jljoslin

Hi Everyone,

You have NO idea how happy I was to find these forums...

My evil neighbor put his 1984 928 S out in front of his house with a for sale sign, apparently realizing I was in mid-life crisis mode... hence, I'm a new 928 owner/enthusiast!


I actually got to drive it from Miami to Ft Lauderdale (okay, Sunrise) and back to put new tires on it... it was sweet! The previous owner had put on oversized tires that hit the inside of the wheel wells on ANY kind of turn (even managed to bend the metal on the passenger side)... his rationale being that he'd get better mileage with bigger tires. Go figure. They were shredded just below the tread base on the sidewall (about 1/4" into the tire). I put the stock size tires back on. Hurdle 1 assailed and conquered...

Anyway, the new child has a number of issues which I fully expected...

1) speedometer/odometer not functional
2) a/c not functional
3) driver's door sticks and won't stay open
4) the harness connection to the alternator is screwed
5) front spoiler broken (in some rather interesting ways), grill missing completely
6) very strange wiring effort for an aftermarket stereo
7) cigarette lighter/power outlet completely gone
8) faded carpets
9) torn leather
10) electrical issues (of course!)
11) fuel issues (as in it doesn't get enough to idle reliably and stepping on the gas will stall it out)
12) random relays blowing out (the first to go was the starter relay... which kept EVERYTHING from working, no lights, nothing... that was fun to figure out (and I replaced a perfectly good battery too))
13) sorely in need of new bumpers (kinda warped)
14) could use a shiny new coat of paint too.

Obviously, the boy needs lots of TLC...

This weekend's effort was to replace the alternator and all of the belts. That was LOADS of fun. Now I'm playing with the cooling hose (that's an interesting beast) and trying to figure out why every warning light on the dash is on when all I did was replace the existing Valeo with a brand spanking new one.

The whole alternator effort was based on a symptom listing stalling as an indicator of a failing alternator (in addition to the fact that the ammeter was showing about 10 at speed with the lights on).

I'm going through all of the "restoration-itis" symptoms, new belts, new coil, new distributor cap, rotor and wires, new plugs, new fuel filter, replacing every relay (after that first incident, well, I'm gun shy), new hood/hatch lifts, new tires, etc. Heck, I even got a whole set of every bulb on the car... ;-)

Anyway, I'll be more specific in the future, but thought this was a decent way to introduce myself to the group.

If anyone has any nuggets of wisdom relating to the boy's issues, feel free... Any help is greatly appreciated!

Best regards,

Jim Joslin

Barry Chan

welcome, i too have a 84s and i started 2 years ago with all the electrical, change all the fluids, oil, belts and hoses, new cooling system, new brakes, wheel balance/alignment, you can find all the answers with the search button, don't forget to check the fuel lines - fire hazard.

Th Dude

Welcome to the looney bin and good luck fixing up that ride. Sounds like you're off to a good start. Hope you got her at a good price.

jljoslin

$4500... lower than most around... and fully aware of the "issues" I was going to encounter. ;-)

Jim M.

Start by cleaning ALL the grounds IIRC there are 12 of them scattered throughout the car. You might also consider cleaning or replacing all of the fuses. The fuel lines are critical, to many cars lost to fires due to leaking fuel hoses. Contact Roger (see my sig line) for fuel hose kit. Focus on safety and reliability first then worry about the appearence items.

Oh, and welcome to the shark tank!

dogleg

hi welcome along,i have the 81 model and have been through some of the faults your car has.these cars are basically sound you just have to work through the faults that come up.the alternator might have been ok the volt gauge often read a volt lower than actual.(mine does and it is charging correctly)did you check this with a multimeter before replacing the alternator? i also have the speedo problem almost certainly the connections on the back of the cluster (speedo face) need to be cleaned, common fault.but check the plug in the battery box coming from the speed sensor at the rear of the car first.im currently using my sat nav as a speedo untill i get the time to refresh the cluster.i would clean all the earths and clean and replace all fuses to start with.hope this helps.

pcar928fan

Jim,

Welcome to RL now you might think about going over to www.928oc.org and joining the actual 928 Owners Club. There is a growing group of enthusiasts in your area that are starting to gather at fairly regular intervals.

jljoslin

Thanks for the input guys!

Hmmmm.... Fuel hoses... could easily be the reason I smell gasoline in the cabin occasionally. Thanks for letting me know about the hose kit.

Regards,
Jim Joslin

Landseer

Welcome!
There is a lot of good support for the 84 cars here.
Neighbor will be jealous when you are done.

Is it automatic?

jej3

Umm... if you are smelling gas, I'd either get some really good car insurance OR order the replacement fuel hoses. I wouldn't run the car much without a fire extinguisher and a high credit card limit available.

Ducman82

Welcome! so much info here that it will make your mind explode and wallet shrink.

stevedavies

If your smelling gas in the cabin one thing worth checking is the plastic Y connector behind the front wheel lining on passenger side. They often fail and result in gas vapour escaping

MGW-Fla

Always great to say "Welcome" to a new Florida Sharker!!

+1 on the Y connector causing a fuel smell in the cabin. But +100 on making sure the fuel lines are checked/replaced asap too.

Also an endorsement to join the 928 Owners Club(www.928oc.org) & contact Francois from the web site's list of state reps so you can provide him your contact info. He is down in your neck of the woods & can keep you up to date on any shark functions he has planned.

Good Luck with your new 928, nice color! Hope to meet you at a Shark event soon!

jljoslin

You guys are great! Thanks for the tips/input....


It just amazes me how quick these things get into your blood... I'm having a blast working on the shark... little beast is putting up a fight but I'm sure we can work it out.

I'm about to order the fuel lines and I'll check that Y connector post-haste. No fires for me!

Think it's a good idea to replace the main fuel line from the tank? I've already got plans to replace the fuel filter so I decided I might as well do the fuel pump while I'm back there. Figured the fuel line might be a thing to do as well. Those are all external to the tank... haven't gotten brave enough to get into the tank itself yet (where there's a pump as well). The car sat for a long time so I'm sure there's bound to be a lot of crap in the tank.

-- Jim

cpayne

Welcome ! + one on fuel hoses/grounds/CE panel/Relays