Oil Leak
05-08-2002, 02:58 AM
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Oil Leak
Well, I woke up at 0800 today, and spent the majority of the time working on the shark. I finally got tired around 0015.
Gawd I'm getting old...
-For a while, I've not been able to paint my garage floor. Oil leak- not enough to really be a problem, but my underside is always oily [the one on my car!!!!] and the garage floor is always nasty.
The diagnosis: a leak from the bottom of the oil filler "can". My car is an '85 S2- which is basically a 2-valve with S4 power via wild cams and high compression. Too dirty for the EPA, but here it is anyway. Where there's a will, [and a fat wallet...] there's a way.
I took the car to Zotz Garage here in Orlando, which is a pretty good shop with one mechanic who specializes in 944's and 928's. Donnie told me after looking the car over that my thoughts were correct; oil was leaking from where the pipe exits the "can" that holds the strainer. Some picking on my part told me that it had been "repaired" before- I could see where the epoxy that had been keeping the oil in had started to come off....
GAWD that PO was a butteater!
Well, I've dealt with garage-floor nastiness enough. I have plans to repaint the garage in three colors: Dark grey on the floor, white above, and a red stripe about 1 meter above the floor to set it off. I'm going to paint the shelves and the water heater wich also live out there to match. I might even overpaint the 4 foot wide VW symbol I painted on the wall 5 years ago...a Porsche symbol would be hard to do right-
So today I tore it all apart. I did it right too- using WD-40 on all the bolts last night so that they would come out easy. Everything went well- I didn't end up stripping anything out for a change. To fix this leak, I had to remove the thermostat manifold. Since I had it apart, I changed the thermostat as a matter of maintenance and the upper radiator hose because it was bulging and about to burst.
I decided to use a material known as MarineTex to repair the leaking oil filler cup. I wiggled the pipe until it pulled free, then reinserted it after coating it with MarineTex.
-This sounds cheesy, but if you know anything about this stuff you will know that it isn't. A friend of mine flew his RC plane into the ground [a Quickie 500 race plane] and had we had to dig the little plane out of La Florida with a shovel. It was destroyed, but the only damage to the engine was a chipped manifold where the carburator was mounted. I thought it was toast, but he gooped it up with MarineTex and went after it with a Dremel; 40 minutes of grinding later the carburator was re-mounted and he was back in business.....
Anyway, I gooped my shark up and started putting it back together tonight. Most things went well, until I tried to put the thermostat manifold back. The bolts were murder to get started correctly! I used shoe-goo to hold the gaskets in place on the manifold where it connected to the block. I cleaned the bolts with tricloroethylene cleaner and oiled them with motor oil before I put them in, but still I had problems getting them to start. And to boot, I bought all new O rings- the big O ring where the manifold fits to the block was a pain; the old one was flat-sided, the new one wasnt, so I wound up using the rubber end of my hammer to force the manifold into place.
Since I had everything apart, I decided a good cleaning is in order. I went after the whole scene with three cans of engine cleaner from Wal Mart. This stuff is cheap and smells vaguely of ammonia when you use it, but it works well and it is 78 cents per can! I cleaned the front, top, and bottom of the engine, pulling my hose with a high pressure wash fitting into the garage. I cannot believe how much mixed oil and mud I blasted off my engine! I had to wash down the driveway when I was done- dammit the engineers at Porsche sure did design a lot of places where crap can accumulate!
I also went through a bunch of steel wool. I cleaned the living daylights out of everthing I could...including the fuel rail [where I removed the tie wraps holding the wires] which I polished.
-Having removed the cross brace, I decided to try something I've thought of for a while. I painted the ends silver with cheap engine paint [8 thin coats...] and for the center section, I procured some pipe insulation from Home Depot. This will not only give me a better look- kind of like the BMX bike I had when I was a kid, but I'll have something to lean on that won't burn my hands! See how it looks at SITM in North Carolina.....
I'm slightly tired...I think I might even go to bed. Y'all have fun, I'll be back with an update tomorrow....
Normy!
PILOT of '85 S2 # 1526
Gawd I'm getting old...
-For a while, I've not been able to paint my garage floor. Oil leak- not enough to really be a problem, but my underside is always oily [the one on my car!!!!] and the garage floor is always nasty.
