Living with a Porsche 944

Now that I'm passed the "I want to take a sledgehammer to it" stage of this project and have driven the car up and down the driveway loosening up the callipers - it looks like I could do an MOT once I've solved the induction & air filter position and then refitted the bonnet. I bought another set of green top injectors off eBay - but only one of them worked properly but thankfully I only needed one to get the engine running smoothly again. I'll send the spare set of for cleaning at some point in the coming months ready for springtime installation. I knew for sure that the #4 cylinder was firing because the exhaust wrap started to steam and bake on! The other three headers had baked on ages ago - I didn't notice at the time that fourth one wasn't heating up and steaming. I've started to fit the intake pieces now so I can find the best and most convenient place for the intake filter - remember I have installed an 3.0 S2 intake on an 2.5 S motor...

After an enormously frustrating time trying resolve why the engine wouldn't rev above 1600rpm - the problem is now sorted! After testing just about everything I could test this weekend has proven to be a breakthrough one. Some suggestions from forum members on tipec helped chase the problem down to something to do with the throttle position sensor. Along the way I tested the fuel pressure which turned out to be good, as did various other sensors. Although multimeter tests on the TPS proved it was healthy, the same readings were not being translated through to the DME connector end of the wiring loom. I realised that much earlier in the project cycle I had to extend the length of the wiring for the TPS in order to fit the S2 intake and throttle body. Pulling the loom out from under the intake I could check the wiring and it was clear that it was a little more elastic than it should've been - and sure enough the connectors had come adrift essentially isolati...

Because the fuel in my 944 is a couple of years old now it was suggested to drain it and refill - so a new fuel filter was in order. I had ordered a genuine part a while back as part of a service kit so I hunted it down, jacked up the car and removed the right rear wheel for better access to the filter. It's a fiddly job and you must be careful not to get petrol in your face or  mouth. I positioned a catch tank underneath the old fuel filter and set about loosening the union nuts. Firstly I sprayed some DW40 on the nuts and gave them a little time to soak. A 19mm and 17mm spanner is all you need for this job... ...once the nuts are loose, remove the jubilee clip and extract the old filter. Easy. Offer up the new filter and tighten down, then attached a new jubilee clip. Now for the new BOSCH spark plugs. Quick and simple.

When I fired up TheHoff after fitting the exhaust it was very obvious that the engine was not running as it should. It was a relief that it was firing up but being so close and not having a smooth running engine after all the hard work is a little discouraging. I videod the engine running and sent the clip to Jon Mitchell at JM Garage to get his views. He suggested it was either spark related or at worst cam timing being off. I spent a lot of time trying to ensure that the timing pulleys were aligned correctly during the rebuild and I'm confident it isn't the issue - but then again... So I began problem solving with the HT leads and spark plugs. Each of the plugs were extracted, cleaned (they were dark from all the firing and refiring I guess) and then connected to an inline spark tester to check if they were in fact getting a spark from the distributor. Thankfully they all were. Next thing to check was the order of the HT leads on the distributor. The 944 has a firin...

After firing up TheHoff I discovered that the joint between the front and rear exhaust sections was blowing badly. The  existing 8v rear and new 16v front exhaust sections to not align properly which meant a hop onto the internet to try find a new rear back box section. With a little browsing I discovered an exhaust rear section on eBay from ECP that was very well priced although I'd never heard of Klarius before. Sometimes limited budgets makes for easier shopping. When I collected the new exhaust from my local ECP I noticed that it carried a Dansk sticker - being rather curious and slightly excited by this discovery and opened up the box to discover that it was indeed a polished, stainless steel Dansk system all for the bargain price of less than £130 after an additional 15% off for buying a second item - I chose a £3 rubber bung to drop the price from £150 down another £20... Although there are mixed reviews about Dansk systems I was happy enough to pay what I did...

In an effort to resolve the unusual and sudden  pedal malfunction mentioned in a previous post I set about bleeding the clutch hydraulics. Firstly I ordered a Sealey bleed kit that uses a hand pressured pump & cylinder to force the old fluid out and the new in. It works really well! I began by removing the clutch slave bleed nipple and low and behold no fluid flowed out - it seems as if the aperture is blocked somehow. After a bit of searching and question asking of Jon at JMG Garage, I removed the clutch flexi hose union and bled the master cylinder, then after reattaching the flexi and I bled the whole system by removing the lower hardline union at the slave. Using a small pry bar inserted through the inspection hole in the bell housing I squeezed out all of the old filthy fluid from the inside the slave cylinder - and once nice clean dot 4 fluid was flowing freely, and some pedal depressing from my son, the clutch system was bled. I can see that the release ...

One of the things I discovered with the 16v headers is they do not match up with the 8v exhaust downpipes… This meant sourcing a new centre section from a 16v car. I managed to find one at a breakers yard and once it had arrived I took it to my local exhaust specialist to have the front silencer removed to release more of the added horsepower. This is a side by side comparison of the 8v and 16v exhaust downpipes: With the car still on jack stands and with the help of my son I got the new exhaust in place and fitted up to the headers. Smaller hands certainly make getting the manifold to down pipe bolts and nuts in place a  lot easier! Fitted with new bolts and copper nuts along with new gaskets I was now ready to lower the car and reverse it out of the garage under it's own power for the first time in years… That was until I pushed on the clutch pedal and it pushed right down to the floor…TheHoff is fighting all the way.