16Aug2011
996 Engine Time
This happy camper was dropped off this afternoon for a little internal work. Many are likely aware of the Intermediate Shaft Bearing issues in the 986 and 996. This car has about 60k miles and is a 1999, so that little mileage spells disaster for the bearing typically. It has a lot of oil weeping here and there that I will take care of once I crack it open. The plan is to replace the standard maintenance items while it …
16Aug2011
964 Finished
After buttoning up the 964 yesterday, a brief check of the running systems found an alternator that was charging at 19 volts, which is not good. Normal charge is somewhere around 13v, and over charging can lead to electrical problems in the car. The voltage regulator on the back of the alternator is what regulates the charging voltage, so that is what was needed. Unfortunately, on the back of the alternator, means a lot of stuff has to come apart, …
15Aug2011
964 Distributor Rebuild
Parts came in while I was out of town for our 964 project which had the internal distributor belt fail. I got cracking early as I knew it would be a long day. First thing to do was the replace the hood and hatch struts so they would stay open. The back of my head is always thankful for new hatch struts. mmmmm, fresh struts. After sneaking into the back of the engine bay, both sides get replaced. Then it …
10Aug2011
PPI’s The Paint Meter Never Lies
Having someone qualified to perform a PRE Purchase Inspection BEFORE you buy is always a good idea. Being able to spot potential or current mechanical issues, previous accident damage, etc is critical when buying a car, so you can have an idea of what repairs you may be facing in the future, Ie, money out of your pocket. Unfortunately, I end up doing a lot of POST Purchase Inspections after someone had purchased a car, and they never really enjoy …
10Aug2011
Cayenne Driveshaft
Porsche introduced the Cayenne SUV in 2003, which later became it’s #1 selling vehicle. The model shares the same platform as the VW Touareg, and thus shares a lot of the same issues. One of those issues in the 03 and early 04 models was a driveshaft carrier bearing that would fail and cause a knocking, thumping, or as many describe it, a “wummering” sound. It can happen under hard acceleration, light acceleration, when there is an old lady crossing …
10Aug2011
964/993 Distributor Belts
Picked this car up from a customer to inspect and get into top running shape. As soon as I loaded the car in 3rd gear, I could hear and feel the detonation happening in the engine, so I was pretty sure I knew what that was going to be. First thing to do when I got home was to check out the airbag light. Looks like a crash sensor was throwing an error, so I cleared the code and it …
24Jul2011
996TT Done….well almost
Got the 996TT fired up on saturday afternoon, cams broken in, and fluids topped off and bled. I finished the suspension on Friday, so that is all done as well. And pulled out of the garage. For a purpose of course….. Time to peel off the beaten and marred clear bra. Clearbra peels very easily off plastic…..not so much off metal. The sun must cook the metal a little more and maybe affects the clear bra, but even with a …
20Jul2011
Motor Stuffed……
After the new FPR showed up, I started shoving the motor back in the car. Last night about 11pm the car showed up on the flatbed, and we got it pushed onto the lift and ready to go for today. Since I need to install the stock exhaust back on, and the table is only so big, I pulled the rear bumper for better access. With a larger table, you can shove it all in complete with exhaust without pulling …
16Jul2011
951 Radiator
Dave dropped off his 951S to have me go through the cooling system. The car was starting to get fairly hot in stop and go traffic in our lovely 100 degree heat, so it was time to do some preventative maintenance on the front end. We decided it was best to replace the 25 year old radiator and any associated hoses to get the car cooling as optimally as possible. The car was hitting the top white line of the …
03Jul2011
951 Coolant Leak
Had a mystery coolant leak in this 951 🙂 Typically when a you start finding coolant on the driver’s side or around the front of the car on a 944, there are a couple of quick (and likely) spots to check. The first one is the coolant port on the radiator for the small expansion tank hose. This is just a screw in fitting with a paper gasket. Over time the gasket will shrink, or the plastic will become brittle, …