icsamerica

Thanks for the previous replies, they help me focus and saved me lots of time. Gonna be the same color as the 911 GT2 RS.

Complete S4 front suspension is going in....No one got back to me about the Caliper adapter bracket, I emailed, called and left a message. Nada, no reply.

Removing the two 22mm nuts that hold the upper control arms on the driver side was very difficult, passenger side was much easier.

I'm expecting a parade of parts to start arriving soon, new drilled and slotted rotors, EBC pads, S4 suspension front and rear, S4 drive shafts (for the ABS issue) , Koni Reds, new motor mounts, new hatch latch insert, wheel bearing, short shifter, Urethane shifter linkage bushings, electric cooling fan, SS brake lines, oil filter, timing belt, water pump, 18x8 and 18x9 Panamera wheels with Michelin Pilot Super Sports..and lots of other small supporting parts. Paint...After she's mechanically sorted and driving perfect.

While I was under I noticed all was very clean and tidy except for the A/C compressor. It was soaked in oil? Do these compressors often fail like that?



I'm off to a humble start.

icsamerica

She's was up off the ground getting complete S4 suspension all around last week. I mean complete... hub spindles, drive shafts ABS sensors, calipers, rotors etc, front and rear. Not using washers or adapters.

The last few weeks were busy.
Complete S4 Suspension and Brakes, repack front bearings, - DONE stops much better. (wow...what'a project)
New shift ball and Urethane couplers - DONE, what a difference in feel
New Corteco Motor Mounts - DONE, engine is super smooth
New rack Bushings - DONE
Koni Rear shocks - DONE, less bobbing out back, old BOGE shocks were fine but too soft.
All this stuff made the car a complete Joy to drive.

Rebuild used S4 rear axles - DONE
Retrofit A/C to 134a, - DONE and Blowing Cold
New crank angle sensor - DONE
repair broken air box mount - Done
One off low cost (1 inch emt) Front suspension tie bar - DONE

Things to do this week,
Repair dead fuel level indicator
Replace dodgy right hand window motor
Install S300 chips and S4 Fuel pressure regulator
Replace the early ABS controller for a Late lower tooth count ABS controller. Curiously, as it sits now, the ABS works fine but comes in a little late.
Rebuild Fan clutch
Install Bluetooth radio
Install Koni front shocks.
Fabricate some sort of lower frame rail brace like the early cars had.

Things to Do in the coming few week,
Timing belt, water pump, wheels, tires, road test then blow apart for paint.
Hope to be done in time to garage it for the Winter. LOL

soontobered84

The rear hatch latches with a very small lip that protrudes to catch the white plastic male part on the hatch itself. If the motor doesn't stop in the correct place, the lip will be moved away from the white plastic part and won't catch. Have someone pull then release the remote switch to cycle the hatch motor. Watch down inside the hatch latch for the small moving lip and note where it stops. There is a very small 1amp in line fuse on top of the fuse panel that controls that, IIRC.

icsamerica

Ahhhh... she is driving Great. The Panamera wheels are a dream...8's in the front 9's in the back. Nearly the perfect offsets. I went with Continental Extreme Contact DWS06 265/40/r18 out back and 235/45/R18 up front.
These sizes gave me the look I'm after and the requisite sidewall for NYC driving. It drives perfect with no tram-lining or any other drivability issues. Zero additional harness compared to the 16's that were on the car but the road holding (lateral G) is much improved.

Been a good week or 2....
Repair dead fuel level indicator - Done
Replace dodgy right hand window motor - Done
Install S300 chips and S4 Fuel pressure regulator - Done
Install Koni front shocks. - Done
Rebuild Fan clutch - used the Toyota oil. Done.
New Thermostat - Done
New Fuel Filter - Done

Still pending....
Replace the early ABS controller for a Late lower tooth count ABS controller.
Install Bluetooth radio
Timing belt and WP

j.kenzie@sbcglobal.net

Fantastic work. Unbelievable progress. You make some of us look bad.
Keep up the great work, and enjoy.
Good luck,
Dave

icsamerica

Thanks, this Forum is a tremendous resource. I've been wrenching on my own cars for 20+ years so I have a nice collection of tools. That and the details provided here make it easier.
I hope to be able to add somethings useful myself. So far the only thing I've been able to add was my positive experience with LV brake fluid.

