Jfrahm

I'm flying out to MN on Wednesday to pick up an S4 Auto, and driving it back to CO. I plan to check over the car pretty carefully before driving the 950 miles home. I plan to have the oil changed, check the fluid levels, tires, etc. I know I'll want to make sure the battery cables and frame ground are solid and clean, should I look for any other specific problem areas? There are no known problems with the car, the timing belt and water pump have 14K on them. It has no aftermarket alarm and still has stock stereo, so that should reduce the number of electrical problems.

Should I pull the relays and apply dielectric grease to the connectors? What about the LH Brain? Should I add some spike or overvoltage protection to it? Clean up the fuse panel? Any troublesome grounds I should clean up?

Thanks,
-Joel.

MikeN

Joel -

I really wouldn't worry about anything other then the timing belt and maybe brakes. When I bought my GT it had all maintenance up to date but I had the seller make an appointment to have the timing belt tension and general conditioned of it and the rollers checked. Cost about $175 at the dealer....but it was THE best piece of mind I could have given myself. Dealer set the tension and examined everything....no probs. Ready for the 800 mile drive home.

When it comes right down to it, there is nothing short of an accident that can put a LARGE hole in your wallet then a broken/slipped timing belt.
Fuel pump quits....no biggie, tow it, get a new one or a relay. Same with the LH brain....ya it will cost a little more, but multiply that by about 7 or 8 times and you get the picture.

Maybe carry some extra relays and/or Wally's jumper, a cell phone, etc......I'm sure some other posters will have some advice.

Jim bailey - 928 International

check the fluid levels , tire air pressures , maybe wiggle the front wheels to check the bearings . I would NOT recommend trying to "fix" much else until you get it home . Get AA long distance towing IF you are already a member . Be sure you have plyers to pull relays and a test light to check circuits for power . Beyond that just remember the car just thinks it is maybe 20 little 50 mile trips . There are S-4 cars with 200,000 300,000 even 400,000 miles on the Odometer...I can assure you they have not broken down hundreds of times !!

Brent 89-GT

Is this the one Ron Johnson was selling? He had an '89 S4 with 100k on it for VERY reasonable money.

IF it was Rons car, I wouldn't worry one bit. He is a Porsche freak and has owned many S4's and a bunch of other Porsches. He is also the manager of several dealer service departments in the twin cities area. If he told you the car was good to go, I wouldn't doubt it for a second. I have known him personally for about three years.

Of course if it wasn't this car, disregard my post <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

LarryM

J,
Sounds like you have the 928 items covered. Bring a camera to capture that first live shot of your shark.
I had extra fuses, a quart of oil, Water, for me and the car, Window cleaner, a good towel, V1, air gauge, Insurance papers, Music and maps. I know I missed a few things but Good luck.

Bernie

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by Jfrahm:
[QB]Should I pull the relays and apply dielectric grease to the connectors? [QB]</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">This may be a dumb question but isn't dielectric grease an insulator?

I always use dielectric grease when changing my plugs. The grease gets applied to the inside of the boots or to the ceramic portion of the plugs as a means of insulating them.

I hear people refer to using this grease as a means of increasing conductivity in electrical circuits but it doesn't make any sense to me if the grease is supposed to insulate and specifically "prevent" conductivity.

Any thoughts?

Jadz928

Jadz928

I suggest you get bonded, if you plan to do any high speed interestate traveling. All states are different, but there is a max speed over which could put you in jail.
I believe it is 36mph over in Utah. At least that is what happy gold tooth smokey joe told me. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

Don '85S3

Joel:

Where are you picking the car up? Maybe we can get a car or two from the Mpls 928 OG to lend support.

Jfrahm

I should be picking the car up around noon on Wednesday. It's on the North side in Columbia Heights. I'll probably grab the bus from the airport up Snelling and meet the owner along that route. He offered to pick me up at the airport but that's probably not a very good use of his time considering the cost and frequency of the bus.

Re: Dielectric grease, it is an insulator, but that's OK. You don't use it to enhance conductivity but instead to seal out moisture and prevent corrosion. It has poor film strength so it does not get in between the metal-to-metal contact. Just like vasoline on the battery cable ends.

Generally I like to do lots of little maintenance/repair tasks before a long trip. I'm not likely do damage anything, and in working around the car I tend to notice issues that could cause larger problems later on. Plus it's easier to relax on a long drive if I've checked over the car pretty well.

-Joel.

ViribusUnits

I'd think about grabbing a chart of the relays, and fuses off of the 928 specalists site.

<a href="http://www.928gt.com" target="_blank">www.928gt.com</a>

If a relay dies, it would be nice to knew which ones to wiggle. Also, compareing the part numbers, you can figure out which ones are realy good matches with each other, and which ones are not. This away, if your fuel pump stops working, you know you can swap out the horn relay, and get home.

Other than that, enjoy! :-)

Jfrahm

Well, I made it.

I flew to MN on Wednesday, paid for and picked up the car, and proceeded to deal with a few issues, have a nice dinner on Lake Minnetonka, deal with more issues, deal with the police, and then said the hell with it and drove back to CO.

The good:
The car looks really good, the flats are polished, the paint is shiny and generally very good with a few trivial blemishes. The car runs like a bear and seems to have no mechanical problems.
The car also has 10K less miles than was advertised.

The bad:
A/C not working. I baked like a potato. 102 today on I-80, somewhat warmer in my car. I finally discovered the appeal of a 64oz drink.

Windshield wipers not working. I applied Rain-X and hoped for dry weather. In the midwestern oven, I started hoping to test out the Rain-X, as clouds would have been welcome but it was not to be.

One headlight is dim and there is something weird about the driving/fog lights (jury rigged to the headlights perhaps.)

Several dash cracks (as oppsed to one or two as advertised.)

No wheel lock key. I bought some small screwdrivers that I might have picked the locks with had I needed to change a tire.

Antilock brake warning light. Owner claims it's a dirty sensor, but IIRC that warning does not appear until you move the car. This one comes up straight away. Swell.

Heater valve is stuck open. Nothing like NO AC and full heat. I managed to get a hose pinch pliers on it to shut off the hot water.

I also get a tail lamp warning, but I do not see a dead bulb.

The weird:
Turns out the interior is blue, not light gray as advertised. I find the owner is color blind.

Turns out the owner has a warrant out on him for failure to appear. The police were quite nice to me when the found out I was someone else.

Time to hit the shower, thanks for all the help and support!

-Joel.

P.S. I kept a lid on the speed (mostly) but that machine really moves. Breezed up to 120 like it was 65.

Brett Matthews

Joel,
I also have a tail light indication, turns out the indication was actually about the side marker lights, check yours to see if this is what's happening?
The heater valve is normally open. Coming from Germany, they think to have heat, over cool, in a "failed" mode.
YES, these cars WILL get you in trouble, if you become inattentive! They just glide! <img border="0" alt="[burnout]" title="" src="graemlins/burnout.gif" />
Have fun, and enjoy your new-to-you shark!

Jfrahm

Update: I have the AC working, so the car is useable now. It had a leaky schrader valve and the system pressure had dropped below the cutoff, but had not lost oil. A poke at the sticky valve and a bit of a charge and it's blowing icy cold now. I have a new water valve I'll get installed soon, for the time being I have the hose pinched with some hose pinch pliers.

No signs of life from the wipers. The fuse is good but I don't hear any relays clicking or anything. I'll fool with that a bit more later.

Any tips on diagnosing the ABS relay other than buying one for $50? I wonder if the ABS relay from one of my 944's would be the same?

I feel much better about the car now that I can drive it around in the heat. Fits nice in the garage too.

-Joel.