I have started this Topic to invite Porsche 944 owners in UAE to share their experience with the car and maintenance and repair ideas.
Complete Porsche 944 WorkShop Manual + Complete Porsche Parts Catalogue is available with me.
I recently bought a Porsche 944 Turbo Cabriolet 1991 model and Considering the age of the car it is in an exceptionally good condition.
When I bought the car it had two problems 1) the A/C was not cooling 2) The kilometers counter on the speedometer was jammed.
So I took the car to House of Cars and they gave me an estimate of Dhs. 8900 for the A/C and for the speedometer they said they will have to investigate.
A/C : With some research I found Ampex Engineering, ( A/C specialists) located near the Clock Tower Dubai. And long story short, they fixed my A/C in just 2 days and I paid them Dhs 1200 only. The car A/C is working perfectly fine now.
Speedometer: (you see the speedometer is working fine and all other gauges in the instrument cluster are working fine ONLY the Kilometers counter is jamed) . I called House of cars and asked them about the Speedometer and they said they will have to take it out (Dhs 500) and then send it to GERMANY for repairs ( Dhs. ++++) . Or if I replace my speedometer Dhs 4000 to 5000 . So I started researching on the internet and I discovered that this is a very common problem with 944's. What actually happens is that there is one small gear in the Kilometer's counter that breaks and james the counter. Many web sites are selling this small gear and detailed illustrated instructions on how to replace the gear your self are also available . (see one example at http://www.clubstuttgart.net/showthread.php?p=3173 ) The price of this gear is around $30 . There are also many Guys out there who have replaced this gear them selves and claim to have done the job in less that an hour and I believe this because the procedure is very simple and this is no rocket science. So thats what I am going to do now FIX it my self.
I am also a bit concerned about the timing Belts so I am thinking of getting it replaced , I checked with House of Cars and they gave me an estimate of Dhs 2500+ in Parts ( the Timing belt and Balance shaft Kit with tensioner rollers and all) and around Dhs 1700 in labour to replace these parts. Now I checked the internet and Dozens of websites in USA are selling these complete Timing Belt replacement kits and it costing me no more around Dhs 1000 with shipping. Also I check an other garage in Dubai who some maintenance work on Porsche they gave me a quote for replacing the complete timing Kit for only Dhs 500 .
The reason why I have mentioned all this is because to maintain a 944 in this country can be quite challenging. And there are many rip off garages like House of Cars, who would just give ridiculously high quotes and wont tell you the source of the problem even if it be the most minor thing to replace in a few minutes.
Complete Porsche 944 Workshop Manual + Parts Catalogue
I have also downloaded the Complete WorkShop Manual ( 6 vols + Turbo)for the 944 (all years) . One web site is selling this manual for $600. This is the same manual given my Porsche to its dealer workshops. It has COMPLETE and detailed instructions with pictures and diagrams on how to fix or replace ANY part in the car
Also I have the PET software (The Complete Porsche Parts Catalogue) with complete diagrams for each and every part in your Porsche. It is very important to know the Part number to order replacement Parts. I have both PET software and PET on Acrobat.
If you want a copy of any of these just send me a PM and I will be glad to provide you with these.
I have done a lot of research on this car I have obtained quite a bit of information and ofcourse eager to get more from you.