Shawn Stanford

Of course you and your son are coming to Frenzy...

icsamerica

Mechanically... more progress. Engine was running good enough but would break up at high RPM. With the car being dormant for so many years...I figured over time, I'll drive it, let it get hot and figure it out. Then recently the high RPM break up turned into a full on idle miss.

I changed all the plug wires since the existing wires were brittle but it still missed. So out came the thick rubber gloves and I pulled one plug wire at time while she was running and soon it was clear cylinder #2 was dead. So out came the plug...A old Bosch Platnum tip. I groaned. It sparked but my trained eye knew it didnt look like a good spark. So in went a new plug and the miss was gone. I figured I'd change all the plugs while I was at it and replaced them with eight Bosche 7992 gapped to the OE spec of .028. A perfunctory check revealed they were all gaped perfectly right out of the box. As I removed each old plug i check and most of them were gapped far too wide.

SUCCESS!!! A late night spirited test drive revealed the car pulled hard and clean all they way to 6250 (S300 chips). Idle was dead smooth and engine was much smoother while cruising at high way speed, so much so a few time I forget to shift in to 5th.


Whooo...what a gap.
In my youth and inexperience I replaced many a plug with these high price shams and looking back....often the cars ran worse.

Unfortunately... Frenzy is not in the cards this year, cosmetically the car is embarrassing, it has a very amateur repaint. And with family responsibilities and my love for track days I've only got so many week ends to steal away.... adrenaline addiction wins this year.

Shawn Stanford

Completely understandable about the family coming first, but absolutely do not let a little thing like the paint keep you from coming to Frenzy! The Lump and the Monster barely have any paint on them at all, and Wayne's story about his non-standard color made me pee a little, I was laughing so hard.

icsamerica

Today I started getting the 928 Ready for a track day at Limerock Park in October.... More Progress and a few changes....


1. Gone are the S4 Front Brakes and I now have GTS calipers and Alu hat rotors courtesy of Mark from 928 Intl. I got a fair deal on the brake setup. The Rotors looked like trash but they cleaned up nice enough for Limerock on a brake Lathe. I disassembled the calipers and all the pistons look new and showed no wear. The dust boots looked soft and fresh, all the pistons moved on an air check... so on the car the calipers went with some EBC Blue Stuff Pads. After break-in the front really bite hard. Looks like I'm going to need a rear of Blue stuff for the rear set I hope that balances it out. The calipers practically bled themselves. 1 round of 5 pedal pumps on each of the 4 bleeders was all it took to get a rock hard pedal.

2. Installed the Powerflex front and rear lower control bushings. WOW they live up to the hype. They are wonderful to drive with. There is a immediacy to steering inputs and feed back is far more clear. There is also ZERO additional harshness and there might be less harshness because I'm not getting the rubbery shimmy I got with the OE 35 year old rubber bushes. All the 928 's I've owned always felt unclear, muddy or rubbery up front. I always wished the 928 had the clarity and feedback of a BMW to go along with it's high capability and now is does. I always felt the 928 was ultra capable but uncommunicative when getting near the limits and they bit me a few times. That's over. Road imperfections in the front now have the same feel, timber and resonance as the rear, I think this is because the front suspension can move more freely now just like the rear does on it's pinion shaft. I'm amazed. I also tightened up the upper control arms. The bushings were in good condition so I added a Urethane spacer and thick washer to take up the lateral lash I really expected lots of harshness with all these upgrades and there was none. Just clear driving joy.

I'm running Pamamera 18X8 front wheels and Continental DWS 06 tires...I can quickly get to their limit now. I need a 9 inch wheel with a serviceable offset. And dont we all..