Rookie mistakes, as usual. Help?
02-26-2018, 09:22 PM
#16
Props for giving it a try regardless of expertise. Anyway, Might be a good time to also have the distributor motor belts replaced, they can get brittle and fail over time. Failure of those could cause serious issue I hear. Here is a post on my experience with them. Steve Weiner took good care of me. Just a thought, yours might have been done already. I did it as a percausion. I am super scared of major failure and try to do as much as possible on the preventive side.
PS: Rookie or not, you are giving a try and your best, that in my books is awesome. You don’t know if you can do it, unless you try. Good luck.
https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...lt-or-not.html
In this post their is some info on doing the wires. Kinda a PITA with the engine in place, unless you have small hands.
https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...every-day.html
PS: Rookie or not, you are giving a try and your best, that in my books is awesome. You don’t know if you can do it, unless you try. Good luck.
https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...lt-or-not.html
In this post their is some info on doing the wires. Kinda a PITA with the engine in place, unless you have small hands.
https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...every-day.html
02-26-2018, 10:00 PM
#18
Good for you, OP, for DIY'ing. Measure twice, cut once. For 993's, read a dozen Rennlist threads, DIY once.
On the wires, there's no mystery if you understand the system. As the rotor rotates, it fires each spark plug according to the engine's firing order. Look at the firing order sticker in the engine bay, and the distributor nipples. It will become very clear what connects to what. I find when DIY'ing, if you take a minute to understand what you're working on, you won't screw it up.
Re belts. Even better than changing them every few years for no reason is to change them *properly* when needed. Huge amount of operator error in belt work because the tensioner system (the shims) is a little complicated in that special way Germans make things complicated. Long ago when I was new to wrenching I destroyed the fan on my early 911 by screwing this up. Learned the hard way. Most people put the belt on too tight, or they tension the outer pulley unevenly so that it's crooked when sitting against the belt. I use the RS pulley and my belt is 11 years old/75K miles on it and I'd drive it cross-country without a second thought. I don't think I've ever adjusted it. A brand new belt will fail if installed incorrectly, and an old belt will almost last forever if installed correctly.
On the wires, there's no mystery if you understand the system. As the rotor rotates, it fires each spark plug according to the engine's firing order. Look at the firing order sticker in the engine bay, and the distributor nipples. It will become very clear what connects to what. I find when DIY'ing, if you take a minute to understand what you're working on, you won't screw it up.
Re belts. Even better than changing them every few years for no reason is to change them *properly* when needed. Huge amount of operator error in belt work because the tensioner system (the shims) is a little complicated in that special way Germans make things complicated. Long ago when I was new to wrenching I destroyed the fan on my early 911 by screwing this up. Learned the hard way. Most people put the belt on too tight, or they tension the outer pulley unevenly so that it's crooked when sitting against the belt. I use the RS pulley and my belt is 11 years old/75K miles on it and I'd drive it cross-country without a second thought. I don't think I've ever adjusted it. A brand new belt will fail if installed incorrectly, and an old belt will almost last forever if installed correctly.
02-27-2018, 09:36 AM
#19
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
I am considering this as well. I'll admit to being a bit intimidated with the removal and reinstallation of the distributor.
I use the RS pulley and my belt is 11 years old/75K miles on it and I'd drive it cross-country without a second thought. I don't think I've ever adjusted it. A brand new belt will fail if installed incorrectly, and an old belt will almost last forever if installed correctly.
At any rate, I like the idea of fewer belts for sure!
02-27-2018, 11:28 AM
#21
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
02-27-2018, 11:39 AM
#22
Rennlist Member
[QUOTE=SpeedyC2;14833422]Misunderstanding on my part. I thought he was asking about the distributor belt. The AC/fan/alternator belts were about 3 years old.
3 years old and how many miles ? ? ? 3 years old and belts letting go? Is this normal ? ? ?.
3 years old and how many miles ? ? ? 3 years old and belts letting go? Is this normal ? ? ?.
02-27-2018, 11:43 AM
#23
Three Wheelin'
Just an FYI - these coil to distributor wires can be bought individually from Beru for very little money. I had to do it myself after I had some rookie mistakes that resulted in a couple of munched connector boots...
You also can buy the connectors and re-attach these to the wires if neeeded.
The plug wires themselves cannot be bought individually unfortunately, those only go as a set.
You also can buy the connectors and re-attach these to the wires if neeeded.
The plug wires themselves cannot be bought individually unfortunately, those only go as a set.
02-27-2018, 11:44 AM
#24
Three Wheelin'
02-27-2018, 11:44 AM
#25
Three Wheelin'
Not normal and no reason to panic. As Churchill mentioned above, perhaps they were not shimmed correctly when installed.
Either way, it's not a big deal. Learn how to change the belts, throw a couple spares in the car (they're < $20 each) and sleep well at night.
02-27-2018, 11:47 AM
#26
Three Wheelin'
02-27-2018, 11:48 AM
#27
Three Wheelin'
Good for you, OP, for DIY'ing. Measure twice, cut once. For 993's, read a dozen Rennlist threads, DIY once.
On the wires, there's no mystery if you understand the system. As the rotor rotates, it fires each spark plug according to the engine's firing order. Look at the firing order sticker in the engine bay, and the distributor nipples. It will become very clear what connects to what. I find when DIY'ing, if you take a minute to understand what you're working on, you won't screw it up.
Re belts. Even better than changing them every few years for no reason is to change them *properly* when needed. Huge amount of operator error in belt work because the tensioner system (the shims) is a little complicated in that special way Germans make things complicated. Long ago when I was new to wrenching I destroyed the fan on my early 911 by screwing this up. Learned the hard way. Most people put the belt on too tight, or they tension the outer pulley unevenly so that it's crooked when sitting against the belt. I use the RS pulley and my belt is 11 years old/75K miles on it and I'd drive it cross-country without a second thought. I don't think I've ever adjusted it. A brand new belt will fail if installed incorrectly, and an old belt will almost last forever if installed correctly.
On the wires, there's no mystery if you understand the system. As the rotor rotates, it fires each spark plug according to the engine's firing order. Look at the firing order sticker in the engine bay, and the distributor nipples. It will become very clear what connects to what. I find when DIY'ing, if you take a minute to understand what you're working on, you won't screw it up.
Re belts. Even better than changing them every few years for no reason is to change them *properly* when needed. Huge amount of operator error in belt work because the tensioner system (the shims) is a little complicated in that special way Germans make things complicated. Long ago when I was new to wrenching I destroyed the fan on my early 911 by screwing this up. Learned the hard way. Most people put the belt on too tight, or they tension the outer pulley unevenly so that it's crooked when sitting against the belt. I use the RS pulley and my belt is 11 years old/75K miles on it and I'd drive it cross-country without a second thought. I don't think I've ever adjusted it. A brand new belt will fail if installed incorrectly, and an old belt will almost last forever if installed correctly.
02-27-2018, 11:52 AM
#28
Three Wheelin'
02-27-2018, 01:06 PM
#29
Pic stolen from Pelican:
