camelman

I got the receipts for the work the PO had done at the shop. Quite a lot of work was done, so I'm feeling much better about this purchase.

~ Replaced two fuel lines with one new and one used line - $115
~ New "Timing Comp" that cost $220. Not sure what this is...
~ Oil and oil filter - $50
~ Coolant - $25.50
~ Timing Belt - $98
~ Roller for timing belt - $183
~ Roller #2 for timing belt - $105
~ Intake gasket set - $72
~ Exhaust gasket set - $48
~ Some random $7 gasket
~ 8 new spark plugs - $47
~ More coolant - $15
~ Another oil and filter kit? - $30
~ Drive belt - $55
~ T-stat - $22
~ Water pump - $491
~ Removed and flushed the fuel tank
~ Discovered zero compression on right side of engine
~ cylinder head recondition and valve grind
~ Swap in good intake manifold to replace corroded manifold (customer supplied spares)
~ Swap in good exhaust manifold (no reason why)
~ Cleaned out injection head and reassembled
~ Indexed timing and fuel injection assembly

- recommend new fuel pressure regulator and injection head
- recommend transmission service to replace fluid

I am looking forward to cleaning out the fuel distributor and figuring out if the fuel pressure regulator needs help. Also glad someone has looked inside the engine to see what it looks like in there with no issues mentioned other than the repairs to the heads, intake, and exhaust.

Camelman

STRIKEMASTER

WELCOME to the TANK! NICE SCORE on the Euro!! Check the engine number, If it's an M28/11 engine, you have a 300+ Hp, K-jet F.I., non-interference engine : bigger valves, hotter cams, larger intake spider, and if you're lucky, NO InvironMENTAL Perfection Crap on it!! K-jet engines don't like to sit. You REALLY NEED a set of pressure gauges to work on the K-Jet system. K-Jet is 'Hydro-Mechanical' fuel injection, the WRU controls how everything works. If your cold and/ or hot pressure is off the car won't run right...Ask me how I know..

camelman

Thanks! I'll verify the engine number tonight, but I'm pretty sure it's the S model. I have a rebuild kit for the spider and the WUR, and just need to make sure I get set of gauges to tune it all up. Planning to rebuild those two parts and refresh the vacuum hoses in two weekends.

camelman

I verified I have the M28/12 engine, which is the 300HP version for Euro automatic. That's good news!

I did a lot of work on the car over the weekend. The engine had been dying at idle often, idling at 500-1200 rpm, smoking out of the exhaust, and generally running terribly. I bought a vac line refresh kit, fuel distributor rebuild, some leatherique for the interior, a new euro fog light for the rear, and set to work. Things I found:

The coil wire from the coil to the cap was broken and a piece of heavy wire was jammed into the coil to "fix" the break.
All the vac lines were bad or missing. A few were missing from the intake plenum after the MAF.
The fuel distributor looked fine.

After reassembly, the engine purrs like a kitten. It purrs at 2000 rpm though, so I need to do some adjusting. It doesn't die anymore, it doesn't smoke anymore, and the power is definitely on. I need to check the timing, air screw, mixture, and throttle cable adjustment now though. The rear fog light went on easily, but I need to install a bulb before I can check it. I also swapped in a headlight relay and the headlights work! The seats look SO MUCH BETTER after the leatherique treatment, but I still have some stitching repair to do. One low point is that I discovered a fuel tank leak, but I'll fix that the next chance I get. I also discovered the issue with the rear seat and fixed it by lubing it up... it was just slightly stuck.

Here's my updated list now.

I'm planning to buy:
~Tires (Continental Extreme Contact Sport)
~Replacement rim for one that has curb rash
~Spare tire air pump
~Maybe buy a used front air dam
~Speakers
~HVAC vac line repair
~AC recharge parts/kit



I'm planning to clean/rejuvenate:
~Wash, clay bar, wax the entire car
~Clean sunroof guides, tracks, and cables
~Clean window actuators and get passenger window back on track
~Maybe repair the front air dam
~Get stereo working since it seems wires are unhooked
~Pull seat leather and sew/glue it back together correctly so the cushions look correct
~Soften the dash leather and glue it back in place in the few locations it has pulled
~Brake fluid

Inspect/repair/adjust/fix:
~Thrust bearing
~Suspension bushings
~Engine mounts
~Timing
~Idle settings
~Fuel tank leak

The list got shorter, and then longer again. I think that's progress? I'll post some pics later.

