Porsche Forum - Porsche Enthusiast Forums - New to the forum and the 944T

Hello all,

I recently purchased a 944 turbo off my friend and would like to start putting my research together and fixing it. I'm a VW guy, I have a 1.8T GTI and love that car, but decided I would have much more fun restoring and fixing a Porsche. I'm pretty mechanically inclined and have done 99% of the work on my VW (including FMIC install, exhaust, timing belt, turbo inlet pipe, etc.) and some work on my buddy's Saab.

A little background on the car, it currently has 128K miles on it. It does have some performance parts on it including Carrera Cup suspension and tower bar. It's been garaged for the last 4 years, and the car runs (had to drive it a few miles because a truck with trailer wouldn't be able to fit down my street). So if you'd let me, I have a few questions:

1) Fluid replacement:

Oil - Which oil does the 951 use? Should I use conventional oil or full synthetic? I've used full synth on my VW since I've had it. What weights should I be using?
Coolant - Is there any special type of coolant that I should be using? Will regular Prestone work fine or do I need to get a specific coolant (again coming from VW/Audi, I needed to use G12 Coolant).
Gas - Has about a half tank in there currently. Obviously sitting around for 4 years isn't the best. How do I drain the gas tank? Is it underneath the car on the passenger side someplace? Is there even a drain plug? What gas should I be putting in there? I use 93 on my VW, but was the car designed for 87/89?

2) Spark Plugs:

Which Spark plugs should I be using and what should they be gapped at? As far as I can tell, the car isn't chipped, which may or may not require a colder plug. Just as an FYI, the spark plug wires are brand new.

3) Air filter:

Have there been any performance boosts going to a cold air/short ram intake? Or should I just grab a K&N from Autozone and be done with it?

4) Steering Rack:

The seals on the steering rack are leaking and need to be replaced. Does anyone have any experience with this and can point me in the right direction? Or should I just replace the entire steering rack and be done with it?

5) Shifter:

Shifter seems pretty loose, is this normal? I can get into the gears just fine, however, the shifter just doesn't feel that tight like I'm used to with the VW. For example, I'm 100% certain what gear I'm in with my VW. There's no play when it's in gear. With the 951, I just place it where it's supposed to be and it does go into the correct gear, however, there is a lot of play when it's in gear, and would like to make it tighter. I'm assuming I have to tighten the linkage and possibly replace it all together. Any input?

6) Service Manual:

Anybody know of a service manual that would possibly have all the information above? Or most information that I can use to get this baby rolling?

7) Does anyone have any input on things I might have missed?

Any input greatly appreciated! I'm pumped about this car!