The Forgotten On

I do not get where you guys get the energy to get jobs done sometimes. I just changed out my brake master cylinder and booster on my 81.

It took me 2 days on and off. Although having the correct tools to do the job would have cut it in half. It still would have been a hell of a job.

I got lucky and found a Porsche trained 928 mechanic about 15 miles from me, he has been a life saver when it comes to jobs I cannot do.

I swear, you Porsche mechanics are a whole other breed of mechanic when it comes to the work these cars need.

Leon Speed

I get the job done and I do it well (I think) but it takes me forever. Just wondering why professional mechanics are faster.

Some of the tricks described above I used as well. Installed everything from above.

littleball_s4

Easy for you maybe.

We noobs get usually discouraged by this kind of comments. It's like "hey, I'll do it tomorrow after work, they say in rennlist that once the reservoir is out it is easy".

And it turns out it is for sure easy: nearly three hours, hands all soared and pissed off wife. So, easy for 928 standards, yes. Easy for soft handed clumsy persons, not really. At one point, I thought it was plain impossible to tighten the clamp of the short hose to the heater without removing the hood or the wiper motor. Couldn't for the hell of me keep the clamp in place to tighten it with the flex screwdriver.

Anyway, if they are more than 10 years old, you have to replace them no matter what.

MainePorsche

^ True.
I go in with the expectation that everything on this car is a 'to do with mental and physical exertion'.
Removing an old ISV is easy - once you get the manifold off.
The only things straightforward on this car is removing the steering fluid reservoir cap air or unclipping the air filter cover.
I go in with the expectation that everything on this car is a 'to do with mental and physical exertion' - it makes the jobs less frustrating.

littleball_s4

Tricks are important.

A friend of mine found me crying the other day because I tried to disconnect the flappy vacuum line from the electrovalve and when it broke free I pulled a bit too much and disconnected it both ends.



He picked a length of wire, put it inside the vacuum line, carefully placed the spotlight in one angle, his LOS in other and the vacuum line in another and pushed the darn thing back into place with everything in. Then, holding the line, pulled the wire off and job done in less than 5 minutes.

Rob Edwards

Cool trick! Was he an interventional cardiologist or urologist in a previous life?

MainePorsche

Yes, very ingenious.
Seldinger tech on a car.

SeanR

I think the correct answer is small hands.

Can't tell you all how true this is. Example, I've got an '84 here that I have well over 20 hours in trying to sort an odd start issue and I still can't pin it down. I have a real hard time charging the customer for all these hours so I won't. Thought I had it licked yesterday only to try and start it this morning and it's doing the same damn thing. 4 more hours in to it today and I just want to put a match to it. If it wasn't for my favorite Korean War vet stopping by with his '84 I'd have just called it a day and gone drinking.

littleball_s4

No, I don't think so, but if I ever have a heart problem, I'll call him to be in the operation room anyway. In case somebody drops a washer or something inside, he is the best with the fishing magnet also.

He teach me countless tricks. I think he is lazy as me, and laziness sometimes sharpens the mind.

The other day I found some oil inside the line from the block to the coolant reservoir. It was almost blocked. Any good mech would have order a new one, but not me: I am lazy. I know however that if I leave any small amount of that crap in the line, it will burst because it weakens the rubber. But how to clean all the lenght of it I didn't know.

I started with the wire from the previous trick but I could not figure a way to tie anything to the end with enough strength to be pulled all along the hose. So after some head scratching I cut a bit out of an sponge and use air of the compressor to ensure that the thing travels to the other end of the pipe.

The darn thing is sticking... Full pressure... Bang.



Now the pipe is like new and there is a new oily sponge satellite somewhere orbiting the earth.

docmirror

Well, I've been doing car work for centuries, and there are tricks along the way. My Focus needed a new fuel pump which is in the tank. The 'correct' way is to remove the tank from the car out the bottom, which requires one to stretch their arm up in the gap and take off the connector, and the fuel line while supporting the tank in the air. After looking at the connector from the top where it goes through the body work, I went and grabbed my die grinder and a 3" carbide cut off wheel. I had the pump in my hand 15 minutes later.

On the 4 cam Ferrari engine, the books says to measure the valve lash, remove the cams, remove the shim, measure the shim, add or subtract to get the right lash, and exchange shims, then install shims, and then cam, and caps, and belts, and covers, and, and, and. I made a steel fork that would depress the lifter bucket, but not touch the shim. So, I got the lifter down, but the shim won't come out. Hmmmmm, magnet won't do it either. Hmmmm Blast of air will get a few out, but not others and makes a huge mess. Got a suction cup from hardware store, drilled a hole in the center, stuck a tube and vacuum on it and 'pop'! there ya go. Four cams, 32 valves, at least 2 shim exchanges in each lifter for measure and replace. Oh yeah, that saved hours.

I will keep my 928 tricks to myself, as I'm not interested in being ridiculed and abused.

Bilal928S4

We would never do that to anybody, would we?

littleball_s4

C'mon, man. Send them to me and I will publish them as mine. You save your honor and the whole community save the hours. I don't mind crucifixion.

littleball_s4

We could even open a new thread, if not done previously: "shortcuts the RTFM-man would not approve".

How to:

1. Connect the flappy, all parts untouched.
2. Zip the flaps open.
3. Purge the cooling system completely the first time round.
4. Bleed the clutch in 30s.
5. Connect the PSD pneumatics to the idle switch (coast open, gas closed).

etc, etc.

Would be fun!

Sorry for the thread hijacking.

Jetdriver69

My new coolant tank went in very easily and only took a couple of minutes. Of course the engine was out at the time.....

Leon Speed

Cheater