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Update report. I changed the oil and was quite surprised to see a stream of Green oil come out as the Swepco 201 was the oil before the last (clear) lot I was replacing. Clearly there was some residue when I last changed this. Sure enough, even with a long drain period, it only took 3.9 quarts to start an overflow with this refill when the capacity is 4.02 quarts.
The magnet on the drain plug was clear of debris as was the oil that came out. Phew.
I have taken it for a number of short drives and it seems to be getting progressively smoother. Whether that is confirmation bias, who knows. As long as I’m happy, that’s all that matters to me.
I was sitting in the car with the engine off to see if I could isolate the gear shift notchiness particularly in the neutral plane. There was definitely a feeling of some movement in the action. I went to the 964 parts diagram and noticed four bushes (part #6) I had never replaced.
I put the car up on the lift, removed the torque tube cover and used a pickle fork to remove the shift lever from the rod. Bush #16 was perfect (replaced a few years back). Part #6 bushes were original and looked worn but ok. Nevertheless I have ordered more.
With #12 disconnected at the front I gave it a test for movement and there was some. A look at the #14 end showed lateral and rotational movement because a muppet (ok me) omitted to fit #13. Without that the joint can move around the bolt. I can’t believe it. In any case I’m rummaging through my spares to find the washer. Hopefully new bushes and a washer will give me a perfect shift.
New bushes even though I really couldn’t see any real wear in the thirty year old ones. Reinstalling the ball joint into the plastic cup was problematic. I got my wife to hold the gear stick in a position where the lower part was vertical and used a jack and some wood to press it on. I also put a washer on the rear link bolt. Very nice shift after all of this work. Not modern slick but very positive and smooth if shifted at pace.
And the day has come to have faith in my DIY work and take the C4 on a 4,500km (2,800mile) road and race track trip.
I have had weeks to prepare so all of the fine details have been taken care of, the last of which was an air con re gas.
I have removed the seats and installed a Cobra RS bucket seat. With the addition of a harness bar I will have a four point harness for the track days. Given the length of time in the seat I bought some memory foam which I’ve cut into squares and can adjust padding as needed. A towel keeps them in place and stops sweating. Rudimentary but this is about function not form.
We are running as a small group so have RT for communication. I have added an ear piece to make it easier to hear. 7 hours of Spotify playlist, mostly from the ‘80s will keep me entertained. I am using the Scenic App for custom navigation with offline maps on one phone. Another phone runs the Turnout App which has a convoy location function will help us locate the 15 or so other cars when we get closer to the first track. A Valentine 1 takes care of radar detection.
Tyres (tires) are a compromise. I’ve gone with a set of Hankook Z221. They are sublime on the track but noisy on the road, difficult in really wet weather and will likely be worn out on the trip. However there’s no point driving all of that way and having the tyres give out on the first track session.
Day 2. 356km (217 miles). Not as big as Day 1 in sheer distance but a big climb over a range of hills. Lots of winding up the hills, across a desert type ridge, down a valley then up another set of hills. Hardly any other traffic. Epic driving conditions. The only fault so far is no heater. I think the rear fan is gone. At least the air con still works. A bit of fun towards the end as a bee and a wasp entered the cabin which explains the pic of the doors open.
I haven’t fallen off the edge of the Earth or gone into Covid 19 isolation. I simply ran out of energy to edit each pic for Rennlist so it was correctly oriented.
The road/track trip consisted of 14 days and 4,500km (2,800 miles). The only air cooled cars I saw were on the same trip. I stayed with Spokes and saw his immaculate C4. There was also a White C4 with us for a few days. It’s great to run with other 964s and watch them on the road in action. There was also briefly a Carrera 3 on the trip but he endured multiple break downs (air injection plugs, dry CV joint and then the gear box, which left him flying home). I shared most of the trip with a 987 Boxster RS60 and he suffered a coolant leak half way through, meaning a two day wait for parts.
As for my car, the engine and drive train were faultless but I have a list of things to fix.
1. Indicator won’t self cancel after left turns
2. Rear heater fan not working (I reconnected my relay jumper from the heater delete so I had defrost and heat control on the air con)
3. My right side marker lights are blowing fuses
4. I suspect my front brake calipers need a rebuild as they appear to not retract fully.
Overall, the 964 is a very capable road trip car with one caveat: the more we play with mods that take away features the harder it is to live with the car for normal usage. Heat is good, air con is good, rear wipers have a use, I’ve come to dislike the pedal pressure on my RS clutch intensively.
Hi John! Yours is a great thread to follow as you will tackle ANYTHING! Re your indicator not cancelling, there was a thread about repairing one using parts from a 944 set up. Have a look through it wasn’t too long ago. By the way, I have a cousin and his wife who moved out there on South Island, and if I ever get out there, I will look you up!
P.s. The thread is called ‘Diagnosing non cancelling indicators’. Cheers!
01-30-2020, 08:53 PM