The diagnosis: a leak from the bottom of the oil filler "can". My car is an '85 S2- which is basically a 2-valve with S4 power via wild cams and high compression. Too dirty for the EPA, but here it is anyway. Where there's a will, [and a fat wallet...] there's a way.
I took the car to Zotz Garage here in Orlando, which is a pretty good shop with one mechanic who specializes in 944's and 928's. Donnie told me after looking the car over that my thoughts were correct; oil was leaking from where the pipe exits the "can" that holds the strainer. Some picking on my part told me that it had been "repaired" before- I could see where the epoxy that had been keeping the oil in had started to come off....
GAWD that PO was a butteater!
Well, I've dealt with garage-floor nastiness enough. I have plans to repaint the garage in three colors: Dark grey on the floor, white above, and a red stripe about 1 meter above the floor to set it off. I'm going to paint the shelves and the water heater wich also live out there to match. I might even overpaint the 4 foot wide VW symbol I painted on the wall 5 years ago...a Porsche symbol would be hard to do right-
So today I tore it all apart. I did it right too- using WD-40 on all the bolts last night so that they would come out easy. Everything went well- I didn't end up stripping anything out for a change. To fix this leak, I had to remove the thermostat manifold. Since I had it apart, I changed the thermostat as a matter of maintenance and the upper radiator hose because it was bulging and about to burst.
I decided to use a material known as MarineTex to repair the leaking oil filler cup. I wiggled the pipe until it pulled free, then reinserted it after coating it with MarineTex.
-This sounds cheesy, but if you know anything about this stuff you will know that it isn't. A friend of mine flew his RC plane into the ground [a Quickie 500 race plane] and had we had to dig the little plane out of La Florida with a shovel. It was destroyed, but the only damage to the engine was a chipped manifold where the carburator was mounted. I thought it was toast, but he gooped it up with MarineTex and went after it with a Dremel; 40 minutes of grinding later the carburator was re-mounted and he was back in business.....
Anyway, I gooped my shark up and started putting it back together tonight. Most things went well, until I tried to put the thermostat manifold back. The bolts were murder to get started correctly! I used shoe-goo to hold the gaskets in place on the manifold where it connected to the block. I cleaned the bolts with tricloroethylene cleaner and oiled them with motor oil before I put them in, but still I had problems getting them to start. And to boot, I bought all new O rings- the big O ring where the manifold fits to the block was a pain; the old one was flat-sided, the new one wasnt, so I wound up using the rubber end of my hammer to force the manifold into place.
Since I had everything apart, I decided a good cleaning is in order. I went after the whole scene with three cans of engine cleaner from Wal Mart. This stuff is cheap and smells vaguely of ammonia when you use it, but it works well and it is 78 cents per can! I cleaned the front, top, and bottom of the engine, pulling my hose with a high pressure wash fitting into the garage. I cannot believe how much mixed oil and mud I blasted off my engine! I had to wash down the driveway when I was done- dammit the engineers at Porsche sure did design a lot of places where crap can accumulate!
I also went through a bunch of steel wool. I cleaned the living daylights out of everthing I could...including the fuel rail [where I removed the tie wraps holding the wires] which I polished.
-Having removed the cross brace, I decided to try something I've thought of for a while. I painted the ends silver with cheap engine paint [8 thin coats...] and for the center section, I procured some pipe insulation from Home Depot. This will not only give me a better look- kind of like the BMX bike I had when I was a kid, but I'll have something to lean on that won't burn my hands! See how it looks at SITM in North Carolina.....
I'm slightly tired...I think I might even go to bed. Y'all have fun, I'll be back with an update tomorrow....
Normy!
PILOT of '85 S2 # 1526
05-08-2002, 05:43 AM
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[quote]Originally posted by Normy:
<strong>
I might even overpaint the 4 foot wide VW symbol I painted on the wall 5 years ago
</strong><hr></blockquote>
NOOOO!!!
[quote]<strong>
I cleaned the bolts with tricloroethylene
</strong><hr></blockquote>
wow, you can still get tric? we're lucky we can still get MEK...
<strong>
I might even overpaint the 4 foot wide VW symbol I painted on the wall 5 years ago
</strong><hr></blockquote>
NOOOO!!!
