My saga begins: I'm getting my neighbor's 944 Turbo
09-29-2007, 05:54 AM
#166
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Here in Florida we dont even have inspections. I get to do cool stuff like delete my catalytic converter! 
Great project by the way, I love stuff like this. I honestly just read through every post on about 8 of the 11 pages, and was kept well entertained and learned a few things along the way as well!
Did you ever find out if the car has LSD?
Good luck with the project in the future!
Great project by the way, I love stuff like this. I honestly just read through every post on about 8 of the 11 pages, and was kept well entertained and learned a few things along the way as well!
Did you ever find out if the car has LSD?
Good luck with the project in the future!
09-29-2007, 02:27 PM
#167
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Here in Florida we dont even have inspections. I get to do cool stuff like delete my catalytic converter!
Great project by the way, I love stuff like this. I honestly just read through every post on about 8 of the 11 pages, and was kept well entertained and learned a few things along the way as well!
Did you ever find out if the car has LSD?
Good luck with the project in the future!
Great project by the way, I love stuff like this. I honestly just read through every post on about 8 of the 11 pages, and was kept well entertained and learned a few things along the way as well!
Did you ever find out if the car has LSD?
Good luck with the project in the future!
Yeah, it's alot. About a month ago I went back through the whole thing from beginning to end! It's funny to see all the little things I got hung up on, and also all the great advice I've received along the way.
Unfortunately, no LSD.
Yeah, I've got to figure out what I'm going to do next. Obviously, I'm going to fix/replace the brake rotors. I think I'll try to leave the current pads if the surface looks OK.
Another problem is that above 65 MPH, I'm getting a strong vibration through the steering wheel. Could be out of round tires, poorly balanced tires, or perhaps the suspension bushings/ball joints are really worn out. So I need to decide pretty quickly what I'm going to do with the suspension.
Also, the turbo is leaking oil into the intake. So it needs to be serviced/replaced. Gotta figure out what the right option is there as well.
Decisions, decisions. All opinions welcome!
09-30-2007, 09:39 PM
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09-30-2007, 11:07 PM
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I just read this whole thread, I'm impressed with what you've done!
I decided to advertise this event b/c I didn't see it anywhere on here.
Porsche Palooza
If she's ready for that kind of a trip by early November I'd love to see it there, I'll show you my 944 too! =D
Everyone is invited btw.. lol
I decided to advertise this event b/c I didn't see it anywhere on here.
Porsche Palooza
If she's ready for that kind of a trip by early November I'd love to see it there, I'll show you my 944 too! =D
Everyone is invited btw.. lol
10-01-2007, 02:35 AM
#172
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10-27-2007, 03:20 AM
#174
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Shabba:
Thanks for asking!
I'll put it like this: I'm in the airport in Las Vegas right now. When I land at Dulles I'll be walking out to my Porsche to drive back to Charlottesville!
To expand a little, the car is doing very well. Issues:
I'm pretty sure that the switches are OK, and that the reason my passenger window is not rolling down is the the motor.
The shocks are dead.
To make the car more usable, a set of hatch dampers will be really nice. The wooden dowel is getting old.
Gas mileage is pretty poor (~14 MPG around town). I'm going to try to replace the ignition wires and oxygen sensor and see what happens. The car seems to be running rich.
Clutch is still vibrating when it is being slipped, but I swear it gets better each time I drive the car.
There is a small vibration in the steering wheel between 65 - 75 MPH. I think this may have to do with the tires/balancing.
Thanks for asking!
I'll put it like this: I'm in the airport in Las Vegas right now. When I land at Dulles I'll be walking out to my Porsche to drive back to Charlottesville!
To expand a little, the car is doing very well. Issues:
I'm pretty sure that the switches are OK, and that the reason my passenger window is not rolling down is the the motor.
The shocks are dead.
To make the car more usable, a set of hatch dampers will be really nice. The wooden dowel is getting old.
