Dan87951

My dad just picked up an 85S that has a 32V engine it. I bought the car for myself as a driver because it was cheap and really didn't care what would happen to it. But when I stopped by my parents house for easter holiday in it they fell in love with it and bought it from me for what I had into it. I think ever since they saw/heard (v8 sound) my black S4, hes been itchin to get one. He loves the V8 sound and the car is plenty quick for them. The car has no service records and is no garage queen but they wanted a solid runner they could drive and have fun on the weekends with. Plus the fun of ownership is the restoration and doing the maintance yourself, right? I'm sure him and myself will be posting lots of questions in the near future to get help with his restoration process. He just dropped about $600 from 928 International (which is only the begining) to help bring some service up to date. So far on the to do list is:

1. t-belt/waterpump/engine seals
2. plug wires and spark plugs (gosh plug wires are expensive)
3. Re-seal intake and get that repainted (anyone on here powercoat them?)
4. Re-seal valve covers and get those repainted
5. Fix radiator that has small leak
6. Trans fluid change
7. New Temp II sesnor
8. Clean all grounds and install new ground strap for battery
9. Get new tires put on and D90 wheels polished

Over all the car seems like a solid runner. The pan gasket is leaking and coolant is leaking but I notcied no other leaks anywhere. Is there anything else we should do while im in there? This will be the first belt job we have done, are they much different than a 944?

Thanks

sharkmeister85

Your Dad is gonna enjoy the '85. I've had mine for more than 10 years and used it pretty much as a daily driver all that time. Over 325k kilometers. The first thing you should get is this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PORSC...QQcmdZViewItem
I wish this was around when I did my TB/Wp last winter.
Glenn

Dan87951

Funny that you said that because he bought one two days ago. I hope its very handy!!

joejoe

For the tbelt you will need a tensioner guage (kempf tool, big 3 has them) and fly wheel lock. While in there as the harmonic balancer and pullies are off change the front oil seal.

Rebuild the tensioner (boot and seal)

Many have powder coated the intakes, I painted mine. If painting I believe you should bake them (out gas) to get all oil off. I did not know this at time and my paint is beginning to peel in places (6 year now)

Check drive shaft flex plate. It will probably need to be released (most do)

While intake is off change vacume hoses, you will probably find more than a few suspect or cracked.

While I have a 944 ('87) I cannot say if t-belt is easier as I thought the 2 belt in 944 would be a pain to change so it has not been done yet (getting near time though) How hard is it to change?

Bill Ball

You don't have the pan gasket on your To Do list but you mention that it leaks. If the car has its original gasket, it almost certainly has become brittle and needs replacement. However, the oil can be from your other leaks, so, here's what I would do..

Clean off the bottom and sides of the motor as best you can. One of the DIY car wash wands works well at this, avoiding the top side of the motor with all the electrical connections. Just do the bottom and sides from underneath.

Get the car up in the air and examine the pan gasket. If you see any extruded gasket or any breaks in the gasket, you are headed for replacement. If the gasket bulging is minimal and the edges seems intact, go around the pan with a 10mm wrench GENTLY snugging any loose bolts and replacing any missing ones. Several of the bolts are almost inaccessible and a Gearwrench is the ideal tool. Note I said gently snug. Just barely hand tight. Overdoing this will just make the leaks worse. Four or 5 of the bolts are shorter than the rest - you will see the recessed areas they are in.

If the gasket needs replacement, examine the motor mount condition. Motor mount and pan gasket replacement are almost completely overlapping tasks.

The oil pressure sender is a common bottom driver side leak source. So, after you clean the motor, look for oil collection there over time. This wets the driver side.

If the pan gasket ends up looking OK, but you have oil all over later, consider the front main seal and/or oil pump seals. These are WYAIT tasks when doing the TB/WP. So, before you do the TB/WP, look these over carefully or just do them at the same time. Honestly, I don't believe in necessarily fixing things that are not broken (my 89 still has the original front main and oil pump seals at 180K miles), but many will argue these seals should be replaced at some point around 100K miles as preventative maintenence, like doing hoses or belts.... Do you have hoses and belts on your list?

Dan87951

Thanks for the info. I did a search on rennlist and came up with that exact procedure on the pan gasket. As I inspect hoses that I think need replacing, I definitely will. I was pretty much highlighting the major items on the list otherwise the list would be over 200 pages long probably.
Whats the deal with the 928 radiators? Why are they so darn expensive? The 944 group had griffen make us an all aluminum radiator and it was about $400. I can't believe new used ones are fetching 4-800 bux.

scott863

what did you pay for the car?

Shark Attack

+1, what about some pix?

Dan87951

I'm not going to say what I paid but I got an excellent deal on it. I will get pictures up soon.

WICruiser

I powder coated the intake on my '85. Prep was a pain and I need to redo one of the intake "logs" - don't ask.

If you mentioned it I missed it - auto or manual trans? If it is an auto make sure the flex plate/end play check is high on the to do list.

I am slowly working my way thoruhg my '85 and before I am "done" if there is such a thing I will probably have learned a lot more than I have so far (I can be slow to get these things done).

Tell you dad to get it checked out and then just enjoy.

Dan87951

Its an auto. I will do a search on flex plate/end play to so if thats something we can do. We started break down of the inake manifold and valve covers last night.

MJBird993

Why not? Wouldn't it help other Rennlisters who are curious or are in the market and would like to know what cars are selling for?

Michael