looks like it's going to be a cold winter. Removing the old control unit was straight forward. Before I fitted the replacement I cleaned up the two connectors just to make sure 23 years of crud wasn't going to keep...