Gas mileage is pretty poor (~14 MPG around town). I'm going to try to replace the ignition wires and oxygen sensor and see what happens. The car seems to be running rich.
Clutch is still vibrating when it is being slipped, but I swear it gets better each time I drive the car.
There is a small vibration in the steering wheel between 65 - 75 MPH. I think this may have to do with the tires/balancing.
10-28-2007, 01:41 AM
#175
There is a small vibration in the steering wheel between 65 - 75 MPH. I think this may have to do with the tires/balancing.
Also, if one of your wheels (not the tire) is even SLIGHTLY out of round it will cause a vibration at certain speeds.
Great job keeping up this thread. Looking at where you started I would have guessed that you wouldn't be this far along without having spent a lot more money.
10-29-2007, 01:59 PM
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Thanks! I just dropped $300 last night on some new parts... but I'm definitely hitting diminishing returns. It was things related to the sunroof, some new spark plug wires. I also need to get a new O2 sensor and motor for the passenger window.
10-29-2007, 02:07 PM
#177
balancing wheels on the car
checking the roundness of a wheel shouldn't be too hard if the tire is removed. Just roll it across a hard but smooth surface. I would put some thin cardboard down first though.
Agreed. I don't really understand how you can balance a wheel while it's still on the car but I've seen several different ppl here say it.
From this thread, post #22: https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...balance&page=2
That's weird. Not that I don't believe you... it's just that intuitively I'd think that balancing a wheel is balancing a wheel is balancing a wheel.
From this thread, post #22: https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...balance&page=2
Ive had such bad luck at every tire shop that Ive gone to, that I now balance my own tires on the car with a strobe light system. This has the advantage of balancing all the rotating assemblies, not just the tire. I put my hand on the fender, stare at the strobe, and count the pulses to balance. My first balance is at 45, the second at 75, the third at 115 and the fourth at 155. At each speed the balance becomes very slightly different, so slightly that you need smaller than standard weights to balance the rim. Like say a dime, or even half a dime - glued to the rim, which I have done. It may not be pretty, but I assure you if my tires and car could handle 225 mph - they would still be in perfect balance. Unfortunately there is nobody that I know, besides an old white bearded salt-flats motorcycle racer who can balance tires like this anymore.
Because of machines....and not taking the time to balance at multiple speeds, double check work etc...most cars do not have an adequate high speed balance. Some cars dont even come out balanced....(thats why he put that screwed up tire on the back- to cover up the dynamic wobbles.) He doesnt care that it could blow your bearings or give you wild wheel shimmy under hard braking at 100+mph!!
I agree with everyone else that you wont get anywhere with them. Youll have to eat it unfortunately. I go a step farther though - If you want something done right do it yourself! Best of luck, you may need to get a new rim though.
Because of machines....and not taking the time to balance at multiple speeds, double check work etc...most cars do not have an adequate high speed balance. Some cars dont even come out balanced....(thats why he put that screwed up tire on the back- to cover up the dynamic wobbles.) He doesnt care that it could blow your bearings or give you wild wheel shimmy under hard braking at 100+mph!!
I agree with everyone else that you wont get anywhere with them. Youll have to eat it unfortunately. I go a step farther though - If you want something done right do it yourself! Best of luck, you may need to get a new rim though.
11-21-2007, 06:02 PM
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OK, so I'd been driving the car regularly for about four weeks when I went to start it up on a cold morning exactly two weeks ago. It was 28 degrees when I tried to fire up. It immediately caught but only turned over a couple of times and died. After that, I could crank and crank on the starter, but no luck.
I didn't have a chance to work on it until this past weekend. I changed the spark plug wires with the ones that I had already purchased and crossed my fingers. No luck. I had my wife buy a spark plug tester and verified a good spark.
