Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Matty, I really feel for you mate.
I agree with JJ who suggested that you have a go yourself and take the head off for a look and assess the damage.
Have you done any DIY car maintenance before?
KT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1987-PORSCHE-944S-16V-Ventiler-ENGINE-complete_W0QQitemZ370335832331QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item5639bc590b

Shropshire. Not too far. With a bit of luck you will only need the head. A gasket set & a new cam belt.

This is a question for the ones with the technical knowledge.

As it was probably doing 1000 rpm max, at slow speed, and therefore possibly no damage (or minimal if you're really lucky) - wouldn't the cheapest easiest option be just to put a new belt on (less than £30 to buy) and see what happens?

I have a complete 2nd hand 16v belts and rollers, if you want 2 try a cheap test? Can't say if it worked and ur vales were only slighty bent, that running the engine wouldn't cause more damage. Just out of courouisty when were they last changed? Is the car run daily? And was it just a slight snap or a complety torn up belt?

Really sorry 2 hear this

The short answer: no, none whatsoever.

Be interested in the answer to what Tri-Man says below, though I'm not too confident about driving it back down the M6 to Manchester unless I'm confident it's not going to go horrifically wrong at any moment.

As I remember, it all went kaput when I'd finished reversing and put it into first. Not sure if that's relevant at all, but it was certainly doing very few revs.

t3rra: appreciate the offer but I really wouldn't know where to start with fitting them and knowing if it's working or causing more damage. I am the the typical newbie, sad to say.

Not entirely sure when they were last changed - I'll look through the history but I'm willing to wager it wasn't recently in light of this. It is run daily, but only for an average of 50/60 miles a week. It's done 2700 miles since November, about.

IME most 16v cars tend to bend almost all of their valves when the belt snaps. Whilst the car will run, it will not pull as well as it could in addition to making a tapping sound from the top, with the valve ends possibly dropping off within 50 miles or 50,000 miles (how long is a piece of string comes to mind).

With him saying he's short on cash, that's why I suggested sourcing either another head or another engine. Seemingly simple jobs can turn into horrific ones.

Again, thanks for the replies. I guess my next step is to find someone up there who can assess how much damage there is before deciding on the next step.

Fingers crossed, I guess...

Well, no time like the present. First buy yourself a cheap VW Mk3 Golf for running about in. Then buy a Haynes manual off Ebay, or I'll lend you mine as you pass here to go up to Whitehaven, go to your dad's house and learn how to do it - after all you can't break anything more than it is already. Simply follow the instructions in the manual. Borrow or buy tools as you need them, and don't give them back... that's how you build your tool kit up (it's a joke everybody). Once it's stripped down you can ask a mechanic, or people on here, for advice and opinions to help you decide what to do next - there's a wealth of knowledge on this forum, a few requests and photos should get you loads of advice.

Stripping it down and changing parts is one thing, but putting it back together you may require some help - some old bloke up there will help you, and I'm sure there's more than one on here itching to get his hands dirty

We all started like that Matt. I couldn't afford to have my Triumph Spitfire maintained by somebody else so had to learn to do it myself. Bit easier than a Porsche admittedly - even the new 924 they'd just launched, but like everything else in life... if you don't try you won't succeed.

As for Whitehaven, it's got character, just a bit run down unless you go to the marina.

Good luck with it.

I have a complete 944S head here that came from a running car with a seized bottom end. If you can get the car up to me, I can do the work for you to get you back on the road. Whitehaven is only about 160 miles away, I won't charge you the earth either!
Alasdair

Your back to the suggestion from Chas, and the offer from Alasdair. Worth a few calls.

Lee.

So, update after a few months.

After some time wasted due to being out of the country/mega busy at work, my pop and I managed to arrange for a mechanic friend to haul the car off to the garage. He takes a look, orders a new cam belt, which he fits and the car starts. He also did the MOT (as it was due), which passed no problems.

My dad drove it the three/four miles back home with no problems that he could see. I'm going up in a couple of weeks to pick it up.

But my query would be: is there anything I should watch out for? Is my (apparent) good fortune too good to be true?