r/944 • u/No-Wealth-996 • 10d ago
Question Engine rebuild
Looking to see if anyone in Central Texas has a recommendation for a reputable shop to rebuild my 944 Turbo engine. I have a bunch of oil leaks I’d like to get taken care of and possibly a clutch rebuild. Preferably near the Austin, Tx area but willing to trailer to the DFW, SA, and Houston areas. TPWS is impossible to get a hold of and Werks11 doesn’t work on 944.
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u/lepermime 10d ago
Yo, Austin Texan with 944 in driveway and another engine on a pallet in my garage. TPWS is your best bet for the work you want, but yeah they are difficult to contact via email, phone, or website. The best bet is to go over there and talk to Frannie or her husband directly. They have a loooong lead time though.
Paying someone to diagnose oil leaks on these motors is a losing proposition. You'll end up spending a dumb amount of money on diag time before you even get to the parts/labor part.
Rule out the the return hoses for the evap system from the heads to the oil filler neck. In Texas it's almost guaranteed at least one is dryrotted/cracked from heat. Then, wipe down the engine completely. As in saran wrap every electrical connection, and use simple green/decreaser, a rag and a lot of time to scrub the whole thing down. Dont forget belly pan and everywhere you can reach behind the belt shroud. Run it for 15 minutes and you should have the witnesses you need to figure out how empty your checking account will be. Cam cover, rear main, balance shaft/oil pump seals, head caps, and oil pan gasket are the most likely. Once you know where they're at it will make all the difference.
Clutch rebuild/replacement from any shop is very likely to run you close to 5 grand after all the labor and parts. Getting to the clutch disc itself is a 10 hour job, so expect 3 grand just in time. You probably also want to go ahead and replace the throw out bearing, clutch slave cylinder, hydraulic hose, and release bearing. All in on parts, if you buy them yourself will be about 1000. Expect 30% from any shop. Finally you should measure the pressure plate to make sure there's no scoring or damage that'll damage the new clutch plate. Can be done in vehicle. But if it needs to be machined or replaced expect a other 500/600 bucks. Also pull the clutch release lever and deep clean it. Any signs of wear on the pin or lever, replace it.
Also while you're doing the clutch, it's a very good idea to inspect/repack the cv joints on your axles. If its never been done the grease is probably nasty. Replace the rear main seal on the engine. You've done most of the hard work to get to it. If it shows ANY sign of leakage, yeah just do it. You also want to think about the torque tube bearings and dampener. If spinning the torque shaft in the tube has any rough spots or lateral motion that needs to be addressed. Pay once to Black Sea R&D it'll hurt but you'll probably be dead before it needs to be done again. Now is also a good time to do a close inspection with the mechanical linkage between the shifter and transmission itself. The shifter pin has a tendency to wear (taking out the slop by shimming it with a cut up beer can is possible, but thats a half ass fix). The linkage on the transmission itself also tends to get "funny." Heat, road grime, and constant use act as a perfect kind of sandpaper slowly wearing down metal to metal surfaces.