Tito

Hi all,
I just got my c2'95 back from a 12000mile servce and belt change. On lookng at the engine I notice that the bolts scuring the plastic shroud behind the fan appear to e slightly out of place. Question how excited do I get about this? PS I have a digital picture but do not know how to upload it.
Thanks Tito.

Robin 993DX

No big deal on that, the strap keeps the fan shourd/alternator stationary. Take a look at the picture below to get an idea of the clearance and spacing.

What I don't understand is why did they have to touch the strap to do a 12k service?

Robin 993DX

Tito,

The purpose of the plastic shroud behind the fan is to duct air onto the the cylinder head fins to cool the engine. I misunderstood earlier what you were referring to. You don't have to worry about it being off a little.

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[ 06-06-2001: Message edited by: Robin 993 DX In Atlanta ]

[ 06-06-2001: Message edited by: Robin 993 DX In Atlanta ]

Tito

Thanks Robin. Your second post seems to be spot on. I tried and failed to upload the pic to my web space. Eventually I signed up with one of the online photo albums (see URL). Does removing/adjusting this shroud make sense for the service/belt change. As things have definately changed, including the bolts around the bit where the A/C hoses fit in on the right of the fan, these have all moved slightly and are scored. Regards Tito. photo album

Robin 993DX

Check out the belt change DIY on my web site to see what's involved in replacing the belt, this way you can compare it with your car.

p-car.com

Tito

Thanks

Tito

Thanks Robin , as always your site is most excellent. BTW , I keep getting the year wrong my car is '94 not '95. Regards Tito.

John W

Is it possible that they could have been checking the alternator loom for signs of cracking insulation ??

As its an early car maybe they now check as a matter of course for safety reasons...

Tito

John , that's a good idea. I think it is unlikely as I put it to them that I would like to have the wiring harness checked out ( following EJ's post on the old board) and they put me off on the grounds of cost/benefit. They denied hearing of these problems and they were an OPC, a case of burying heads in sand etc...
I think that is was removed/ tampered with as part of the belt change. I just felt that the screws were not replaced as carefully as they originally were. I am a bit of a fuss pot and notice things like this. I asked the the question originally as I was thinking of going back to them.
Regards Tito.

E. J. - 993 Alumni

John, As you know, I just went through the wiring harness issue on my car. In order to see any problems, the tech needs to actually cut the outside cover of the wires to see if the inside insulation is corroding or gone. I would imagine something like that would have to be discussed between customer and tech before the work is started as Tito did.

AS an aside, a frind of mine who owns a Nissan dealership in Boulder Co. recently bought a 96 C4S at auction and has been driving it for a few weeks. After sitting on his lot for a while it needed a jump and so one of the lot hands (don't know the correct term) jumped the car and lo and behold, the engine catches fire. The local p-car dealer is still looking at it, but the initial diagnosis is that it was the wiring harness. This is a low mileage 1996 S model and the say a spark must have jumped near the alternator. It really was not a big deal and not as much damage was done as you would think, but it is the ONLY 1996 car that I have ever heard of having a wiring harness problem - if that turns out to be true. I told him to get the old part from the dealer so we can learn more.

I will update when I hear more.

For more IMPORTANT wiring harness info. please see the diy page on my site at the link below my signature.

Tito - if your car is an early build 1995, I encourage you to find a shop that will check it out. I feel the cost benefits of catching the problem now far outweigh the fix later should something happen. But then of course insurance would probably be involved and who knows? Maybe you have a low deductable.

Cheers (as you brits say),




[ 07-06-2001: Message edited by: E. J. - 95 Carrera - No. Va. ]

Tito

Thanks for the advice EJ. My car is actually a '94 car, and your posts alarmed me. I did ask my OPC about checking this out and they were not really interested. This troubles me as I feel that they may either be poorly informed or only interested in routine service schedules ie $$$. I was a little galled as I have been takeing my car there for the last 2 years. Maybe I shall have to find a speciallist independent service speciallist to check it out.
Do any of the other 'Brits' have any recommendations? I drive past 'Pickup motorsports' nearly everyday - does anyone have an opinion?
Cheers Tito

Tito

EJ, can I ask what exactly do the service guys need to do to check out the harness? I may persist in trying to get them to check this out. They just don't seem clued in on this matter or they are deliberately downplaying the issue . Tito.

E. J. - 993 Alumni

Tito, if you have a 94 car, I am almost sure you have the POSSIBILITY of having a defective harness. The way I understand it is the early 95 and earlier cars used a part sourced from a supplier that used subpar insulation.

Once again, from what I understand (I am not a mechanic) the most dangerous spot is where the tow wires split and lead to the alternator. The problem is that to see the insulation, you have to cut out the outer cover which is just a plastic or rubber cover. But I feel that if you cut this open to inspect, it is just going to make any corrosion worse since I don't know how you would seal it back again.

I did just think of this though: my mechanic first spotted this on a connector to one of the fuel injectors. There is one injector that you can see with a flash light behind and to the left of the fan. Look closly at the wire just above the injector before it goes into the injector and look for any cracks. It was hard at first to see, but once I did, it was plain. That is really the only spot to inspect without removing any engine parts. But once we got the harness removed, almost every injector wire was cracked and you know about the alternator wire. BTW - in the picture above from Robin you can see a wire connector that looks exactly like the injector wire. See how it actually has two wires? I don't think thats an injector, but it looks just like that. Look for cracks in those two wires.



For more info, after a search on the old board, here are some links you should see:
http://boards.rennlist.com/cgi-bin/9....pl?read=59556

This is someone elses experience with a mechanic that said the same thing about a wire clamp as mine:
http://boards.rennlist.com/cgi-bin/9....pl?read=59526

If you read this whole thread and then see my site for more info, I can't think of any other info you might need. My site link is below my signature.

I hope this helps and I really encourage you to have it inspected. As I said above, the money spent to change the harness is less than that to buy a new car.

Tito

Thanks EJ.