nosnow

I'll keep that in mind. From the bottom looking up it is visible that the headlight motor assembly is a blob of melted plastic. Once I get the intake sorted I am going to work on replacing the harness and associated damage.

nosnow

So to give an update I decided to do the intake to try and get it smogged. I need the smog to complete the registration and I always hesitate putting a ton of money into a car without full and clear ownership. Tossing that to the wind right now....

I finished the intake with new injectors and was getting ready to prime the fuel system. Connected the battery and then put in the pump fuse to have the entire ce panel area fill with smoke. Climbing through the car to rip out the battery connection and then jump out of the car the electrical fire stopped.

None of the fuses melted nor any of the wires at the bottom harness connectors, looks to be just the back of the CE panel. Needless to say the po was not an electrician and it was pretty dumb of me to not immediately validate all the main harnesses were in serviceable condition when looking at the original wiring work.

Plus side the bolts on the cam cover may not all be Porsche but the right metric bolts appear to have been used.

davek9

Reading and looking at the pic's, first if it was my project, I'd hose down that engine compartment with cleaner and a garden hose so you can have a better look see. Use compressed air to dry it all off.

Given the extent of the issues you are finding, bite the bullet and just pull the engine like others have suggested. This will give you full access the all that nasty wiring and make it easy to reseal the / refresh the engine on a stand. The Comp numbers look good so too.

As you may already know it is easy to pull the CE panel out, inspect, clean and repair once out of the car.

Good luck, I've got an '85 manual that I have just put my first 40 miles on after 2 years of owner ship, took me a lot of nights just to get the the lights working so I could drive it on the road an even more time to refresh the belt and intake.

Mostly rusted out sockets and burnt up fuse holders. But very satisfying to drive and even more watching my son drive around a manual, he gave me a big Fist Bump and said "you need to sell me this car"
I told him he can't afford it at this time, however he can help me work on it LOL

My point is don't be in a hurry, get it running right and to make it a dependable driver for yourself to enjoy.

Dave K

nosnow

I have my lift bars on order and yes my plans now include pulling the engine and dash to verify/fix the harnesses. The fog light, a/c interior fan, and fuel pump relay wires are all burnt to a crisp on the back. This project is morphing into a huge ground up redo, it was meant to reach daily driver status but if I'm going through all this headache I'll probably just go all the way.

Probably not the wisest financial decision

Wisconsin Joe

NOTHING about these cars constitutes a "wise financial decision."

Socal_Tom

Shhhhhh Joe, don't say that out loud.

Subscribing, please keep us posted and good luck.

nosnow

It has been almost 3 months since I started working on the car. Wish I could say I am done but...

- New wire harness installed
- Oil from engine analyzed and it doesn't indicate anything bad is going on
- Intake refresh done
- Fuel Lines done
- Replacement CE Panel purchased and installed
- repairs made to all harnesses
- Headlight motor replaced
- Charcoal canister and lines replaced
- Heater Hoses and Heater valve replaced
- Coolant tank, sender and coolant pressure sensor replaced
- Spark plugs replaced
- Vacuum lines replaced
- Vacuum pods replaced
- Suction box resealed

Stuff still to do before first drive
- Timing belt/water pump
- Positive battery cable
- Lower engine wire harness
- Thermostat & seals along with hoses
- Flush brake fluid
- Replace Blue hose and other clutch pressure hose

I also think the car didn't suffer from an electrical fire it appears that maybe it was a grass fire. The left fender was replaced and everything under it was melted, the alternator cover and oil pressure sender wires were also melted. Appears the PO torched the rest of the wire harness and original CE panel because of a home wiring job. It doesn't look the the structure was harmed or shows any fire damage. Wish I could find out what the story is but I doubt I'll ever know.

Socal_Tom

Press on Paul, that is good progress already even if a bit slower than you expected.

nosnow

Okay, I have it running after no small effort or expense.... Now that it is running I am not sure it was worth the effort. Take a listen cold start and after it has some heat (~5min). The timing belt sensor wire broke so that warning light is not of concern.

There was a fire with the front harness and I have a feeling that I need to have the computer rebuilt. I am pretty certain there are no vaccum leaks and the MAS came from my S4 and it was working fine.

Cold Start


Somewhat warm

BC

You need to get some Swepco to clean out the lifter areas. I wouldn't run it much until you do. Just my rec.

Also, can you put the clutch in and rev it again? That sounds like Clutch / TT.

Remember, the TT gets a "speaker" in the form of the bell housing and it sounds really loud.

nosnow

Can't put the clutch in at the moment, when doing the timing belt the slave cylinder fell apart. I think I probably should pull the clutch, I was thinking thrust bearing but the clutch is fully engaged, it definitely gets louder as the car warms up, I was afraid it may be a rod knock or main bearing....

I'll pull the clutch pack and find another place to spend 2k

Mrmerlin

Before you do anything pull the dipstick and drip some oil onto a black piece of cardboard,
look at the oil in the sun look for metallic particles.
IF the oil is clean then ,
That sound could very well be the release arm and rusted throwout bearing.
The slave cylinder adds pressure to the release arm to keep the arm under tension with no slave installed this could be the release arm rattling around.

NOTE I would put the slave back in and test run it ,
the slave doesnt need to be bled for this test

Dont forget you have to adjust the MAF,
make sure you have these parts installed first ,
fresh MAF,
New ISV,
New TPS,
New TPS short harness.
New factory O2 sensor,
New Temp 2 sensor and connector.
New caps rotors and ignition wires
I suggest to replace the factory slave flex line with the upgrade Greg Brown flex hose this makes bleeding easy.

BC

Clutch and TT can sound very similar to actual engine issues.

davek9

Congrats on getting her running again
As for the sound(s) I hear Tappets AND something down under, like in TT and or clutch.

For the tappets, I'd run some lighter oil w/ additives and flush it out after hot and a few short drives. The Tappets can also clatter due to the S3 chain Tensioners (known issue) w/ oil pressure.
The Down under, remove and inspect the clutch.

Glad to see you keep going w/it, and w/ PKens chips and a better exhaust they are quick too!

dr bob

My thinking:

Remove the clutch and run it again. With the clutch gone any noises you hear will be from the engine. You'll have the opportunity to inspect/replace the TO bearing, the pivot for the arm, and replace the pilot bearing WYAIT.

You can get the title cleared and transferred at the DMV or Auto Club, and get it into your name with a non-op certificate. That way ownership is good, and you won't be on the hook for penalties and won't need insurance on it while you sort it out.