Karl_W944

I'd like to start this over. I'd like to move forward with no more mention of my previous mistake and il-fated idea, please.

Now, back in April, when I took my dad's 911 out of the garage for the first drive this year, everything was seemingly running fine and normal as it had in the past. Over the winter, I had the battery on tender, and stabil was added to the fuel, as it is every winter. The car is very infrequently driven, usually only two or three times a year in recent time, which isn't enough because this is a car that needs to be driven to be kept in shape, or at least that is my understanding about these cars, and all cars in general.

It was driven seven times this year, twice by my dad, and five times by me, either for the sake of driving it, to have it detailed, to fix some minor things I could do at the time, or to simply enjoy it. On this seventh drive, in May, of which I was driving home from work to help a friend with his car door, as I pulled along side his driveway, the car began to sputter a bit, but I made no complaint about it, everything still felt normal.

Later on, when I decided to move the car into the driveway, as I was pulling in, the car all of a sudden lost power, stumbled a bit and died. I'd start it up again, and it'd run for a couple of seconds before repeating the aforementioned symptoms. At first, we thought it was a flooded engine, so we waited an hour before starting it up to see if I could drive the two miles to my house; the same symptoms happened again, this time, as we tried to keep the rpms up, there was a loud backfire, which, I'm aware could mean a cracked/broken air box.

After two push starts, I was able to drive home as quick as I could; unfortunately, as I got to my street, the car again, began to lose power, sputter out, backfire a couple of times, and die on me, about 500ft from my driveway. After I pushed it myself that distance and into my garage.

Since then, the car will turn over and start up fine like it always has. But after about 10 minutes or so, and apparently once oil temperature has reached the 120 mark, it will have the same symptoms and only be able to be started again when the engine is cold or a day later.

Because of this, I believed it was the warm-up regulator(fuel pressure regulator) on it's way out. With advice from a Pelican, I did a test where I removed the plug to the WUR and started it up as before and let it run to see how long it'd last, 14 minutes.

It might be the WUR, but it could be something as simple as a fuel delivery problem, or not getting spark or enough of it, or even some sort of clog in the fuel filters? What are the best ways to test this parts and single out the sole reason the car is unable to run properly?

I'm genuinely looking forward to the comments and advice I can get, with an open mind and ears.

j.kenzie@sbcglobal.net

Well Karl, it sounds like you have compression .which bypasses some expensive problems. I agree with basic approach to an infrequently driven car. Suspect fuel delivery or quality. You could drain your gas carefully and put in 2-3 gallons of fresh with a fuel injector cleaner such as Techron, Seafoam or other. Change fuel filter and spark plugs. Look for corrosion on coil wires. Ultimately you may have to get some fuel pressure gauges and read about cis diagnostics. Not my forte.
Let us know how it goes. Consider closing your other thread to avoid further pain.
Good luck
Dave

theiceman

From the symptoms you descrobe i dont think it is spark , i think it is fuel .. but there is a test ... immeadiately after it dies take the main led of the distributor cap and rest it very close to a ground point. have someone turn it over and see if you have a good spark , if you do you can move on to fuel , if you have no or weak spark you can work on that area.

either way you have halfed your problem.

The 2.7 has points i believe unless it has been converted , it also has a warm up significantly different than my SC so Birthday boy may have to pitch in

rfloz

Much better!

If you have spark, look at the business end of the spark plug - is it black and sooty? If so, too much gas. If grey to white, not enough gas. Replace the fuel filter(s). Still bad, dump the gas add some new and some Techron. Run it for a while, 30+ miles if it will or twenty minutes. Still bad? Check the points. Still bad - probably a CIS/WUR problem and I have no knowledge in that area, but many others do.

Another thought - start it in the dark and see if your plug wires are arcing to the nearest metal.

Just another cranky old fart who didn't get a 911 until he was 63.

Cuda911

If you think six hours to get a job done in a half-assed fashion is the proper work ethic in life, just put the car on jack stands.

If you can really change your life attitude and thought pattern, follow the advice that people will give you here.

Here's a suggestion:

See if you have a place like this near you:

http://www.sandiegoufixitauto.com/contact-us.html

They provide all the tools, a lift, and advice for you to work on it yourself.

Karl_W944

The first thing I'll need to do is drain the tank and try some fresh gas. I've tried Seafoam twice and nothing has changed. How do I go about draining the tank in my garage?

Unfortunately, I looked for any places that allow the use of lifts at hourly or day rates in Michigan, and there are none. The only way for me to use a lift, would be to find someone who just so happens to have one in their house, or tow the car to a shop and beg/barter to use one for however long I need it.

j.kenzie@sbcglobal.net

Depending on quantity,get some 5 gallon gas cans. Talk to a gas station first who might recycle it. They may have containers. Use a syphon hose. It's slow but will work.
I wish I had a lift, but don't consider that essential. Basic tools and some kind of workshop manual will get you started.
Try to shrug off the work ethic comments, but evidence of effort on your part will be the best prevention. It doesn't sound like anything super serious going on.
Good luck
Dave

blockhed

put an ad on craigs list about using someones lift
or look for a mechanic that way
You can get the car off the ground and engine out via jack stands and etc
You're a smart kid I assume so use your head and prove to us that you can do it.
Between the Porsche books/manuals and internet if you can't figure it out you shouldn't own it.

SpeedyD

Wanted to say one thing... please be careful with whatever you're doing on a DIY basis. Lots of guys on here have tons of experience around this but I don't want the safety aspect taken for granted.

Like I said in the old (best forgotten) thread, you have some nice cars there. There should be no major rush in getting this done. Better to do it right, and safely, than rush it and break something (on the car, or yourself...) Winter is fast approaching and so not like you're going to get much driving use out of the car. Why not put out some ads like blockhed suggested, do some extra research on it, and then approach it fresh (and maybe with a bit more saved cash to help) in the spring?

TroyN

There's a whole set of diagnostic tests to run to find problems with CIS. It *sounds* like the car is running rich, if it runs ok while cold but then doesn't when it's warm. Does it smell rich while it's running? How do the plugs look?

TroyN

Get a copy of this book, you won't get anywhere without it:

Cheekybird

I am out of my league on this one but does his '74 911 have Bosch Fuel injectors?

Cuda911

Hey, looks like a good book. Thanks, Troy. I just ordered a copy.

Karl, there's a bunch more on Amazon, so I didn't grab the last one!

EDIT: I see that our IB Overlords are now converting certain words in our posts to internet hyperlinks. I take no responsibility if the hyperlink from the word "Amazon" takes you to a **** site of oversized women.

psychoideas

Karl,
Are you capable of setting the points gap?
If you are, take the dizzy cap off, remove the rotor button. Take the points out completely.
When you remove the points take notice if there is oil residue under the points where they are screwed down. If there is, clean the mounting plate and the bottom of the points where they meet with some sort of contact cleaner.
With the rotor button off, look down into the dizzy shaft. Is there a piece of felt down there? There should be.
Put everything back together, set the points, test.
Let me know. Good luck.

jdogporsche

Best of luck Karl. As already stated, take your time and be safe See if there are any Porsche meet ups in your area. Great way to find a mentor.

Jeremy