1988 Porsche 944

1988 Porsche 944 questions and answers

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Q: Water Leak?
My 1988 Porsche 944 leaks water (small amount) but enough to overheat my car. Where can I check for this leak. It seems to be coming from the right front (somewhere from the separate coolant tank) can it be maybe the thermostat or water pump. Does not leak from no other place than the place mention. please assist.

A: Check the hose between the radiator and the coolant expansion tank. The hoses crack with age. Also just as a precaution, replace the radiation cap. When they get old, they release collant into the tank more easily (at a lower temperature) and it will sometimes cause it to over flow. Neither of these cost very much and both are easy to fix. Good Luck!

Q: Battery Keeps Running out?
Have a 1988 Porsche 944 and it will not sustain the battery. I have charged it to capacity. If the car does not run periodically the charge will run out. Why? Please assist.

A: Several possibilities. Bad battery bad alternator an electrical short in the wiring or some corrosion causing a partial short and is draining the voltage from the battery. a relay with burned points that is staying energized. Some things to check before you take it in would be: Use a voltmeter and measure voltage with the engine off 12V turn the engine on, should see about 14V Use an ammeter and put it in series with the + lead on the battery and notice the current draw with engine off and all accessories off. Then pull one fuse at a time and notice the change in the current draw. If there is a big change in the draw, then that is the circuit with the problem.

Q: I just bought a 1988 Porsche 924S. Whats a quick way to improve horsepower on it?
It's stock with 160 bhp but i know it can be a lot faster. It's an automatic (ugh) and its a 4 cylinder. if you know about Porsches then you know this is the last year they made it and they put the 2.5L engine from the 944 in it. if you have any advice or practical solutions (i'm 16 so not completely car savvy) just post them up

A: Hi, in answer to your question... I would sell the car and save for the car you really desire. The reason being....I have been a Porsche mechanic for 34 years, I have worked on nothing else. The 924 was the worst car in terms of resale and performance, the 924S was a little better due to the fact they ran the 944 engine, giving more reliabillity, better fuel economy and driveabillity with the Motronic ignition and fuel system making it streaks ahead of the old CIS system. The down side is you can not rebuild these engines and increase horsepower unless you are prepared to spend allot of money, then you would do, cylinder head mods, camshaft, pistons, headers, fuel injectors, air flow/filter system and then the rest of the exhaust system. Now after you decide that this is the route you will take, you will have to consider the fact that you have an automatic version, they performed poorly with extremelly slow response and acceleration. So you would be wise to change the pedals, clutch, flywheel, bell housing, shifter, torque tube, and transmission.... so after adding all this up its going to cost you an easy $10-$15 thousand dollars and possibly more, So as a Porsche engine builder and race car builder I do not recommend anything for this car. sell it and save up the money for the Porsche you really desire. I build engines for customers ranging from full race to street and non turbo to Twin turbos etc etc and the price ranges from $15,000 to as high as $60,000 just for the engines.. so take the advise and learn, I am 49 years old and I have seen many people do what you want to do and then they really regretted it. I hope this helps you, do not feel discouraged. You should be grateful that people here are actually giving you good advise, you will save allot of money, time and hassel by heeding these comments. You are young and you have lots of time.

Q: 1988 porsche 944?
ok i have a 944 was given to me for christmas lol been sitting for 2 years i put a new ecu in it and ran it for about 30 minutes and then i killed it and it wouldnt start again the cat was stopped up really bad so i took it off and now it will start but no idol how do i know that the kat was the problem

A: I own a 1986 911 and a 1970 911sc and a 1972 914 So... yeah My '86 911 had a similar problem it might be the brain or you might need to have the Carborator re-jeted (good luck finding the jets it took me months to find the proper ones for a porsche of that vintage) hope this helps

Q: Any ideas on how to add horsepower to a 944 turbo?
1988 Porsche 944 (951): Already has performance chips, cold air intake and exhaust. Looking to add more horsepower to make faster, but keeping it a daily driver and reliable. Anyone have any ideas?

A: Easiest way is to get a boost controller of some variety. You can run higher boost when you need it, but lower when youre just driving around the city. Cams, low comp pistons, port/polished head, etc etc will all net you gains, but the boost will give you the major ponies.

