Chris Galtress

I did it! Flew from NC to Arkansas, bought the 92 Amythest C4 (in case your wondering I'd describe it as a metallic plum, no digital picture I have has even come close to reproducing the real color...its awesome...but I am a little biased) and drove back 1200 miles in 18 hours. The flat 6 purred like a kitten the whole way. When I got home my face was sore from smiling . I've had the car a few weeks now and am ironing out a few kinks.

So far this is the list:

1) Smiley face on the center rail - very easy fix.

2) Ashtray wouldn't stay closed - easy fix.

3) Power seat on passenger side - cable had been partially severed by seat mechanism.

4) No interior lights - replaced fuse.

5) Intermitent power loss to stereo - found shileded cable from stereo to amp that the plastic sheath had been cut open and the copper shield was finger twisted back together and contacting the mounting plate..also found slightly loose connector in the back of the stereo. This happened @ 5 hours into my trip...it was on and off the rest of the way home...

6) Hard wired Valentine One radar detector.

7) Checked all fuses - found 2 that were overrated - replaced with proper fuse - that's the thing about a used car ...

8) Saving the best for last...checked the oil with dipstick...added 1 quart...checked agian and guess what...OVERFILLED...pumped out one quart...OK I'm a dumbass ...

Now some questions for the experts:

1) Steering wheel is off center @ 1-2 degrees when car is tracking straight...annoying the perfectionst in me...is this a DIY job and if so how to??

2) Car has one foggy headlight...told by a friend w/ an 87 that it can be dissasembled and cleaned up...removed light assembly but was not able to seperate the clear glass lense from the reflective back...it appears to be factory sealed...I thought lenses could be replaced or did I miss something?

3) Have a slight vibration in the steering wheel from about 58-62 mph...I believe its from front tires being slightly out-of-balance but could this be from misalignment? The tires (w/ 3000 miles) are wearing evenly and the car tracks true and straight w/ hands off the wheel (even while braking...amazing car )
Also, is an alignment for this car something that can be done by the average tire shop or should it be left to an import specilaist??

4) High Oil pressure?? My car idles very steady and oil pressure @ 2 bar. The pressure moves up with rpms but gets to 5 bar b/w 2500-3000 rpm and stays there basically until it slows to idle. Also the other day while driving 75 mph @ ~3000 rpms I noticed that the oil level guage was in the red...I almost freaked ...on my long trip home my oil level guage while cruising that speed was @ 1/3. When car is warmed up at idle it reads almost full. The dipstick reads @ 1/8th inch below the full mark at idle. Do I have a problem here or I'm I just paranoid ??

Other than that, life is good . Just had 60K service, dist. belt was checked and found to be in good shape, AC is good and cold, no oil leaks, no warning lights, everything on the car works, after I reset the DME, it's not flashing any faults, smooth idle, zero symptoms of a dual mass flywheel problem (and believe me, during the test drive I tried everything I could to uncover the symptons). Once I get the last few kinks worked out I'm off to modification/customization land .

Drew_K

Congrats on the new toy! '92 was a very good year for 911's. OK, OK I also own a 92.

To answer your question re: oil pressure, that all sounds normal. The pressure should be between 4 and 5 bars when moving and about 2 when idling (and the engine is warm). I can see how it might seem too high when moving, but it's correct.

About oil level, the oil level gauge doesn't really mean much unless the car is completely warm and idling on a level surface. At that point, the needle should be horizontal. It's okay if the needle is near the top or near the bottom, but it should NOT be pegged at the top or bottom. The difference between the top of the gauge and the red zone is about a quart and should coincide with the level you're reading off the dipstick.

The oil level gauge DOES mean something when you're moving if the needle is horizontal or above b/c that probably means the oil is overfilled. When I'm moving, the needle is usually buried in the red.

I have a hard time reading the dipstick to check oil level, so I usually trust the gauge.

The wheel vibration will probably be fixed by rebalancing.

When they checked the distributor belt, did they test merely to see that it was working? Or did they visually check the condition of the belt? If they didn't visually check it, I would do that or, even better, have the belt replaced. Also, get that vent kit on there if you don't already have it.

Sounds like you found a nice 964. Have fun with it.

Drew
92 C2 Coupe

Randall G.

Hi Chris,

Congratulations on the new car. Sounds nice!

I can echo many of the things Drew has already said:

-Oil pressure at 4-5 when driving, close to 2 at idle. Interesting little experiment. Start your car up cold, and just sit in the car for maybe two minutes, watching the oil pressure gauge. You can actually see the needle dropping slowly from an initial high reading towards it's normal reading at idle.

-Oil level, ditto everything Drew said. I also prefer reading the gauge--the stick is a PITA.

-You might consider adding oil in 0.5 quart increments in the future.

-I also think that the vibration may go away with a good balancing. On a least two occasions, I've gotten poor balancing on new tires that resulted in a subtle shimmy.

-Someone just posted recently on either the 911 or 964 forum on clearing up a foggy headlamp. The thread should show up with a search.

Have fun!

Bill Wagner

Chris:

I almost bought an '89 3.2 the same color as yours, but someone "stole" it out from under me when I mentioned it on a local PCA web site. In any case, I have a '91 white C4. I like the color you're describing.

