The Porsche 924 Owners Club

Looks like an excellent car

Have been in touch with the owner.

Car sounds like a good one, but it has a couple of issues that I need to factor in. There is a leak from the engine, possibly rear main seal, and the rear de-mister doesn’t work.

It’s the leak that worries me, cost wise. It means gearbox out and then perhaps do the clutch while we are at it, and that could eat into my budget badly

I will have to wait for now, can’t move anywhere to be honest as we are all in Tier 4 for now. So might be a couple of weeks or longer before I can even go to see the car.

Been watching videos and reading up on general 924s in the meantime.

The rear demister is usually someone using the incorrect rear hatch struts.

Oil leak could be an issue, the S is not known for RMS leaks, although leaks elsewhere are not uncommon. Check around the back of the cylinder head for leaks.

That’s interesting to know, about the rear struts. The Porsche specialists at Ninex have spent a few hours trying to fix the issue apparently but not gotten anywhere. Bit of a strange issue I am guessing, but the owner has replaced the front and rear hatch struts, so maybe the incorrect ones were used.

As for the oil leak, it is a worry. Have spoken to a couple of Porsche specialists and been quoted about £1500, give or take a couple of hundred

Without getting the leak looked at, it’s a worry

I run a 924S. I had my clutch changed a few years back by a Porsche Indie, Marque 21. At the time they changed the rear oil seal as that is normal practice for them whilst they were in there. The cost of the work was around the £1500 mark, so I think the quotes you have had are accurate.

The comment they made to me was that lack of use can sometimes allow a small amount of corrosion to build up and cause the rear seal to leak, even a new one. Where there is a very slight leak then using the car can often clean away the corrosion and 'reseal' things, so the leak will stop. I don't know if that is correct but they have a lot of experience on the 924S/944 engine so I trust their opinion.

My car was on the original clutch at 130K miles when it was changed. The rubber centre had sheared. If there is no evidence of a clutch change on this car then, in my opinion, you should be factoring it in for future expenditure.

Thank you for the input.

I believe the clutch has been changed in the last 8-9 years/in the last 20k odd miles.

I’m not sure how much of a leak it is and how quickly is it happening after a drive. The owner said he has topped up oil since he noticed the leak.

I think getting to the car and looking at it might be the next step, as and when we are told it is safe to do so.