There have been a variety of transaxles used in the 924/944/924S/968 series. Understanding them helps to understand what to do when you need to replace yours – getting the right one that will work with your car. Replacing the transaxle is not an easy task, and you don’t want to have to do it twice.
“I will put some of this in it, and it will be fine.” If it is leaking, it will continue to leak. Magic fluids may help in an emergency, but eventually the leak will come back and it will need to be fixed properly. Magic leak-stopping fluids may get you home, but they are not a permanent fix.
One of the most common 944 sunroof failures occurs in the latches in the roof. The cable engages a nylon gear in each latch, spinning it and driving the latch up and down. When something goes wrong, this $10 gear is the failure point – nylon vs. metal.
So in searching the internet for nuggets of 944 information, I stumble across forum posts where people talk about 1) the low power output of the 944 8v engine, 2) the desires to install forced induction and 3) the desire to dump their 944 Turbo due to high maintenance costs.
Among others, GT Racing has been making a kit of body parts that replicate the Carrera GT that was homologated and raced as a 924T (931) in the early 80’s. I had the opportunity to build one of these kits in 2001, using a 1988 924S as a base, and it turned out quite well.
Here at 924S944.com, we have a theory – there are no cores, so therefore no rebuilt calipers. Unfortunately, you cannot print out calipers on your 3-D printer – at least, not yet. Until that happens, there will be few calipers at the auto supply store.
One of the biggest differences between the engines and therefore the two models is how the engine is mounted in the front subframe. The 944 engine mounts into an aluminum crossmember – the one that also mounts the front control arms and the steering rack. The 944 engine sits on top of the crossmember on two mounts.
The system also allows me to search the database for a part. Since the software is cloud-based, I can access the database from anywhere with internet access – even my phone or iPad.
While this car will not be a concours winner, it will be a great, original-spec M030 as it was delivered.
We will be using our new facility for both storage and work. As a starting point for a new business, we will be doing restoration work on our “passion fruit,” 924S and 944 cars. We will also be storing various parts for these cars and offering parts for sale.