1985 Porsche 944

[jjeffries]

Broady, likely you have a good network of used parts sources in the UK, but if helpful, a fellow named Mark Pleimann runs a good 944/68 breaker operation out of Ohio here in the US. www.plyhammersparts.com. Good guy, I bought a fair amount of stuff from him for my 924S. For that car, I bought all new brake- and clutch master plus slave quite reasonably, I believe they were FEBI brand?

Best, John

[broady]

Cheers for the tip off! I have elected to take the plunge and buy a pair of mounts from Porsche. Much cheaper than all online, but still expensive. But hopefully they wont need looking at again in my lifetime.

Ill have a browse of that website, there cant be much more I need surely!?

[jim]

Nov 13, 2023 20:08:37 GMT broady said:

there cant be much more I need surely!?

A turbo?

[broady]

[broady]

Short and sweet for you, I got em and fitted em.

Once the old ones were off I inspected them, just to make sure they were f'd.



It confirmed that replacements was money well spent. So here they are. Again thanks to OPC Hull for supplying them.



And here is one installed. I cant photograph the otherside as the exhaust is in the way.



It was mild on wednesday. Around 12c when I got home and fitted them, with no sign of the gritters or damp on the roads, I went for 10 mile test run. It felt much firmer, the noise from 3rd to 4th had gone. There were what I though maybe a few quieter noises between other gears. But I will check the linkage adjustment and wait for Spring, as theres now a few days of salt down and I don't play in the salt.

I will start to tackle my winter jobs list. Much shorter this year that previous on this car! But the Fasty is begging for a new engine. So main focus will be on that.

[broady]

Now all that unplanned work is out of the way. The plan over the Christmas break was to use a few of my days off to fix those issues which I knew about. That badly welded damper turret, and to sort that fuel leak.

To do this the first job was to drain the tank and remove the exhaust. While draining the tank I spotted that the pump was also weeping slightly. This was a fire waiting to happen, so I'm very happy I saw it!



With the exhaust off, I took the rear heat shield off to find drips of dinitrol on. So that was the 2nd one waiting to catch light.



Feeling lucky I bought a scratch card, I won £2. I guess I wasn’t that lucky.

Anyway the next step was to have the gearbox out. This was pleasing to take apart. Not a stuck nut in sight.



I will touch up a few paint chips before this goes back in. But for 4000 miles service I am pleased with how its lasted.

Then I pulled the tank out to reveal the breather pipes. And definite witness marks of fuel leaks.



A role of replacement Ethanol proof hose was ordered. While I was waiting for that I took the suspension to bits. I needed to get that torsion bar changed.





The offending bar with the L stamped on it. Even though it was in the RHS. Doh! I forgot to take a photo of the replacement. But its the correct hand.



This hose arrived just after Christmas and I set about the repair and reinstall.



I already had plenty of 10mm hose in stock. So that went on too. and the tank went back in the car.

Lastly for now, the replacement pump also arrived and needed decorating.







Many circumstances beyond my control meant I havent got as much done as planned. But there isnt lots left to do. And some bolts I need arent due till the end of the month. So I havent got to rush. Which is jolly nice!

[broady]

Oooo lets see if I can remember what ive been doing then. I tried to fit the pump, only to realise the inlet was 14mm instead of 12mm. My great idea was to bond the inlet from the old pump in.



So I hashed up a little jig and bonded away.



I then slipped it in to the clamp and discovered that it was also slightly longer than the original. So when funds alow, ill be replacing this with the propper thing.



I got on with indexing the rear end. First job was to repair the NS trailing arm. This was the state of the poor repair I did in situ.













Liberal applications of paint after the welding and griding.



I then left it to dry for 4 days. Once dry I fitted it and dropped the car on its wheels. Both sides measured about 61.5mm to the arch lip. This isnt 100% accurate but it close enough for gouvernment work. Reading on clarks garage the general acepted ride height is 63.5mm. With 1 index of the bar, it results in a change of 6mm. So the closest I would get is 63.3mm, I set about the reindexing.

The final step is to jack up the trailing arm to get the lower damper bolt in. While jacking up the NS, it seemed to be resisting raising. So I had a nose and found nothing jaming or stuck. So pumped the jack once more, and suddenly everything went very soft. The damper tower had pooed itself.





I don't exactly know what went wrong here. But I dropped it on its wheels with out the damper connected and it was jacked right up. 68.5mm. So I clearly cocked up the indexing equal amounts on both sides, ive not idea how!

I walked away to do some sums and make sure I was using the right data. Which I was.

