1984 Porsche 944 Standard Coupe from North America - Comments

The 1984 did not have a Turbo. It must be a different year or just not Turbo. Anyway, I bought my 1984 944 for 2,800. It's true that the car has not got that initial zip to it that most any car does these days, but for cruising at 35-65 it's beautiful. One big problem is when cruising over 70 there's a wind noise from both doors. My seals look fine, but I suppose I'll have to splurge on them since they're outrageously priced. If you're a decent mechanic the car is no more expensive than most imports as long as you shop around. Changing the Timing Belt yourself will save you hundreds of dollars. I've always done most of my own maintenance because 1. I like to work on my car, and 2. You will always make sure your own car is running fine more than a regular mechanic (Unless you know a good mechanic, something which is hard to find). I'm a firm believer in petroleum jelly being the perfect protector of all things plastic and rubber, so if you want to protect the dash, rubber, leather, go ahead and put that stuff everywhere. Much Better than Armor All (AKA Destroy All Vinyl). In all cool car. Shop around for all parts. Never pay dealer prices.

Is it possible if to get a 944 for $4k and to keep it running for a relatively low cost?

I've owned my 84 944 for a few years, and love it also. This is also a very clean well previous maintained car. Need help though; I am a mechanically inclined mechanic/car restorer. Can the timing belt be changed without the special tool, or do I have to swallow my pride and bring it to Porsche.

One more problem the dealer can't fix. My car stops revving at 4500 like it has a rev limiter; any ideas?

Yes, you can get a 944 for $4k. You should be able to get a nice one if you shop around. The problem would be when it breaks its on an average of my experience it's a roughly a $1k a year in maintenance depending on the mileage. 75k- 100k be prepaired to be doing some work.

For the rev limit question, I've heard that for certain porsches if there is an aftermarket chip, the factory computer will automatically decrease the rev limit. If there is a short somewhere, perhaps its being detected as a chip. It's hard to say. If the problem is electrical it could be tricky to diagnose.

Another possible idea is that it could be the tach is just off. If its misreading your actual engine speed, your 4500 RPM limit may just be what the tach is saying. I can't remember the exact eninge RPM's off the top of my head (they are in the owner's manual somewhere), but for my 85.5 944, when I'm in 2nd gear, I can get up to about 60ish mph when the rev limit kicks in. If you're in the same ballpark it's possible the tachometer isn't correctly calibrated to the engine. Although I imagine you can test it as I just described, I'm not sure how one would go about fixing it.

Just recently bought a 84 944 coupe (non turbo), nice car, 69,000 miles. However no service records unfortunately. Seems to run fine, need to get the timing belt checked. 2 things I was wondering about: When I take it on extended drives I hear a knocking noise in the back left, not sure what that is. Second, passenger side window will not power down, any suggestions. Thanks, Shaun.

I've owned a 1984 944 for a year and a half now, and it was in poor condition on the interior and engine, but the body was in good shape. It cost me 2700, and I put about 2000 into it, and now it is really a great daily driver.

The only things that can't be diagnosed easily are annoying electrical problems like one I'm having now where when I turn on the windshield wipers and AC they both cut out! Probably a short somewhere along the line, but there's so many wires in this car that it may require a hard wiring job with better gauge wire than stock this time.

Timing belt and most all jobs can be done at home with non-OEM tools, such as the $400 belt tool, which is not necessary for the home mechanic.

I changed the water pump, timing belt, and balance shaft belt all at once, and it cost me about $280. Most expensive bits were refab water pump $100 and balance belt $50.

Since I've changed a lot of the parts, it's been running great. I'm going to reseal and clean up the injectors soon hopefully, to perhaps get a bit better response. I think the old '84 computer just is slow in sending signals to the injectors.

Anyway, if anyone has a question, I've done a lot of work to the car myself, and have never brought it in for service. I would recommend this car to someone who can do their own work, but not to someone planning on bringing it into a shop.

I have also owned one 1984 944 N/A (normally aspirated) and I agree about the cost to maintain these cars. The basic design is very simple and straightforward and the degree of "packing" is very low. Still the car is very impractical to work on. (Think old Citroën-ish...)

Special tools are required for many ordinary jobs, drive train and rear suspension work can drive a professional car tech (like myself) nuts, and the electrical components could be taken from a kit car or a 1976 Golf. (One of the main sources for 944 parts, actually...)

The genuine spare part prices are insane. It would have been easier to accept if the quality was there but it is not. The N/A 944 clutch must be 3 times as expensive as any other clutch for a 160hp car.

Road noise is terrible, too. It will almost drown out the final drive pinion bearing noise you so often find in these cars.

Brake design... Well people complaining about old SAAB 96, 99 and 900 brakes should look at this car. Cast iron, swiveling brake housing and huge steel caliper plates.

Porsche's "off the shelf" design also means that the rear brakes incidentally are larger than the front ones, making the car very prone to locking up the rear end in hard driving.

I could go on forever.

I owned one. Nice handling, great looks, good body corrosion protection.

The rest was not so fun.

/Alexander