For your questions:

I had a similar problem with my car regarding the steering wheel being off a slight amount. An alignment cured the problem. The "shake" you're experiencing is most often due to unbalanced tires, and a mis-aligned car can cause excessive wear on the tires on one side or another thus causing them to be out of balance. It may not be obvious to you because the wear may only be slight. Since you say the tires are OK, I'd get an alignment done and have the wheels rebalanced. I don't know how shops are in your area, but the "normal" tire shops are NO PLACE to take a 964 (or any other decent car). You may find the independent Porsche specialty shops to be a little more expensive, but not by much. A dealership will likely want your first born for an alignment job (or anything else)

Hope this helps, and congratulations,

Bill Wagner

Drew_K

Take Bill's advice- do NOT go to your local "Mechanics R Us" for an alignment. I did this ONCE b/c I had a flat tire and had to make it to an important meeting. I went to a local tire shop, one of the national chains, and they put a few scratches on my 16 inch Cup rims. I would pay the premium and take it to a reputable Porsche dealer or local Porsche mechanic. You'll have to do some investigation to find a good place, but you're going to need to find a regular wrench anyways (unless you already have one).

Bill- Sorry to hear about someone 'stealing' a 3.2 from under your nose, but I can relate to your story. I recently bought a set of 17 inch 996 wheels from a dealership on Ebay. Prior to bidding, I had a few questions about the wheels fitting my car, etc., but rather than post the questions on the Internet, I called around to track down the answers. I was afraid of exactly what happened to you and didn't want to increase the number of bidders.

Randall G.

Hi Chris,

Another thought on the off-center steering wheel. Any receipts showing recent front-end work--e.g., steering rack gaiters?

I let the local, "generic," foreign car repair shop replace my gaiters about two years ago (figured it was too simple to screw up). After I picked up the car and started driving down the street, I found my steering wheel was nearly 45 degrees off-center! You can imagine my "disappointment." I returned the car, and they centered the steering wheel.

Jacks911

I'll ditto your choise of color! My '91 C2 Cabrio in Amethyst & Black drew allot of admiring looks and questions at a recient club tour. Some say it is the equivilent of "eggplant" which the French call Aubergine. I just posted a picture of mine on the SmartGroup 964 Album ... http://www.smartgroups.com/pictures/...AlbumID=895769 ENJOY

Adrian

Dear Chris,
I am only going to deal with point 7. Which two fuses do you say were overrated. Were they 30Amps and you replaced them with 25Amps. If yes were they these,
Fuse number 2 - Oil cooler blower Fuse number 13 - Sunroof/Cab top Fuse number 39 - Condenser blower A/C
If so, please put the 30amps fuses back in.
I recommend that before doing such things one asks first. It would appear to me from your comments that your C4 has been looked after quite well and TSBs have been incorporated. There is no point in undoing the work already done,
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

PS: Changes made to the central electric data sheet on the inside cover will not be changed normally. This can lead to some confusion so this is why I recommend 964 owners ask first. Adding DIY circuits may also require fuses to be uprated.

das

I have a '90 C4 and the same slight resonant vibration at around 60 mph. I've had tires changed/balanced by 3 different places and always the same result. I'm wondering if the locking wheel nuts are the culprit? I'm going to remove them soon and check if this makes a difference.

J-McDonald

My 91 C2 also has the slight vibration at approx. 60mph. It had the vibration when it had the factory 16" Design 90 wheels and still has it now that it has 17" turbo cup wheels. Replacing the factory locking lug nuts with regular lug nuts sounds like a good idea-- I'll give it a try and report my results.

JBH

A Porsche dealer will charge from $160 - $250 for a four wheel alignment. There is nothing to say they do it any better than a tire/wheel shop.

My advice is to seek out a place that can both align the wheels and cornerbalance the car. Porsche does not consider the latter procedure to be part of an alignment process - in fact in Houston, they don't offer that service.

Cornerbalancing is crucial to getting the ride height properly set and the weight optimally distributed. If you plan to track the car, this can make a huge difference.

I found the price for alignment + cornerbalancing to be $250 at a local shop that professionally races Porsches.

Chris Galtress

Update from original post:

Problem 1: I'm going to try to get resolved with an alignment.

Problem 2: resolved with tip posted by J Richard on "90 C2 Headlight" Big thanks...this saved me over $100. Cost $0.69 for the alcohol and $19.95 to replace my girlfriend's hair dryer I broke while drying out the inside of the lense...These things are expensive to maintain

Problem 3: resolved with rebalancing front tries ($16)...one was in perfect balance...the other was carrying 10 oz of weight...unbeleivable...once balanced it's carrying 1 oz. I'm going to check the rears this weekend b/c I'm sure the same idiot did all 4 tires.

Problem 4: Guess it really wasn't a problem.

Point 7: Thanks for the info Adrian. I checked and the sticker in my fuse/relay box specifies 30 amp fuses at 2, 13, and 39 and 30A were installed. I guess it was updated for 1992.

Thanks to all that replied!!

vilhelm

I just purchased a 92 C2 Cab. I also have one foggy headlight... am interested in how to resolve this. I just took a long drive. As I was crusing down the highway at about 80 mph there was a loud band from the rear of the car. I inspected the engine and discovered a hole in the rubber seal that goes between the airfan and the air cooling distribution duct. Has anyone ever seen this?

Irishdriver

Amythest C4 is the best !!!

Can someone tell me how to post a photo of my car here?

Irishdriver

Ran

CLICK THIS for the URL on rennlist itself where you can post some smaller pictures for now. You can then reference the link (as in the case of the link below in my signature saying "911 turbo") OR attach it as an image from the "Instant UBB Code" in this board (click on Image button in UBB Code). Feel free to ask for clarifications if desired. Hope this helps. And CONGRATS on the purchase. Lets see the pics.