dr bob

^^^^ x928!

At an early 'clinic' day at our home in Glendale, we had two cars and two teams working on them. I had pretty much two of everything needed tool-wise, but only one 32V experienced team leader at the time. So we'd do something on one car with everybody watching, then move to the other car to do the same thing with everybody helping. We started at 8 in the morning, and with a few broken water pump bolts on one of the cars, it was midnight when I finally buttoned up the second car and was able to sent it home.

As I mentioned in a recent thread, it's a good idea to have a solid 'if-fail' plan established in advance. For that two-at-a-time clinic, one of the cars (the one with the bolt issues) came from a couple hours away. And it was his ride home and to work the next day. By dinner time, the audience had shrunk to just a couple folks who were there to learn/watch, so getting both cars closed up and out the door fell to just a couple hands that knew how to use the tools. I'd planned only to poi9nt and support, and just man the grill and pass tools out that day. How wrong was I that day??...



I know, pictures or it didn't happen. Scroll down to post 29 in this thread https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...28-s-home.html to see the effort. In the picture: the black car on the right in the workbay is now with Jeff Spahn in Nebraska. The blue car in the left bay is now with Sean in Fresno. That's Keith Widom's GTS in the far driveway, and my black S4 in the foreground. Photo by R&T photographer Ron Perry, who owned Jeff's black S4 at the time.

BC

Yep. It just gets... late. Always have a plan B. And a plan C. And a reliable car waiting to get you to work the next day. And Uber on your phone.

James Bailey

Great advice when working on old cars...I still remember putting spark plugs in the old very brown 1980 and with my pinky finger I bumped the small coolant hose at the back of the thermostat housing which immediately crumbled.
You can also have issues with the wiring harness and connectors once you disturb them..so yes have options.
One Porsche shop owner refused to do any service work on Saturdays because he could not get same day delivery of parts which meant that the Saturday rush job tied up the car until Monday. In L A you can get multiple same day deliveries from several major wholesale suppliers. Which is how Pelican Parts functions with virtually no inventory selling parts BEFORE they buy them.
So expect to have problems and plan accordingly.

dr bob

Expanding on Jim's weekend parts availability thoughts--

For my first TB project, I called Jim (who was at 928 International at the time) and asked for a TB/WP project 'care package'. He assembled a kit of everything I'd need, down to little clips and bolts and clamps and drain plug seals and on and on that I would not have thought of. Plus thermostat and seals, new coolant reservoir cap, and more. Of course, once dug in on the project virtually everything in the box was needed. Moral: Trust the guys who supply us every day to get you a package of all the things you'll need. They too often send out those complete kits as separate shipments when a DIY'er discovers part way into the job that he's missing a critical replacement bit. Or worse, that job is compromised by putting a worn piece back in when new was really needed.

For folks thinking about fixing their car at a clinic day, pull the upper timing covers off now and carefully inspact the cam drive gears. The factory pieces are usually good for two belts, but fail sometime during the third belt. If the teeth are less than wonderful now, make sure your parts 'care package' includes a set of [all the] gears.

Remember as you evaluate parts condition, that you are not looking at how something looks or feels now as much as trying to project how those same parts will look and feel 50-60k from now when the 'new' belt has become the 'old' belt. The factory rated the belt life based on all new bearings, rollers and sprockets. No oil or coolant leaks on the belt or rollers. Use less-than-new parts and you can expect less-than-new belt life.

Don't shortcut on anything. As much fun as it is pulling the whole project apart again for something ignored the first time, it's still way more fun to do it right the first time.

Notaguru: Line up the non-common tools you'll need in advance. Flywheel lock (one for each car under the wrenches at the same time) and belt tension tools are on top. The crank bolt gets a 3/4"-drive socket with a matching 3/4"-drive breaker bar. You'll need an inch-pound torque wrench (typically 1/4"-drive), a 0-100 lbs/ft torque wrench (typically 3/8"-drive), and a 3/4"-drive torque wrench for the crank snout bolt. You should already have at least a 1/2" drive 0-150 torque wrench for wheel nuts. Perhaps someone in the area has those tools available to use. Pretty sure that BC will have some if not all of them. Regardless, don't go at a belt project without the right tools. You'll need some anti-seize or TFE pipe thread sealant for the water pump bolts. A tube of Hylomar will help with tensioner (and oil pump) gaskets if you don't go with a Porken tensioner. You'll need coolant (my pref: Zerex G05 that isn't on the shelf at Pep Boys) and distilled water. Borrow or buy a 32VR tool for timing the cams properly if you are working on a 32-valve car.

notaguru

WOW!
That's a highly prescriptive and immensely valuable punch list. I'll make that call and get that kit of bits and pieces - a great start.

Thanks.

GregBBRD

If you run into a bind.....

I've been in my shop every weekend....plus there are many that have my cell number.

If you run into anything you don't have, I've got enough pieces to do several "replace every single tiny little part" timing belt jobs, in inventory, at all times. (And rebuild the engine and transmission, too.)

With Porsche not stocking as many 928 parts in this country, anymore, that's virtually a requirement in order to be able to repair these cars, correctly.

BC

Zerez G-05 is on the shelf at "Oriellys" autoparts - the "green" store. Autozone is the "red" store and has... f-all for anything we may need.

And since Walt is not around:

"Real men Pull Engines"

BC

I am so proud of my "couple of bins" of new parts. It pales in comparison.

Steve Drake

I am close enough to drop by for 12/20. Have done the job and just checked my TB is A OK. Do have a few other problems with my my 86 1/2 maybe attendees may have advice on. Is always fun to see other cars and share tips. Steve

notaguru

No PorKen tensioners available until late January, so this has to be rescheduled. Looks like four 928s.

jcorenman

Why fit a PKT? It's not a requirement, and the parts to rebuild a stock tensioner are a lot cheaper.

Steve Drake

The Porsche tensioner is not a bad part and the need to check the belt is over stated in the add for the Porken option. I just can't throw $1000 at a problem that does not need fixing, but that is just me. Would like to attend in Dec but off to warmer places after the holidays. Let us know when you decide on the date for the 928 party. Steve

GregBBRD

The following is an opinion:

If those four 928s are interference engines, the lack of Porken tensioners is a good reason to do them now, not an excuse.

Stock is best, in this case.

mskar

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mskar

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