Oilystair

12 years in storage...... it lives !!!!
I was wondering if anybody could help. I have resurrected my 1987 S4 after 12 years in dry storage and it’s all go, very exciting... new belts, WP, checked flex plate, all good. No leaks. Perfect. Drives really good but just a couple of weird ones that I dont remember from before. When in neutral, at around 1000rpm I get a slight vibration that goes again when it’s up to about 1500 rpm.... almost feels like a cylinder is out but all plugs are clean and shown no sign of fouling. The wobble is somewhere else. If the bonnet is up you can see the wobble in the bonnet but the engine seems smooth. When I rev it up under the bonnet it does seem to have a slight hesitation where it draws a breath ... could it be related ?? Apart from that, it was good to get this baby back on the road with nothing but a good major service !!! I just need to iron out this little bit of lumpiness and it’ll be great ! The boot latch light switch is not working so all the courtesy lights stay on... where the heck is it ?!?!? It’s also not latching down properly and it take a good few slams before it behaves and closes... not bad after 12 years but need some help please. Cheers .Al

Mrmerlin

I would put 6 oz of MMO into the fuel as well as a bottle of techron,
do lots of short rides so the chemicals have time to work .

For a car thats been sitting the best thing you can do is run as many tanks of gas through it as possible .
NOTE do atleast 2 tanks with the same chemicals that I suggested then report back.

Kiln_Red

I am suspicious of the condition of your motor mounts. Look at your front crossmember and evaluate the height of the oil pan relative to the crossmember. The oil pan should have more ground clearance than the crossmember. Your engine should shake with the blip of the throttle. Not the body of the car.

Another way to evaluate if the mounts are collapsed is to measure the gap between mount housing hooks. If you get a finger-width or more, the mounts should be replaced.

Oilystair

Ok, thank you. Will try the fuel treatment although I am in New Zealand so I don’t know what that treatment is. Can you let me know what it is ie: a intake cleanser or injection cleaner so I can get the right stuff please. Also will check motor mounts, I wondered about those but they looked ok
at a casual glance. If you think a fingers width is a good indication I’ll do that or is there a specific measurement ?
thanks for your help guys.

Al

Ranfurly

Great to see another 928 back on the road in NZ. Where are you? My guess is the Hawkes Bay with the beach in the background...?
From my experience checking the fuel pumps condition and the tank for sludge would be worthwhile along with the suggested dosing with cleaners.

Jason89s4

I'm with Kiln. Motor mounts sank while it was sitting.
-Jason

Oilystair

ha, not even close. Down in sunny Nelson. :-) are you in NZ ?? Yep drained fuel tank, new pump and filter ... I guess I haven’t checked the filter again since we got it going again. It could be blocked again ???? I’ve spent about $6000 in restorative maintenance prior to getting it going again plus massive amounts of time doing it slow but carefully but in the end it was worth all the hard work and patience as it’s living and breathing again with only minor niggles... so far ! We also have a 1985 ‘s’ that is the next one, that’s been stored for 13 years so I might need even more patience.. and money... with that one :-) eeeeek !!! Luckily we stored them so well in dark, cool and very dry conditions. Slowly, slowly catchy monkey !!! I’ll check the filter again and report. Cheers.

Petza914

MMO is Marvel Mystery Oil

Techron is a product made by Chevron that eliminates Carbon buildup and cleans the fuel system

Schocki

Never been to New Zealand, but if you can take it for a long drive. 928s don't like short drives. Although my GTS has no issues, after a 4000 kmk drive to Germany and back this summer, the engine runs better.
Cruised most of the time between 70 to 80 MPH, but exceeded 160 MPH on the Autobahn a couple of times too.

Check the motor mounts, if your engine is solid when cranking and does not rock, you need new ones. talk to Roger.
All in German below (sorry), but go to 0:18 to see my engine move while cranking.

Oilystair

thank you for your advice. My trips tend to be around 30 Kms but all at 100 kmh.... I’ve taken some advice on putting in the throttle body and intake cleaner... I’m going to do that tonight when it’s dark as I fear there might be a lot of smoke !!! Also I love your measuring stick that helps you determine whether the mounts are stuffed... that’s a tomorrow job. You guys are awesome. I have a funny feeling it’s going to be the motor mounts though. Will keep you posted 👍

Oilystair

her is a quick shot across the engine and distance to crossmember looks ok compared with your video. Thoughts ?

Wisconsin Joe

That intake doesn't look too low to me.
But I much prefer the 'is the oil pan below the crossmember' check myself (post #3).

Nobody seems to have responded to your question about the hatch light switch.

It's actually inside the latch mechanism. If you look down into the body part of the latch, you should see a round white disc. That's the top of the switch. Press down on it and the lights should go out. You can take off the tool panel (interior panel at the back) and you will see the wiring. Disconnect the wires and you can remove the switch from the circuit.

Oilystair

thank you so much for that, I was hoping someone would answer that one. It’s been so long since I had these going I’ve forgotten where the the finer details are... plus they were working when they got parked up so didn’t need to know !!! I’ll get through these niggles quite quickly at this rate. I’ve go dashboard Illumination lights not going as I found out last night so I’ll have to pull the cluster out as it’s clearly a bad contact for them all to be not working.... oh yeah, and the fuel Guage... that kinda inconvenient !!! :-) nearly there !!! Thank you for you help so far, I will report back. Cheers. Al

Wisconsin Joe

If you want a good pic or two of the switch, look at the '01117 Restoration' thread, last page, post 270. It's got a nice 'down the latch' picture. Thread is currently on page 3.

Oilystair

I’m chasing my tail here. I’ve taken all the switches out, cleaned them, and the interior lights still stay on. Disconnecting the battery each time is getting tedious. I’ve turned all the interior lights off but that red one in the door is always on.... you can see it in the crack in the dark. grrrrr !!! Any thoughts ???