blown 87

Ouch.

Jadz928

I'm with Bill on the p-clamp, coil ground, power harness... all bolted to the pax engine lift bracket.

I should also mention it is necessary to route this harness as designed. Otherwise the power harness could come in contact with you smog pump belt/pulley.
My friend's 928 suffered some damage from this not being done right.

hagen454

First thing I did when I bought the car was gut the interior. Put it all back together and hit the ignition switch and it started burning like a fuse from one side of the car to the other. It melted an inch thick bundle of wires together! Can you say ****?

blown 87

Pinched a wire did we?

Jadz928

Also, the inner door handle is a rear PITA. It's a diecast piece that gets fatigued and breaks.

Not a job for the ham-fisted. The antitheft protection plate is a real bugger, and that needs to come out to get the the inner door handle. That plate was a early 80's addition, and appears was not considered with the design of the original door handle/lock system.

Rob Edwards

Cosmoline.

The hole in the firewall for the LH harness could stand to be 5 mm larger, wouldn't hurt anything.

I still don't see how anyone does the clutch MC with the engine or the brake booster still in the car.

AO

Had fun with those gaskets, did we?

Another one I just thought of is, getting the headlights adjusted. I've spent countless hours trying to get mine not only adjusted, but also tight (they tend to jump around. I still can't get them right. A friend just told me that his lights just developed the same "slack" that I have and he thinks it's the motor not rotating all the way... I never though about that...

blown 87

The gaskets and those little bitty freaking wire ends, but mostly the gaskets, what a bitch those are.

And before anybody says hot water, well duh, in Georgia even our cold water is hot.

This is coming from a guy that thinks the door handles are not that big a deal and wonders why anybody would leave the anti theft plate out.


Yes, I had some problems with the gaskets.

dr bob

I suffer vicariously through most of the listed frustrations. My personal frustration list is amazingly short so far. I've been disappointed in a few build-quality issues like the AC that leaked from day 1 for the PO, yet was never fixed during any of the zillion visits. "Evacuate, recharge, check for leaks. No leaks found." I have a couple dozen of those from legitimate dealers. So far everything I've done to my own car has been predictable in difficulty.

With other folks' cars, the height of frustration is probably water pump problems. Broken bolts on Ron P's car, and a leaky pump on Rolf R's car. Both on the same day at a TB/WP clinic here at the fort. And I thought I was an 'expert' since I had done my own a couple months prior, including over eight hours of video with live narration.

In my 'lessons learned' file, probably the biggest is to do as much cleaning as possible --before-- you crawl underneath to do the motor mounts or steering rack. Engine cleaner, simple green, scrub brush, pressure washer, rinse, repeat. The contrast between doing my own single-handed and dirty vs tag-teaming with Ryan on his car after a thorough pre-cleaning is like night and day. I guess it helps that HE did the pre-cleaning, but I'd just cleaned mine a week before just for the experience.

The other 'lessons learned' items include doing all the required homework before attacking a problem. Instructions on tips pages supplement the WSM's. Have the right tools for the job when you start. Keep everything organized coming out and going in. Take your time. If it starts to seem frustrating, walk away and do something else for a while. Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Keep the floor, the work, the tools, and yourself clean as you work. If there's a new mess, clean it up before you roll around in it, drag it around on creeper wheels, drop and lose things in it, etc. Never force anything. When you start thinking that the torch is the right tool for a particular task, clean and restore your tools while the true answer surfaces. Always pull on wrenches, and never ever push on a wrench with your fingers wrapped around the handle when something is "stuck". Wear gloves and glasses. Earplugs will isolate you from your own bad language. Eliminate distractions during surgery. Have plenty of light. Use fender covers. Throw away those worn screwdrivers. Use your digicam to document your work, and refer to the pictures when you reassemble so that all the right parts andbolts end up where they should, with the right wires attached in the right places.


Other than that, everything's wonderful.

dprantl

+1... I thought it was pretty damn easy doing those and the stays.

Dan
'91 928GT S/C 475hp/460lb.ft

AO

I used super glue... a dab will do ya - actually a few dabs in strategic areas and the gasket sticks long enough to get it on the car.

As for the wires... I didn't bother with those little friggen connectors. On my '82 I didn't even wire it up. Hell, I'm the only one who drives it, why do I need to adjust them?

Here's another one... Seat track bolts. Those SOB's round out so easily and then you can't get a drill on it without screwing up your leather....

blown 87

The stays did not even register, not much to it, and even if there was, it is nice not to have the door try to break your legs.

And DR Bob, I agree clean it!

I keep mine on a lift and try to clean at least one thing every time I am out in the shop.

BTW, Dwayne is the guy for clean, his cars are

BPG_Austin

Removing Devek headers has been the most frustrating job. Not the longest or most complicated, but definately the most annoying. Hope the install is easier.

blown 87

I could just see me getting glue all over fresh paint.

I got mine to work when I did the seats, now that was a adventure, not hard or tight just WTF did the PO do this for with all the cut and spliced wires.

blown 87

I can help you out with that, I have set of stock ones I will be happy to trade with you to save you all the trouble.