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So oil pressure is good. Runs between 4 and 5, coasting in gear between 3 and 4, hot idle clutch in between 2 and 3. It has a bit of a hard time starting and I attributed it to old gas but it runs so well once it starts. When I started it today after four long cranks it smoked out the garage with unburnt fuel. Could I have an injector leaking down? When it first catches it almost sounds like its running on three cylinders for the first couple seconds then it clears it's throat. Going to pull the plugs, but damn it just feels so good to drive it again. I don't want to go back to wrenching for a while. She runs like an absolute top and it makes a humble guy from VA feel good he can strip the front out of a twenty five year old Porsche and get it back together with no leaks or redo's.
Took it out for a small drive today. The hard starting was alleviated by filling up with some fresh 93 (about 5.5 gallons to full), but we will see. Looks like I may be pulling the PS pump. Has some whirring that wasn't present before and getting a belt squeal on startup. Any tips for proper tension on the belt? It only struggling at idle when rpm's increase steering feel is consistent and no noise to speek of. Handling is well............interesting. Struts and shocks are toast, front sway bushings feel soft enough to spread onto toast. You can feel the weight transfer across the front end when it settles on the springs. Could be crazy but it doesn't crash as much as I remember and body seems to twist. Will have to focus on suspension this winter or sooner. Looking forward to fresh bushings but I am liking no leaks at the moment.
Tied up a few loose ends today. The whirring and intermittent cavitation of the power steering pump was driving me a bit crazy. I pulled the power steering pump that I rebuilt this winter to see if I could find anything wrong in my procedure. To my surprise everything looked in order and my suspicion of the housings being misaligned was unfounded. For reference there are two things you can use to locate the housings together. There is a cast raised line between the two and there is a shared port on the inside tat is easy to overlook. However, on the hose side of the housing there was a rough spot in the shape of the soft seal. I could hang a nail on so I hit it with some 400 grit then knocked it down with 800. Did the same procedure to the sealing surface on the large o-ring even though it wasn't leaking. I used the ATF fluid as a lubricant while sanding, wiped between steps, and flushed with acetone to make sure there was no residue.I had read a post that said he had no luck rebuilding a pump and this may have been the issue. This seal does not rotate and spends it's entire life crushed against the mating surface causing it to pit. Also had a little belt squeal at startup and assumed it was the PS belt since it is single V. Turned out it was the Alt/AC belt, go figure. Came up with a way to tension the belt that worked for me. I turned the tensioner by hand until it can't be turned further with one hand. Still have some hard starting when it sits, but after it gets running it will restart without issue. Have to figure this one out, but I am still leaning toward old gas.
How long should it hold pressure? I will look up a gauge setup for testing. This would point to what: faulty FPR, cracked fuel rail, injector seals? Only the latter two would have an external fuel leak. so the fuel pump only runs while the starter is turning? Am I understanding the DME relay correctly or does the pump energize with the key in the run position?
When I changed the fuel filter I expected the fuel to smell like turpentine but it wasn't bad at all. Could tell a difference in running after the fuel was added though. I will study up. Thanks for the insight.
As always thanks a ton for your help. I will order a test gauge from paragon (arnnworx) and do some trouble shooting. The FPR did sit dry as well as the rest of the fuel system when I pulled the fuel lines. All of the ends were covered with aluminum foil to prevent bugs/dirt from infiltrating. Might pull the plugs tonight to see if they shed any light on the situation.
Putting a gauge will give you some insight. If it leaks down fast, fingers point to the check valve and results in longer cranking times.
A slow drip at an injector will let the rail pressure off slower, make it hard to start as one cylinder is rich, which in turn confuses the O2 sensor if it is already in closed loop mode on a restart. Kinda a vicious cycle.
The regulator will allow fuel into the vacuum line if the diaphram has failed. Working properly, it lowers the fuel pressure at idle and increases it when the motor is under load.
I believe the dampner makes the system quieter and takes the pressure spikes out of the rail as the pump turns on and off with the go pedal.
I have the pressure gauge but I have never checked mine as other things have taken prescident...but a shall. My strainer leaked as the sender...new seals there as well as the underhood lines. It's coming.
Success!!!! I tip my cyber interweb hat to you thomasmryan and I owe you a six pack of your choice (only if you drink otherwise cheerwine or whatever). So to trouble shoot without a gauge to see if the pressure in the rail was leaking down and having to build pressure while starting. To do this I turned the key to the start position for about ten seconds. I repeated this five times to allow the fuel pump to build pressure in the rail. Turned over and started immediately. This told me your theory was correct in that the pressure had leaked down. Now to find the culprit so I started with really the only one I could test tonight and that is the FPR. Gingerly pried off the vacuum line from the FPR and gas flowed out. Looks like I will be ordering a new regulator. I guess it's better than pulling and shipping off my injectors cross country (not to say I won't in the future).
Washed and clay bared the old gal yesterday and boy did she need it. There were several sections that got clayed twice. It could stand to have a light polishing, but you can only do so much in a day. I will get out the PC 7424, black pad, and Poor Boy's polish with sealant (maybe use white pad and swirl remover sparingly). Finally got around to ordering a FPR and can't wait to have this thing start correctly. It should idle and go through the rev range better as well. This thread was getting a little light on pictures any way.
Bleed the coolant a few times. The pressure tester goes on the overflow reservoir every few hundred miles to watch for hose connections that settle. I can usually find a drop here and there leaving pressure on it overnight.
What you will need to replace the FPR without removing the fuel rail: 10mm socket/ratchet, 10mm combination wrench, tiny baby hands with full adult dexterity. I loosened the fuel line coming out of the dampener leading to the rail back to the FPR. It seemed as though there was a suction holding the FPR in place. Stood at the front of the car and with thumbs on either side with firm pressure it came out. The o-ring remained and had to be gently pulled out. I probably did not let the fuel prime enough and the hard starting remained but not as bad. Idle settled much faster, so I walked away for twenty minutes. Came back and it fired right up and found idle immediately. Time will tell if this was the root of the problem but initial results look good.
Does any one else have those little parts that you say "next time I order stuff I need to get these"? Unfortunately it seems to always slip your mind. That was 999.703.140.41 or buffer for the cab trunk (I think they were used on 911 hoods too). Both were bad and one was pretty much collapsed. Feels good to close the trunk with that solid thud again.
07-14-2015, 10:48 PM