Fortunately I had a spare arm in the loft, so that got prepped and built up.





And a new hub seal



While apart for indexing I took the opotunity to change some spring plate bolts. they're still on back order, I removed the old one and discoverd the washers id used were not up to the job.



So here is some much more heavy duty ones. I then pasivated them with some new nuts to help them blend in.





Oh shall we keep going then. Ive been bussier then I realised.

I got the heat sheild back from the powder coaters, as I'm unable to get a replacement. It had a decent coating and its filled most of the pin holes.



And while no one will have ever known, but this bugged me since I rebuilt it. Ive been on the hunt for 3 years for a replacement reflector.



I managed to get a complete assembly last month, for peanuts in the end. Absolute luck and bargain combined.



And finally for tonight, ive been continuing my idea for switch restoration. My central bank are all now blank. A set of replacements is £75. As they all work fine. Ive made a start.



I need a bit of refining, but as a first attempt I am happy.



I'm stopping now, my fingers ache.

[jim]

That's annoying about the pump, but glad you've got it sorted.


The switch looks great!

[broady]

I got the old banger back together with its new bits. A friend came round and we torqued up the M24 nuts and put it on its wheels. It sits within 2mm side to side. There is 25mm on on the excentric bolts, so ill take that and fettle it after ive got some miles on it.

Speaking of which, spring has kinda sprung. Well more to the point the salt has cleared off. I dusted off the credit card and threw £325 at the dvla for some road fund lisence and while it was a mild sunny day went for shake down.



First call, petrol station. I filled the tank to check my work was up to the job, it seems it wasnt, there was a leak coming from around the filler neck area. I deicded not to hang around on the forecort. I pushed it to a parking space and the overflow stopped. I can only assume the issue is in the filler neck to the tank join. I decided to take a steady drive home to burn some fuel off, which I could then have a proper look.

Leaving the petrol station I looked in the rear view mirror and saw what looked like a white haze. Having traveled a fair way to the pumps, the weather their was misty. So I just assumed I was seeing some acutal mist in the mirror. 5 minutes later I would be proved wrong.

Climbing a fairly steep hill at 50mph, there was a definate red arrow moment. I lifted off and it stopped. Unfortunately there was still more hill so more throttle was applied, a "pop" was heard and then lots of white smoke, it even started to eminate from the shifter boot. At the top of the hill there was a place to pull over, and I did. Oil pressure still read well, as did the temperature gauge.

The engine stalled and didnt want to idle. There was oil around the NSR of the block and covering the inlet manifold.



This helped releive some worry that it was a petrol issue and the car was on fire. But still, what went "pop" and was it safe to get me home?

I checked for split or disconnected pipe work. Checked the oil level and other vital signs. All was well enough, it started back up and watched the gauges, with in limits. I decided to set off at 30mph and see what happened. The car drove ok, plenty of oil pressure and never got hot. I arrived home feeling a little calmer. But still annoyed.

First thought was a blown head gasket, I got the compression tester out and found some "variation" 1,2 and 3 were all over 100psi, but 110 to 145 is a wide range. Number 4 was 20psi. We have a winner. I oiled the bores and tried again, no real change.

Time for the car and I to cool down. I walked away for a few days.

Some days later the time came, pull the head off and see whats happened then. Annoyingly this means belts off, at £90 for the pair and only being 2 years old. I wont be reusing them.







As you can see, the head gasket acutally looks quite well. Its just coming on 11 years old. And id guess it would do another 11, had I not disturbed it.

The head looks equally well, if in need of a little clean up.



All good news, but this means, what else is broken!? This sounds like its getting expensive.

The block face even looked happy.



Logic says that the only other issue is in the bores then. Hopefully just piston rings 🤞

In order to get the pistons out the subframe needed dropping, so the steering UJ was disconnected and engine supported on straps. I then lowered the frame away and undid the sump. With some careful wriggling it slid out.

I got number 4 piston out and was greeted by this.



These top two rings are stuck in. I had to work quite hard to get them free, at first I couldnt even see the gap. Once I eventually got them free, I put the top ring in the bore and measured the gap. Limit is 0.45mm and this was 0.8mm. So worn out and stuck rings. that'll give it a ticket to join the red arrows.

Ive meansured the bores at multiple points, 100mm +/- 0.02mm tollerance. Nearly every reading was 100mm, baring a few 100.01mm. This was very pleasing for a 190 000 miles.

The good news is the ride height is still even and as it was before I set off. The bad news is, the fuel leak wont be getting any attention any time soon. And this has all come apart very easily, given the love it had a few years ago.

