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'79 924 · Joined: 17 Nov 2003 Posts: 12 Location: Aurora Missouri

I need help big time!! My problem started when I took the car out for a short drive today, I always drive around the park once today to warm the car up before going anywhere. Well today I got about half way around and the fuel pump cut out and wouldnt restart. So I pulled over into the grass and popped the hood and one of the wires that goes to the + side of the battery had melted through.

luckily my friend was with me so we pushed it back to my house and i fixed the wire. Now comes the big problem. The fuel pump will engage again but as soon as you turn the key to start you hear a click from some where in the front of the car and the fuel pump dies and wont come back on again for like 10 min.

Do you think that any of this could be because I have the fuel pump hard wired to a switch?

Thanx for any help you can give me. Have a great day!

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Speed kills: drive a Honda and live forever

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Lizard · Posted: Sat Aug 14, 2004 4:32 pm Post subject:

I would recommend that you find and remove the fuel pump relay once located and get a voltmeter and see how many amps the fuel pump is pulling, also then jumper terminals #30 and #87 and listen to the fuel pump if it stays running and you are pulling roughy 10 amps of power then you just have a dead fuel pump relay, and the wire could have been possibly bad or becoming bad previously.
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'79 924 · Joined: 17 Nov 2003 Posts: 12 Location: Aurora Missouri

I dont have a relay, it was bad, had to tap on it with a screw driver to get it to work, so it ran wires from #30 and # 87 to a switch and use it. I went the cheapo route cause I was broke then as I am now.
_________________
Speed kills: drive a Honda and live forever

What does a stupid redneck say right before he dies? Hey y'all watch this!

'79 924, gaurds red

Lizard · Posted: Sat Aug 14, 2004 5:03 pm Post subject:

so this is happening with the switch even, then I would be looking at a defective fuel pump, or possibly wiring, that is why I said to do an amp load test
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'79 924 · Joined: 17 Nov 2003 Posts: 12 Location: Aurora Missouri

thnx for the thoughts. by the way does anyone know of some one that is looking for a 924 that needs some tlc. im thinking of getting rid of this one and buying my friends '84 944 for $1000. all it needs is a drivers side fender and headlight cover.
_________________
Speed kills: drive a Honda and live forever

What does a stupid redneck say right before he dies? Hey y'all watch this!

'79 924, gaurds red

Lizard · Posted: Sat Aug 14, 2004 5:33 pm Post subject:

dont give up so easily man, that really discourages me to see that happen all around me.

andin regards to your signature I must disagree with you statement

'79 924 · Joined: 17 Nov 2003 Posts: 12 Location: Aurora Missouri

.a
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Speed kills: drive a Honda and live forever

What does a stupid redneck say right before he dies? Hey y'all watch this!

'79 924, gaurds red

'79 924 · Joined: 17 Nov 2003 Posts: 12 Location: Aurora Missouri

gohim · Joined: 02 Nov 2002 Posts: 4459 Location: Rialto, CA

If you can't afford to repair and maintain a 924, there is no way that you are going to be able to afford a 944.

The "front of engine service" alone (required every 3 years or 30K miles to keep the engine from self-destructing) is going to cost you at least $500-$800 (if you only drive 10K miles a year, and put the money away every month until you need it) a year. If you can't afford $40 relays when they're broke, and you can't afford to pay someone to fix the problem, you can't afford a 944.

As you can tell, there are no Mickey Mouse repairs that will work for long on a Porsche. You gotta fix it right when it's broke, you you are just digging a big hole for yourself.

Any 944 you buy for $1000 is going to need expensive repairs. Try asking your friend about the last time he had the "front of engine" service performed. If he has had it done recently (miles and time), he can't afford to sell it to you for $1000, because he just sank $1500-$2500 into the service. If he hasn't ever had the work done, then the car is a timebomb, unsafe to drive, until the work has been completed.

red924 · Joined: 13 Oct 2003 Posts: 281 Location: London, England

sorry to hi jack the thread, but what does the "front end service" prevent? and why is it so expensive?
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Khal · Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 6:47 pm Post subject:

I think it's to do with the timing belt. If that bugger breaks, things go pear-shaped sharp-ish

Costs a lot 'cause of the parts and labour involved, I think...
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'80 924 Turbo

timstar924 · Joined: 04 Jul 2004 Posts: 284

cus its an interference engine, belt breaking will cause major engine damage. There are cheap 944s here too for like 3 grand cheapest but these 944s are a bad idea i would think because they probably haven't had the tuneup for a while and are due for a tuneup probably why the owner is selling. Or it is in poor condition or very high milliage and about to need a full rebuilt soon. Here you will need 6-8 grand to get a nice 944. The 1000 dollar 944 will be worse than your 924 or your friend is giving you an awsome deal which i doubt.