Camelman

camelman

The first pic shows the the old headlight relay. Diode "36" and the diode and burnt resistor above it were bad. I replaced them, but the second pic shows me pointing to the failed solenoid that foiled my efforts at repair. I have no interest in sourcing and replacing that solenoid, so I just bought a new headlight relay.

The third pic shows the fuel distributor on the bench. I pulled it apart, but didn't notice anything wrong with it. I didn't get pics of the bad coil wire or the bad vac lines but believe me... they were terrible.

The final pic is of a replacement tube for a failed tube. I had to kludge together a solution, and used heater hose that kinked badly in the middle. It still flows air, but not much, and I'm worried about running the engine like this. Is this just the PVC hose? If so, then what would happen if it was kinked 80% closed?

I believe I found a disconnected temp sensor at the rear of the block on the passenger side. Does anyone know where those wires are supposed to connect? Also, what is the unit mounted on the engine cross brace? It is not plugged into anything, but it looks important.

Thanks,
Camelman

RennPartsDirect

Agreed. If you don't, it may never get finished. Ask me how I know...

camelman

I've been restoring cars and motorcycles for about 25 years now, and I'm pretty careful about diagnosing and fixing as opposed to buying parts. Just buying new parts gets EXPENSIVE!

Imo000

That failed solenoid looks a lot like a standard solenoid found in many of the relays of the 928. Save it in case you want to fix it.

camelman

I adjusted the idle down today since it was idling at 2000 rpm after the improvements I did last weekend. At lower idle (750 rpm), the engine is still hunting a puffing smelly exhaust. I'm going to clean and tighten all grounds tomorrow (I also have erratic gauges, occasional hard starts, lights that work then don't, and misfires), and then check the timing afterwards. I'm hoping that cleaning the grounds will be the magic elixir!

Camelman

Imo000

Just take a jumper cable and attach it to the engine and the battery. That will quickly tell you if the problem is the ground.

camelman

I worked on grounds yesterday, but could only find a few of them. I found one behind the toolkit, one on the steering column, two above the main electrical, one at the very front of the car, and that was it. The only grounds diagrams I can find seem to be for other years/versions, so I don't know if I'm looking in the correct areas or not. My issues are still:

1) gauges don't work correctly. the voltage gauge shows around 9V, even though I'm measuring 12.6V at the battery (engine off) and at the aux jump start lug under the hood to the frame
2) all of the warning lights in the dash will turn on for the entirety of a drive, or stay off, seemingly without reason
3) the dash backlights rarely come on when the headlights are turned on

Does anyone have a diagram for the 928s euro grounds, or suggestions on how to find the grounds?

Does anyone know where I can find the intake air plenum sealing ring to the air flow meter?

Thanks,
Camelman

rcrone928

Camelman; I have an 83 euro s that had the warning lights coming on and off while driving. I replaced the central warning unit under the dead pedal and the trbl went away. all warning lights were in german, realy cool. The valve mounted on the cross bar operates when turning on the Ac. It raises the idle speed to compensate for Ac compressor drag. The wires on the back passenger side of the engine may go to the hot start solenoid.

rcrone928

I also got a new sealing ring from Roger at 928srus for a few bucks.

camelman

rcrone928, you rock! Thanks for that information. My repair list keeps getting longer, but at least I know what is wrong with the car now. I'll take a stab at repairing the central warning unit, and check my brake pad wear sensors. I'm pretty sure that one of them is wrecked, so I should at least make sure the wires aren't crossing and causing problems.

I found the intake seal at Pelican Parts, and went ahead and bought a spare tire cover and coil while I was at it.

ammonman

You really should give one of the Big 3 928 parts specialists a call when you need a spare, particularly for a euro spec car. 928s R Us, 928 International and 928 Specialists will know the correct part for your year and model and generally have the same or better pricing than other Porsche parts houses. They will usually have better pricing than even your local Porsche dealer. Plus, they all do lots of work to keep Porsche and the OE manufacturers making and stocking 928 parts as well as finding sources for alternatives when parts are NLA.

Mike