BPG_Austin

Ron, GREAT to see you start working on your 928! Its been a long time man! Keep at it, will be fun to see you driving up to Bone Daddy's in your car sometime soon.


Ben

rse

thanks Ben,
I'll drive it sooner or later.

Lizard928

The gap you speak of is a non issue, but the leaking is IMO.

I would be resealing that personally.

Avar928

The intake runners you're speaking of do not have to come off for the valve cover job. However if your car did not have it's intake refreshed and then that should be done. For an intake refresh the intake runners have to come off and so do the fuel rails but they are not that hard. I just replaced my fuel injectors and had to take off the fuel rails, it was easy and I had a clear view of the bolts that hold down the intake runners. There are a lot of additional jobs to do when you do the intake, such as getting your injectors cleaned and MAF rebuilt, so plan on it being fairly long just waiting for parts to come back.

Avar928

I would also get your intake runners, plenums, and valve covers powder coated as well since it's all the off if you do the intake refresh and valve cover refresh.

If you have oil in your spark plug cylinders then you have to take the valve covers off to replace the seals. It's really not that bad but you should probably get some hands on help.

dr bob

Philosophically, it would be 'right' to do all that stuff at once. Realistically, especially for someone who is less experienced with the cars and the tools, better to focus on the highest priority items only at first, and move down the list as time and ability allow. Way to many 'projects' stay projects forever because the owners get tired of chewing more than they bit off. Take small, well-planned bites and the collateral work needed won't overwhelm you.

The cam cover gap you show is not a fatal issue, but the oil leak from it will be bothersome. Simple-cheap-easy first step is a through cleaning of the arae so you can see all the things you'll be getting into. It will also let you realistically assess the severity of the leaks. The cam cover bolts on your year have a troublesome history that includes breaking them off where the two halves of the bolt mate, or breaking them at the head. So decide carefully if the reward is worth the risk of getting stranded in the garage with broken bolts. Flip side is that many covers are removed without the slightest problem. Just make sure you have a recovery path available should something go wrong. This applies to virtually every task on the car, FWIW. Lots of RL members have done this before, and it's usually not too tough to bribe them to help/watch/cheer you on, using such basic tactics as a promise of free lunch and beverages.

rse

Glad to hear I can get the car on the road without fixing the gap. I agree that fixing a bit at a time is the way to go. Otherwise I'll never finish. Once it's out of the garage, I'll be able to give the engine a good cleaning and find out more about the oil leaks.
Can you give me an idea of what the pictures are showing? is the gap inside the circular part missing a gasket piece? or is it just loose? or …?

syoo8

I don't see a gap. The gasket does not go all the way to the edges of the cam cover for the entire perimeter of the cam cover. See below.



The workshop manual tells you to put a dab of some kind of sealant (like Drei Bond or Hondabond 4) in the four corners of the valve covers (not on the valve covers, but on the heads below) because they tend to leak there.

If you want my (unsolicited) newbie advice:

- to echo dr bob's non-newbie advice, I would prioritize the jobs that will make your car run safely and well.

For example: when I bought the car, I did, in order: timing belt/water pump, respray front/rear bumper, reupholster interior, Robert Budd all-leather dash, console, instrument pod, A-pillars, new turbo-twist rims, new radiator, clean grounds, fix central locking, refresh intake, timing belt/water pump.

Still to do: motor mounts, torque tube, new shocks.

If I were to go back six years in time and do this again, to maximize my enjoyment of the car, I would have done the motor mounts and shocks first[/B][/B], followed by the central locking, intake refresh. In other words, I probably would have done everything in reverse.

syoo8

One more thing, if you end up doing an intake refresh and new cam covers, one of the best in the business is in your home town of Austin. His name is Ben Genovese and he works at Legend Garage.

rse

Thanks Scott.
Newbie mistake then, thinking there was a gap - it just looks like something's wrong when you don't know better. I see in your list there's no mention about replacing the fuel lines. I've run across lots of posts emphasizing the risk of fire.
Anyhow, my plan right now then is the TB, water pump, fuel lines, and checking the flex plate issue for automatics.
Ron

syoo8

Hi Ron,

Fuel lines were done as soon as I bought the car, and again a month ago (6 years later.) I bought the "Greg Brown" fuel lines, which are $$$ but have a guarantee not to leak if used properly and installed properly. I would get those- pay more now, but save money (and your life) later.

Check the shocks. Motor mounts are usually original, and bad. If you are willing to do it yourself, Dwayne has an excellent write-up here. Doing it yourself will be really cheap but a big pain in the ***.

Also, check the ground points. Wally Plumley wrote the 10 Commandments for electrical maintenance on a 928 here.

rse

Yup, you're right about Ben. I've seen his car when he pretty much took it apart. I see him now and then at our monthly meetings. I didn't know he's working on cars, I thought he's into his sand blasting business full-time.
Just got your last post, nice pic. I also gave Wally's wp a look. Thanks again for the info. Got to go get some sleep, Take care,
Ron

syoo8

Ron, the picture in my avatar is of Ben's work. It is superb. He knows exactly how to out-gas and prep the parts so that they take the powdercoating well. Mine showed up without scratches or any bubbles whatsoever.

rse

Thank you all for taking the time to help me out. I learned a lot about what I'm trying to do and it'll make it faster to get on the road.