Eturbo924 · Joined: 09 Nov 2002 Posts: 2212 Location: Londonderry NH

Very true 944s are much harder to keep up.
Issues include the timing belt, ballance shaft belts and pullies, oil and coolant mixing, leaking power steering pumps and racks, leaking and thus failing clutch slave cylinders, rubber center clutch disc failures and the like.

Anyway all other issues are common to older cars and will also be issues with a 924.

The 924 is quite bassic and does not have many of the pit falls that the 944 has. You can go early 944 like 1983 and avoid the power steering but .... the manual racks on those cars can also be issues due to owners putting tires that are to large on the front.

Just note... I had a 944 and loved it. Great engine... but I must admit I like the simplicity of the 924 when it comes to working on them.

Eric
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gohim · Joined: 02 Nov 2002 Posts: 4459 Location: Rialto, CA

The 944 and 924S are basically 924 cars with improved engines, and updated interiors.

The extra horses wake up a very capable chassis that was originally delivered by Porsche with a weak engine (low horse power).

The blessing of the 944/924S, is also the curse...

The "front of engine service is required for the continued health of the engine, every three years, or 30K miles. The 944/924S engine is an "interference engine" meaning that the valves share the same space with pistons, and the continued heath of the engine relies on perfect timing of the valves.

The valves are driven by a toothed rubber belt. A second rubber belt, the balance shaft belt, resides with the timing belt and the water pump under the timing cover. The timing belt drives drives the water pump. The oil pump is driven by friction from the crankshaft pulley.

If the timing belt breaks, the valves get bent. Valves cost about $50-$75 each, depending on where you buy them. If the balance shaft belt breaks, very often, the debris drop onto the timing belt, and either jam the pulleys, or cause the timing belt to break as well. If any of the four rollers or pulleys sieze, the the balance shaft or timing belts either break of jump, bedning the valves. The water pump is not cheap. There are only two manufacturers, Porsche, and an aftermarket company named LASCO. LASCO pumps are junk. Many different companies sell rebuilts with differing levels of quality. Some people use LASCO pumps without a problem, I prefer new Porsche water pumps ($200-$300). If the water pump leaks, and if not replaced immediately, the studs that hold it in corrode and break requiring expensive methods to remove. Also coolant weakens the belts, and will cause the belts to break. If the water pump bearing siezes, the timing belt will break. If the oil sealls on the front of engine leak, the belts will weaken and break. The only way to replace them is to remove the timing cover, belts, rollers, etc...

So everything under the timing cover is related to the heath of the timing and balance shaft belts, and should be replaced between belt replacement cycles. The cost of the parts varies between $600-$1200, depending on the brand of the parts, and where you buy them. The labor to do the job is billed at 8-10 hours, and many competent shops charge $75-$125 per hour.

Many 924S and 944 cars have problems with the electric sunroofs, and parts are not cheap. The many relays in the 924S and 944 and not cheap either, they usually cost more than those used in the 924. Wiring problems are not uncommon in cars from the Midwest or East coast, and cars from everywhere suffer from Previous Owners that "hacked" the wiring for various reasons.

Here in CA, used 924S and 944 cars can be had for as little as $300-$400, but any car priced below $2000-$2500 is going to need the "front of engine service", probably some engine work (due to a broken belt or damaged head gasket), possibly some electrical work, and usually body work.

timstar924 · Joined: 04 Jul 2004 Posts: 284

i'm going to buy a 944 probably sometime. I don't think if you buy a nice one for like 6-7 grand and then get the tuneup done for another 2 grand to be safe it should be fairly cheap to keep up. I think its just if you get a beater 944 your going to get fukd with repairs same with any car but of course with porsche it will cost much more. Lots of cars have interference engines and need timing belt services. i think even old honda accords are interference engines and the timing belt job cost a 1000 or so and thats a honda.