Flex plate is bent forward over time, pry bar is used to force it back to flat and clamp is attached, the plate is going to try to revert to the flexed state and that would pull back on the crank wouldn't it? Whichever way it pulls, doesn't sound good to me. What you want is no force on the crank, not just a flat plate.

 

Sigh.... The term "flex plate" indicates that it is one of the early versions of what is called a 'shape memory alloy'. They are designed to have a memory of when they are forged, and/or heat treated. What you want ultimately is a perfectly flat plate, transferring torque from the starter ring to the torque tube. The flex plate is designed to take up the axial deflection that occurs when the torque tube flexes radially. Think of a wet towel that is twisted by hand to dry it, and how it shrinks axially during the twisting. Same concept here, but on a smaller scale. It will not try to resume it's flexed forward state.

 

Pinned by clamp. Am $2950 in, including delivery and tires, and can run 150mph. Good to go.

 

Well, I have owned an 83 5spd and a 79 auto. The only problem with the 5 speed is heavy traffic. Mine used to kill my knees. On the open road it was loads of fun. However, i lived in a large city with lots of traffic. Also, i have bad knees so that could be the issue. The other thing is the auto is no where near as much fun, but much more comfortable. It is the easiest car to drive I have ever seen. So, advantages for each, IMHO the 5 speed hands down, even with bad knees...

Hope this helps a little.

 

+1

And I hate to bring it up, but wouldn't the 83 be a non-interference engine compared to the other 2 cars?

 

Yes, non-interference. And a 5 speed so no chance of TBF. Only issue is they are the low power engines.

 

Well guys, finally I went and got my shark
I'm now a proud owner of a 85 32v auto US spec 928
I drove it 350 miles home. I loved it!!!
It has some minor things I need to take care. Windshield washr not working, rear wiper not engaging, and 2 things that did caught my eye. One is that at a given time the light of belt tensoner or something like that came on but then it did turn off by itself. The bistribution belt was changed in 2004 about 10000 miles ago. Just to be on the safe side I think I'll change it again.
The other thing happened when I filled the tank. It started to pour gas back from the tank, not from the filler. It stopped after a half a gallon or so and didn't do it again, but the gas smell on the inside was terrible. Oh and ocasionally a back light warning light came on, but I checked and the lights were fine - go figure.
Well that's about it. I'll post pics later tonight or tomorrow.
So finally I'm a shark owner.....
Thanks again for your help
Nando

 

Excellent. Don't ignore the belt tension light. That's the way thing wind up very expensive.

First check, take off the intake tube and look down the little vent hole in the top of the belt cover with a flashlight. You should see a nicely shaped belt, riding just to the inside of the hole. Look for cracks or deformation, or any signs of edge wear on the belt. Next, using a open end wrench, you can back off the lock nut of the belt tension bolt and snug up the bolt just a small amount. Maybe only a 30 degree turn. Don't forget to retighten the locking nut. This is found under the right side belt cover, and inside and to the left(as viewed from the front) of the dipstick tube. It's hard to see. Final check is to remove one of the distributor caps, and the belt cover and inspect the belt condition carefully.

The damn lamp check module is a POS on these cars. I have trouble with mine all the time. The sense wires get high resistance over time, and it senses a bulb out. It's a hassle to clean all the wires, but that seems to be the only sure fix.

 

there, sorry for the poor lighting...
cheers
Nando

 

Very nice car from the pics, I like that color.
be careful with that light, the 85 86, 32 valve timing belt tensioner arm has a special bolt that will bend unlike the 87 and up models, when it does bend, the belt could move and break, the cure in my opinion is to install a porkentioner (spelled right ?) apparently Porsche does not make the bolt anymore.
To me as it was discussed before in another thread, if the light comes on and the belt feels loooos, its time for a T-belt job.

look at 6th picture to see the bolt:

http://members.rennlist.com/bigdave/tbelt2.html

read through from the begining and the light warnings the owner was getting.

 

When you replace the timing belt rebuild the tensioner if you do not replace it with the Porkentensioner, also replace the bushings and other belt function related items (the major 928 vendors have a good list of what you need).

Remember that the '85 is an interference engine and if the belt breaks or the cams jump timing you are looking at bent valves at a minimum - better to be safe than sorry.

 

Congrats on you on getting your shark Nandovegas and welcome to the shark family. Many happy miles!
Just got mine in June and going through workin out the gremlins!

 

5-speed.

 

Ok, I finally got some better shots. I checked the flexplate, I had some pressure in the flexplate that we corrected in time. Also checked the timing belt and its OK. Now It´s time to figure out why the windshield washer isn´t working.....
Enough talk.....here are the pics
Cheers

Nando

 

Wow, It's gorgeous... Welcome to the family!