User 41221

Bruce, the Autozone one is probably the same one that I bought. I just wanted the convenience of not having to run down to pick it up, and between owning three 944 type cars and having sometimes as many as 16 of them at my house on any given Saturday, its been more than handy. For a more reasonable and sane person, Autozone works nicely.

I still need to get you up to my place one of these days, as I am the only 968 owner in the club!

Regards,

sayporsha

Another possible solution: NAPA sells plastic reducers in various sizes. Ask for one & they'll pull out a partitioned box full of all the different sizes & shapes (reducers, elbows, etc). They're much higher quality than the ones sold in the blister packs at most auto parts stores.

Darth Coupe

Bruce, did you get the pictures last night? I sent them through crAp-O-L last, I hope nothing happened to them.

Say, that might be a good idea on the reducer, I just am wondering if something like that would stay on there and provide an adequate seal. There are no threads or anything on the hose or the HCV vacuum connection, I guess I would have to look through the drawer if there was something that would stay on the smooth surface of the HCV and also provide the seal to the vacuum hose. It could be a much cleaner install I imagine though.

BruceWard

Got the pics, Thanks.

BruceWard

The thermostat and HCV are changed now. That c clip sure was a pain. Went for a 15 mile test drive to take the loaner pressure tester back. The temp guage got up to running temp after about three miles and stayed there, when I got home I left the car running in the garage, the temp rose to the 10 oclock mark, the fans kicked on and it went back to 8 oclock. So it seems to be working correctly now. Before the new thermostat the temp gauge would rarely venture as high as 8 oclock in cold weather.


I did the thermost twice, the first time I put the spacer in before the thermostat, then I did it again to get the parts in the right order thermostat, then spacer, then c clip. I had some c clip pliers from harbor freight and although they had the correct attachments were not strong enough to firmly grasp the c clip. I picked up a set of heavy duty c clip pliers from autozone for $16. They held the c clip much more firmly. Still a pain but doable.

The HCV was much easier. I installed the Audi part using two new clamps to replace the difficult factory ones that hold the hoses to the HCV and modified the audi HCV by bending the vacuum lead straight and then cutting it off at a similar length to the factory unit. I increased the diameter of the entire vacuum lead with a layer of JB Weld (thanks Darth). I had removed the HCV with the hoses on each end attached and put it back in with the hoses attached. The hose connecting the HCV to the hard pipe that runs beside the enginehad been clamped in place by a heat shield, I had to remove the nut holding the heat shield to free the hose.

Then I filled it up with a gallon of Zerex and the rest with water. Probably ended up with a 55 to 60% mix. I used a loaner (deposit) pressure tester from autozone to pressurize the system and bleed the air out of the bleed valve. Then ran the car up to operating temperature with the heater on and bled again and also bled while running. I believe I got all of the air out.

RajDatta

Bruce, you have done some amazing work on your car in the last few weeks. I think we all have learned a lot from your recent experiences and I would like to thank you for sharing all this information with us.
Keep up the good work. You car must be a dream to drive now.
Regards.

BruceWard

Thanks Raj, I did not think it could get better than when I bought it but the difference from the clutch, wheel bearings and caliper rebuild is amazing.

It will be interesting to see how the new transaxle fluid works out. Im taking Greimanns advice on the redline fluid and will either get the friction modifiers to add or swap what I have for the normal 75W90 instead of the NS.

Perhaps its a good thing that there are no dealers in the state and all the specialists are booked up months in advance. I am learning a lot this way and trying to leave the answers to all the things I wondered about in my posts. Also Ive probably saved 50% if not more by doing the labor myself. I cheated on the clutch and paid a mechanic $100 to supervise the clutch reassembly.

Oh yeah, I changed out the DME relay replacing the original 944 part number version with the 993 part number one. It seems to start faster now, so I guess the old one may have had some issues.

I was very concerned about the radiator drain plug breaking. I had no problem at all with it. It was easy to remove and replace with a screw driver. I threaded it by hand before tightening with the screw driver. I had ordered a backup in case I broke it, guess I have a spare now. I wonder if the guys who had trouble breaking them were using a socket to turn it instead of a screw driver.

Also I had ordered a new DME temp sensor but I decided not to replace it. I took off the clip and the contacts on the sensor and clip were clean and looked new. I decided not to change it out so I have a spare one of those as well.

Per Darth's suggestion I removed the oil filter when changing the HCV. I used saran wrap to cover the opening to make sure no water got into the oil while the filter was off. I tried to do it with the filter in place but there was no room to manuver the HCV.

RajDatta

Bruce, only other part I would suggest checking is your cam chain tensioner. I recently saw a very well maintained car's exhaust cam missing 2 cam gear teeth. Thank god they weren't concurrent or else he would be needing a new head or a bunch of valves atleast.
That is pretty much the Achilles heel for these cars along with the pinion bearing. Get the new tensioner pads from the dealer as they are now readily available. Please post some pics once you are in there. Also, how many miles on your car?
I was going to change to a 16 valve turbo setup but after a lot of thought I decided to keep it 8 valves just for the above reason.
Interestingly 928s don't have this problem the S2s and 968s have. Something about that tensioner is not right.
Regards.

BruceWard

Shes got <58K miles. Do you think I should check the cam chain tensioner now? I had planned to leave that one until 80 to 90K miles when I plan to change the belts again.

Can I inspect it without removing the belts? I guess this is something else to research.

I was talking to Chuck at Paragon on Friday and he said he was about to have a look at the cam chain on his <100K mile 968. He was asking if only the pads should be changed or the whole tensioner unit. Anyone have an opinion?

If I open it up Ill post some pictures for you guys opinion. I dont know what I am looking at so remote diagnosis is necessary.

RajDatta

Bruce, I would check it just for peace of mind. I don't think mileage matters any longers. These cars are 9 yrs old atleast. Its very easy to do and does not involve removing timing or balance shaft belt. You dont even need new gaskets as the old ones can be reused.
Run engine dry by removing fuel pump relay.
Remove "porsche" vanity cover.
Remove fuel rail hoses, make sure you catch all the gas.
Disconnect variocam tensioner connector.
Remove cheeseheads holding valve cover to head.
Check for broken teeth on both cams by rotating engine lockwise.
Also, inspect the pad to make sure the grooves are not too deep and the pad is not too dark red.
If any of the above symptons, replace pads and replace chain.
The reason the teeth get eaten up is due to the very high tension which stretches the cam chain.
Let me know if you need a procedure to swap pads.
Raj

User 41221

You can check the tensioner without disturbing the belts. You only need to pop the valve cover off, and then you can inspect it. Be sure to inspect the camshaft gears for wear, as well as the pad. Not to contradict Raj, but I order the gasket and seals that you need first, as I won't like to reuse the old ones (its about $28 for the valve cover gasket and the seals that go around the spark plugs).

Regards,

User 41221

Hey Raj, we posted at the same time... lol

Sorry I haven't called, I've been busy. I will try to call you tomorrow evening.

Regards,

Darth Coupe

Bruce, I'm glad that everything worked out well and that the little "fixes" I found worked for you as well. I now have to work on that variocam inspection as well. I plan to go by the write-ups, but hopefully we can compare notes again.