[quote]<strong>
I cleaned the bolts with tricloroethylene
</strong><hr></blockquote>
wow, you can still get tric? we're lucky we can still get MEK...
05-08-2002, 12:37 PM
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-I'll probably leave the symbol alone in the end.
Trichloroethylene, as opposed the the late, lamented 1,1,1 trichloroethane, is available for cheap everywhere- it is known as non-flammable brake cleaner. "Triple 1" was banned because it apparently destroys the ozone. Oh well..
Normy~
Trichloroethylene, as opposed the the late, lamented 1,1,1 trichloroethane, is available for cheap everywhere- it is known as non-flammable brake cleaner. "Triple 1" was banned because it apparently destroys the ozone. Oh well..
Normy~
05-08-2002, 01:23 PM
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MarineTex is great stuff, I use it all the time - most recently to repair a hole in the oil pan on my boat's engine. Replaced the oil pan a few months later when I pulled the engine to do some other work - the MarineTex held up very well. That stuff has a high heat threshold and can even be applied underwater!
Re. a sign for your garage wall - how'd this look:
It's available on ebay for cheap:
<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1827620978&r=0&t=0" target="_blank">Big 928 Sign</a>
Re. a sign for your garage wall - how'd this look:
It's available on ebay for cheap:
<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1827620978&r=0&t=0" target="_blank">Big 928 Sign</a>
05-08-2002, 05:55 PM
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and skin and lungs and...
you're right. i get confused when i read big words right after i wake up
[quote]Originally posted by Normy:
<strong>
Trichloroethylene, as opposed the the late, lamented 1,1,1 trichloroethane, is available for cheap everywhere- it is known as non-flammable brake cleaner. "Triple 1" was banned because it apparently destroys the ozone. Oh well..
</strong><hr></blockquote>
you're right. i get confused when i read big words right after i wake up
[quote]Originally posted by Normy:
<strong>
Trichloroethylene, as opposed the the late, lamented 1,1,1 trichloroethane, is available for cheap everywhere- it is known as non-flammable brake cleaner. "Triple 1" was banned because it apparently destroys the ozone. Oh well..
</strong><hr></blockquote>
05-09-2002, 02:30 AM
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That would be easy if you were a school teacher John! You could just bring the overhead-thingy home and aim it at the wall! I've thought about that a lot, but none of my friends work at the schools so I'm out of luck.
The Volkswagen symbol was easy- I took a pencil, some string, and a thumbtack and drew out the circles. Then I eyeballed it for the straight portions after staring at the symbol on my Corrado's grill. A small paintbrush to do the edges, a larger one to fill in the big areas and I was in business. Everyone loves it...
A properly done Porsche symbol would be tough! The family crest is pretty complex, and I wouldn't have something half-assed on the wall, so I guess I'll just leave the VW symbol. What the hell- Porsche set up VW anyway, and more than a few minor parts on the shark have VW part numbers...
Normy!
The Volkswagen symbol was easy- I took a pencil, some string, and a thumbtack and drew out the circles. Then I eyeballed it for the straight portions after staring at the symbol on my Corrado's grill. A small paintbrush to do the edges, a larger one to fill in the big areas and I was in business. Everyone loves it...
A properly done Porsche symbol would be tough! The family crest is pretty complex, and I wouldn't have something half-assed on the wall, so I guess I'll just leave the VW symbol. What the hell- Porsche set up VW anyway, and more than a few minor parts on the shark have VW part numbers...
Normy!
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05-09-2002, 11:59 PM
#8
Norm,
Back to the leak.
We didn't touch base on the possibility of the Mobile One having played some small part in causing the leak. Several posts over the last 11 months on this subject.
John S.
Back to the leak.
We didn't touch base on the possibility of the Mobile One having played some small part in causing the leak. Several posts over the last 11 months on this subject.
John S.
05-10-2002, 01:30 AM
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For what it is worth...my oil leak has disappeared! It is so damn satisfying when you solve a problem.....
I've spent the day painting the garage- I've got paint on my clothes, my hair, my skin......
Normy~
I've spent the day painting the garage- I've got paint on my clothes, my hair, my skin......
Normy~