Also, while I was at it, I went ahead and cleaned out the fuel level sender. It was absolutely nasty. About half an inch of varnish on the inside of the little cup at the bottom. Also, the tube within the main tube that carries the fuel return back into the tank was clogged to the point that I can't imagine that any fuel was getting back through. Could this have anything to do with running rich? (I'm thinking that if the fuel regulator can't effectively send fuel back to the tank, than it can't regulate the pressure which means that more fuel will squirt through the injectors than the DME intends since the pressure at the rail is higher than it should be...). So anyway, I finished that and had a car that didn't run, but at least had a functional fuel gauge.
I could hear and feel the pulsations of the fuel pump, so I knew that electrically, the fuel pump was working, though the pressure and flow might not be proper. I pulled one of fuel injector connectors and tested it on my multimeter while the engine was cranking. No signal. I figured for sure that the pulse would send my multimeter homing briefly as it tried to lock on.
So, I had myself pretty convinced that although my tach was bouncing, perhaps my s/r sensors were bad.
However, in another post, Quinnfiske suggested I try a noid light. Today, I picked one up and he was correct! I am, in fact, getting a pulse to my injectors!
So, at that point, I had verified to some degree I was getting spark and some degree getting fuel. I decided to re-verify the spark by removing one of the actual spark plugs from the engine and grounding it with some wire to the battery. As soon as I took it out, I knew something was wrong. These spark plugs only have about 300 miles on them. But the first one I took out was absolutely caked in black soot (have I mentioned that I've been running rich). I went ahead and ran my test and was able to get a very weak, SIDEWAYS spark. Meaning that the spark did not jump from the electrode to the tip (because the tip is covered in soot). Instead it was jumping from the electrode over to the side by the threads, in a spot where some of the soot had scraped off (perhaps as it was being removed from the engine).
So, anyone have any suggestions on how to clean some brand new spark plugs?
Thanks!!!
I didn't have a chance to work on it until this past weekend. I changed the spark plug wires with the ones that I had already purchased and crossed my fingers. No luck. I had my wife buy a spark plug tester and verified a good spark.
Also, while I was at it, I went ahead and cleaned out the fuel level sender. It was absolutely nasty. About half an inch of varnish on the inside of the little cup at the bottom. Also, the tube within the main tube that carries the fuel return back into the tank was clogged to the point that I can't imagine that any fuel was getting back through. Could this have anything to do with running rich? (I'm thinking that if the fuel regulator can't effectively send fuel back to the tank, than it can't regulate the pressure which means that more fuel will squirt through the injectors than the DME intends since the pressure at the rail is higher than it should be...). So anyway, I finished that and had a car that didn't run, but at least had a functional fuel gauge.
I could hear and feel the pulsations of the fuel pump, so I knew that electrically, the fuel pump was working, though the pressure and flow might not be proper. I pulled one of fuel injector connectors and tested it on my multimeter while the engine was cranking. No signal. I figured for sure that the pulse would send my multimeter homing briefly as it tried to lock on.
So, I had myself pretty convinced that although my tach was bouncing, perhaps my s/r sensors were bad.
However, in another post, Quinnfiske suggested I try a noid light. Today, I picked one up and he was correct! I am, in fact, getting a pulse to my injectors!
So, at that point, I had verified to some degree I was getting spark and some degree getting fuel. I decided to re-verify the spark by removing one of the actual spark plugs from the engine and grounding it with some wire to the battery. As soon as I took it out, I knew something was wrong. These spark plugs only have about 300 miles on them. But the first one I took out was absolutely caked in black soot (have I mentioned that I've been running rich). I went ahead and ran my test and was able to get a very weak, SIDEWAYS spark. Meaning that the spark did not jump from the electrode to the tip (because the tip is covered in soot). Instead it was jumping from the electrode over to the side by the threads, in a spot where some of the soot had scraped off (perhaps as it was being removed from the engine).
So, anyone have any suggestions on how to clean some brand new spark plugs?
Thanks!!!
11-21-2007, 07:33 PM
#180
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