924Board.org

Mozencrath · Joined: 28 Jul 2005 Posts: 26

Thats what I'm beginning to think.

The more and more I work on this piece of garbage, the more I realize how terrible their design is. My biggest problem is the wire connections that they use....Those white ones that just corrode away....And the placement of the grounds? For example the horn on the drivers side....The fuses that just corrode away. My Porsche was stored its whole life in a garage basically and I can easily touch the ground wires in the hatch and they will disintegrate.

Most of the odometers break.

All the timing belts go

All the engine mounts go.

All speedo cables go.

LOOK AT THE DOOR SWITCHES.

Am I wrong or what? MY 1987 Jeep Cherokee was more reliable than this.

timstar92404 · Joined: 22 Sep 2004 Posts: 2075 Location: richmond BC

how old is your porsche and what model is it, I'm guessing its a 924 and 70s or early 80s or is it a 924S?

I've read articles on the 924 and all the reviews say that its extremely reliable even with old age and many miles.

I don't think the design is unreliable its just old age and bad maintenance.

I don't know about the electronics though. I've heard bad stuff about old vw electrical systems. I know two people that had electrical fires suddenly occur on their vw golfs (80s ) and I've also been in an old bmw that had an electrical fire , weird.

I have a 78 924 and its high milliage and I still drive it everyday , it doesn't drive like a new car but I can't see anyone driving an unrestored 70s american vehicle everyday.
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78 924 sold.
85.5 944

Lizard · Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 12:43 am Post subject:

not all porsches are like this,
The germans were not the most efficent at electrical, hence why in 1983 they went to the japs to learn how do to electrical and all the 911, 928, 944 and later cars recieved the newer style fuses, and a much better wiring harness throughout the car.

as per the timing belt, all cars have timing belts that can and do skip teeth over time, but the 944/928 timing belts are critical as the engine is intereference, if that belt breaks well then you are going to have to drain your wallet to fix it, for this one reason there is a saying "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!"

in all honesty having worked on domestics and german cars, the mechanical engineering and quality of parts between the two, well there is NO way to compair the two, German auto have been much more thought out and have much more effecent engines, they run in the 85-95% efficency range, while the domestics all run in the lower range of 65-85% range.

if you are wanting a porsche that you dont have to work on and is pretty maintanence free, then go with a 911 from 83-87 or a 993 - newer models.
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3 928s,

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

My wires have been fine. Where are you located? Maybe you have a environmental issue. Mine is a 1982 924 and I do not have any corrosion issues with my wires.
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1982 924
1992 968
2003 C4S
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-nick · Joined: 16 Nov 2002 Posts: 2699 Location: Cambridge, MA

Wow, you're going to make some friends. How about a little enlightenment?

1. Find me a 30 year old car that doesn't have electrical issues. The only problems in the 924 line are generally corrosion on ground wires, and bad placement of the starter/alternator wires on the na.

2. Odometers break because no one reads the owner's manual. You can't reset the trip while moving. Big deal.

3. & 4. Rubber deteriorates with age. Replacing the early 924 timing belt is about as tough as replacing the spark plugs. Why do you think garages have a wall full of belts? Because rubber get old, weak, and wears out.

5. Speedo cables are rarely a big issue. However, they are simple to replace and not particularly expensive. Same goes for the clutch cable. Do you even realize how they're constructed? It's a stranded metal wire sheathed inside a coiled wire and covered in rubber. There's a thin layer of grease to keep the stranded wire spinning easily. The grease eventually wears down and the cables stick or break.

6. The door switches last forever, just open them up, clean them up, and apply a little dielectric grease. Another "big problem"

You're really comparing a 30 year old sports car to a 20 year old Jeep? This is not to mention the Cherokee's notorious very expensive auto-trans trouble (a few friends have found that out the hard way). What exactly were you expecting?

In conclusion, what exactly are you complaining about? These cars are much more bullet-proof than many others of the era. If you want new car reliability, then buy one. Sounds like the biggest problem in your "piece of garbage" is its owner.

nick

D Hook · Joined: 02 Nov 2002 Posts: 3158 Location: Omaha, NE

What year is the car? Is this a 924 or 924S?
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'80 924 n/a SOLD

moone924 · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 868 Location: Douglas Wyoming

Well said Nick.

No need to say anymore.
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Ryan Moone

Always shopping for a nice s2 931 to baby.
New philosophy : one car project at a time.

skemcin · Joined: 02 Sep 2003 Posts: 1284 Location: Plainfield, IL

Gram · Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 5:35 pm Post subject:

I'm with Nick..I think for the age of my car the condition and reliability is great. None of the wiring in my car is anywhere near ready to crumble to pieces..
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'82 924 NA Euro (hers)
'98 Audi A4 TDI (ours)

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

What I would like to know is how he could think his 87 Jeep Cherokee was that reliable. I have a firend that bought an 86, brand new off the Dealer Lot in 86.

In the first 5K miles, the AC grenaded, the cost of repair was over $3K.

Then there were the bi-monthly trips to try to sort out the problems with the front differential.

And let's not forget the carb problems, the computer problems, and the idiot dealer mechanic who left the light fixture for the center console mounted transmission gear indicator under the carpet when he was taking the car apart for the umpteenth time to try to fix the transmission problems. And the idiot Service Advisor who told my friend that taking the car back apart to fish out the misplaced light fixture would be expensive (not covered as a redo, or under warranty).

The dumb thing has been parked for getting close to 10 years with less than 100K miles, since my friend can't find a competent mechanic to solve the problems in the front diff (that the thing has had since new). The engine oil leaks have been horrible since the thing hit 40K miles (weak GM 2.8L V6 engine). And it has always eaten front tires no matter what or who did the wheel alignment. The thing has never been able to get out of it's own way (going up hills I was tempted to jump out and help by pushing it).

If his Jeep was sooooo good, why isn't he still driving it?

924 turbo · Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 7:32 pm Post subject:

The electrical system does suck, but everything else seems on par with cars of the same vintage.

The timing belt is overly complex, but you are driving a car that was once quite expensive, so that isn't exactly out of the ordinary.
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Jon Furst