Q: How can my 17 year old son get insurance on a 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo? Please help as i want to get him this.?


A: You could be the primary driver on the 944 and then have him on your car or some lesser car. Normally they rate the primary on the car for the rate and then others can drive the car, just not as the primary. Who is going to know...

Q: What do you think this is worth? 1988 Porsche 944 104K R-Title (but excellent condition)?
I have been in the car business for ten years and am a manager at a new Honda dealership. I sold my father an '88 Red Porsche 944 (not turbo, Lthr, PL, PB, stick, SR)) back in '98 for 6K. The car is in excellent condition (and I truly do mean excellent) and has only had about 2000 miles put on it since he bought it. It is inspected, and runs well. Everything works. The body looks perfect. the interior looks new. Even the rubber spoiler is still factory black (not faded). I ran a Kelley and it is coming between 3500-4700 private party (he wants to sell it privately). It has 104K. The thing that is really throwing me off is that it was a reconstructed vehicle (but the best job I have ever seen - I would know it was an R unless I really checked the body during an appraisal. Normally I would cut the value in half because of the R brand, but I am not sure what would happen on the private market. How much do you think he can reasonably expect to sell it for?

A: I've always found KBB or similar sources to rather low when it comes to used Porsches. Not sure for the reasoning here, but their numbers are always quite low compared to what I see from my involvement with Porsche Club Of America. From what you descibe, I think it would be reasonable to see about $4800-5500 for the car. However, the title issues is something that would make quite a few Porsche buyers run away and could seriously devalue the car - no matter how well the work has been done. The more information you have on work done the better (I know many that go so far as to document all major work and repaints with photos at each step of the way so that future buyers can see that the work was done "right."). At least having info on who did the work, when, and receipts would be needed to get close to the value you might be looking for. Without that the KBB numbers may actually be high.

Q: Engine failure while driving my 1988 Porsche 944.?
Checked coil to be OK. Get one faint spark from coil wire in a split second when engine is cranked, then nothing. Fuel pump is working. What else can I check and how do I check it?

A: coil you should get more than a faint spark,, in fact the coil wire if you grab it bare handed while trying to start it or checking fire it will have so much fire when good to hurt you trust me, it will shock the sh#@! out off you the voltage a coil produces is way high

Q: Will these 993 Cup wheels fit on 1988 porsche 944 turbo?
Hi - I am looking to buy these porsche 993 Cup wheels for my 1988 951. The wheel dimensions are as follows (wheels are OEM, not replica) Dimensions for Back wheels : 17 x 9 with Pirelli P6000 255/40/ZR17. Front wheels : 17 x 7 Michelin Pilot SX 225/45/R17 I am pretty sure that these wheels will fit my 951 given the later year offset, but I was wondering if this dimension of tires affects the handling and performance of the car? in a negative way? Thanks!

A: As far as fit, if there is a problem it will be with the offset... a 951 should be able to sit 17x7s and 17x9s without any issue. As far as performance, when looking at wheels/tires there are three areas that come into play: contact area, gearing, and weight. Contact area is mostly simple, more is better! With taller and wider wheels, you are getting more contact, and thus more grip. The only possible negitive here (depending on tires used and specifics of suspension setup) is that adding too much width in the front will begin to limit the slip angle where your tires will be effective. Though the tire widths you'd fit at 7" are not likely to run into problems. Gearing: while taller is better for the contact patch of the tire, it will increase the overall gearing, which can have a negitive impact on performance. Though if your tire sizes are basically the same, this won't matter (though it will also negate the increase in grip you get from having taller wheel/tire combo). Weight: this can be a killer as we are dealing with unsprung rotating mass. Depending on what you are taking off, the 993 Cups are most likely a couple pounds heavier each (and the corresponding tires are likely a pound or two heavier than their 15 or 16" counterparts). Ultimately, you may feel a little difference in acceleration (potentially even braking, but probably not for this small change)... but likely not too much (the more power you have the less noticable this will be). The other negitive here is with the tires... mismatched tires are never a good idea from a performance standpoint (though this is easy enough to correct).