Boeing 717

Took my car out for the first time today in 3-4 weeks. Just had brand new tires put on with the new cup ones. Last time I drove it everything was great.
Take it out today and the air conditioner doesn't work, everything leaked out! After spending hours and hours fixing it and new compressor.
Drove it for first time after putting spacers on the rear. The steering wheel was cocked 10 degrees to the left and the steering wheel wobbled as speed increased. Did not put spacers on the front. No idea what happened. But I'm getting sick of this ****.
This car is gorgeous but so far it has been nothing but trouble. I just want to drive and enjoy it.

jeff968

What a pain. Stick with it. I'm sure you'll get these items fixed soon and then be back out enjoying the road.

rangerbay

A.c. is just leaking. Get that checked. Probably something simple. If it's not pulling. Adjust the wheel
then go enjoy
these cars are worth it
Bill

thomasmryan

My brain thinks adding width would amplify rear toe.

The mid ninety Es and Ss just land in my driveway with bad evaporator cores. Can't beat free. It about 600 to do both interior cores, the expansion valve, seal kit and the dryer/dehydrator. 20 hour jobs so more than the value of the car. My kids neighbor will test it with some inert gas then flush the system if it holds. He will run the vaccuum pump forever if the weather is humid and uses a robin-aire dial a charge. He has some cool equipment and is satisfied with a fifty spot.

V2Rocket

a lot of o-rings in the 968 AC system that definitely need replacing if original.
lots of little ways the AC can leak...i once had an errant screw put a hole in one of the coil loops of my 944's evaporator.

chudson

Boeing:

The A/C leak will have to be located

Adding rear spacers will not change the amount of the rear toe

If the steering wheel wobbles as soon as the car is moved then you may have a serious defect with a tire or a seriously bent wheel. If the wobble is only at higher speeds then it may be tire balance issue

If the car is pulling badly when you drive, that could cause the steering wheel to be off center because you are having to turn the steering to oppose the pull. If the car is not pulling you should not just "adjust" the placement of the steering wheel. First and most important, the change of steering wheel position indicates that something has changed in the steering or suspension. THIS IS IMPORTANT TO DETERMINE - IT MAY BE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS. When one of mine did this is was a torn caster block (passenger side).

Second, the steering wheel of a 968 cannot be radically repositioned. There is a slot where the airbag wiring passes through that only allows for just so much movement.

Also, the steering rack is indexed when assembled. This is so that the amount of turns are equal lock to lock. If you reposition the steering wheel away from the factory position, you are changing the "center point" of the steering which will then alter the lock to lock turning distance to each side

Boeing 717

Sorry I'm venting. I spent 15 hours and a lot of money on that damn AC system and got to enjoy it for 2 drives. I really think I overpaid for a car that has too many mechanical problems despite the fact that it's aesthetically near perfect. I have not had a chance to enjoy it since I bought it a year and a half ago.
So the first thing, I'll take the wheel spacers off and see what happens.
I put dye in the AC and I have a black light leak detector so I'll check it out.
I'm considering taking the engine out and dash and rebuilding the entire ****ing AC system so I don't ever have to screw with it again.

Boeing 717

Removed all 4 wheels. Can't test it without the spacers now because the lug nuts won't fit over the 66mm studs without the spacers on. But the spacers had zero play on the mating surface and the hubcentric lip fit perfectly in the back of each rear wheel with zero play. I cleaned all mating surfaces and reinstalled. Will report back after test drive.
One thing I found odd was neither the left front or left rear wheel had wheel weights on them. I drove the car to a cars and coffee after new wheels and tires installed and it was smooth as butter. Didn't notice a "clean spot" where wheel weights may have been and came off.

Boeing 717

Just test drove, steering wheel vibration gone. But still cocked to left 10 degrees. My guess is I threw out the rear toe or something removing the studs, will take it for an alignment.
Need ideas about this new issue though.
Temp gauge now not registering and fuel gauge pegged off the scale all the way to the top.

rangerbay

Good info. Thanks for the lesson on the steering, I had no idea it cold be such a challenge. In my day, it was usually the tires or alignment, and the steering was much simpler.
This is the best forum for learning and for sharing I've ever been on.
Bill

odurandina

i posted my best estimate/ballpark of the real costs of driving a 968 to 250~275k miles. and came up with an average of $36-40k above the cost of acquisition. people have incorrectly overlooked that the AC pump should be done along a long timing/BS belt/H20 pump interval of about 50 k miles *(Gates belts) ...the lifespan of a 968 AC pump is about 65~68k miles. the previous owner of my 968 spent plenty of money closing leaks with the oil cooler, ps system and also a blown radiator. then, i replaced 2 more high pressure ps hoses ....the 968s can go through periods of being very gremliny, to go along with being very expensive to maintain to begin. they are semi-exotic cars.

the engines vibrate like f_ck. the vibrations blast the motor mounts, then in turn blast away half the engine bay in short order. to provide an illustration of what vibrations can do: a hose that should go 70k miles with a v6, might go 30k in a 968, and fail. the parts in my 968 that failed after a short lifespan, can virtually all be traced back directly to the less-obvious issue that lies at the heart of this very stout, semi-crazy engine: extreme vibrations.

the extremely heavy stock exhaust Porsche chose for the 968 should tell you a lot.

FLT951

I will give you 5 grand for it. I will sort it and give it back to you for 6 when I die. Same offer to Jeff, Raj and Trevor. To the rest of you, send pix of your car if you'd like to be considered.
But, also, I have empathy. I've had a few like that.

Boeing 717

I think it will be a good car when I'm done with it. It just pisses me off when I "fix" something and Im ready to move on to next project then have to come back and fix a past issue again. Everyone says these are great cars to drive but I have yet to enjoy the experience. Especially after coming out of a 21,000 mile 600 horse 997 turbo.
Still have the rough idle, have to keep revs up at red lights cause it's rough below 1000 (hopefully gets much better with new engine mounts), the whole car shutters when I release the clutch, now the ac doesn't work again, going over bumps feels like dull thuds because the stock shocks are probably dead.
Just need to keep working on it hopefully it will end up being fun to drive.
It is beautiful to look at though.

odurandina

The ride will improve dramatically with new shocks and caster blocks.

V2Rocket

what the ****?
an AC compressor is a 100-200k mile part, they don't "wear out", they can just have seals fail due to non-use. then they can be resealed or most people just replace because it's easier but more expensive. the compressor on a late 944/968 is the same unit as used on literally millions of Ford/Chrysler vehicles...

...what hose is that?
there are still 944s and 968s driving around on original radiator hoses from 1983+ and not leaking...not advisable, but certainly doable...

the only questionable hose on a 944 is the ones that hook to the power steering reservoir, and that's just because they used a ****ty hose in the first place...