Shopping ensues.

[teaboy]

That's annoying but it could have been much worse.

[jjeffries]

Broady, I’m sure you’re reading all the specialist sites or already know that the bores might be roughed up carefully with judicious use of scotch-brite pad material, just enough to deglaze and get them ready for some new rings.

Best of luck, John

[broady]

Mar 20, 2024 22:25:12 GMT teaboy said:

That's annoying but it could have been much worse.

Yeah it really could have been. Just a frustrating time of year for it to happen. But it wont take too long to sort.

[broady]

Mar 21, 2024 0:30:42 GMT jjeffries said:

Broady, I’m sure you’re reading all the specialist sites or already know that the bores might be roughed up carefully with judicious use of scotch-brite pad material, just enough to deglaze and get them ready for some new rings.

Best of luck, John

TVM a little job for the weekend. Just need to find a decent set of rings at a price I'm prepared to pay/ can afford. Provisionally have a plan.

[broady]

With the plan roughly decided I set about obtaining the parts. I tried various places, but Euro Car Parts came up with the goods at £25 a pot. Their website listed rings as "OE quality" I rang and asked the brand, they didn’t know. A set was ordered into branch and they turned out to be Mahle. More than good enough for me I got 3 more sets ordered up. In the mean time id "accidentally" won a set of genuine rings on ebay for £60. I figured they would be handy for a comparison in case the Mahle ones turned out to be junk.

Left is Mahle, right is OE. I measured and visualed. There was all but no differences, the OE ring was 0.03 smaller. I decided that £100 for a set of rings vs £680. Id risk the 0.03mm and save the nearly £600.



As luck would have it on one of the 944 FB groups someone threw up and unopened VR head gasket kit for £85. These are around £120 new, so I banked that as quick as I could.



I checked all my tensioners/rollers and anything else I could think of. With the rest of my shopping list written, I placed my order with the good folks at Porsche Centre Hull and duly collected the order in the usual speedy fashion.



Whilst in there I noticed they have a pretty example of the marque for sale. With an excellent period accessory.





But back to the grotty stuff, it was time to get these new rings in. First job, get the remaining two pistons out. At this point I wondered how this engine ever ran, let alone produced any sort of performance, and why on earth was it not drinking oil!? More stuck rings where found.





I gave them a good wash in diesel and there was enough protruding the gently tease them out. With them removed each piston was subjected to 30 minutes in the ultra-sonic cleaner to get the groves and oil ways clear and to decoke the top.

While they were having a bath, I put every ring into every bore and measure the ring gaps. This would enable me to make the best 4 sets of rings to give the smallest gaps in each pot.



Thats a short sentence for the amount of time it too, making sure each ring was measured at the same depth in each pot! But it was worth while making the best fit. They were slipped on to the cleaned pistons and pressed into the bores. Everything having been thoroughly cleaned twice, and the crank journals having had a smear of STP lube.





I also had the boring job of cleaning all the old sump gasket off the underside of the block and sump face. With that done I got on with the install. New conrod nuts too.



One cleaned up sump.







As ever a few seconds of photos making it look much easier than it was, getting the rear of the gasket to slot in is tricky when you’ve got all the clutter in the way. But its back on and torqued up happily. There is now a short delay, but that'll be explained next time resto fans.

[teaboy]

Looks like you dropped on with some bargains.

Oh, and you do make it look like a five minute job.

Is it done yet?

[broady]

Appreciate the kind words. Ill take that as "when something is done well, it looks easy". Just to massage the ego a little.

[broady]

I wonder if I can really remeber the details then, it was only two weeks ago, but much has happened.

I got on with zinc plating those bits which I was going to "get round too" but never did. Now was as good of a time as any. I dug out all my kit. Some two years since Id used it. I had to borrow some bits from a friend, I took my time and threw a couple of test bolts in first, both of which came out black. This was rather annoying, some thinking, and research. No real answers were found. I ordered some more chemicals to make a new potion.

This all safely arrived, given the previous batch were "badly" stored and 2 years old. I figured that a change was needed. I cleaned it up and mixed the fresh batch, merrily set off plating, only to find things were coming out black again. At this point I asked the supplier for help, theyve gave me a few basics to check and item 2 was. + to annode - to your item.

You guessed it, id connected the wires AAF. (facepalm). With this corrected I started producing results like this. Its a little rough, but for "reminding myself how to do it" I was happy.



I will now bore you with a selection of rusty things I made shiney.









And here is a pointless but lovely detail, for a lot of years I have wanted a forward lifting eye. Its been obsolete from Porsche, so I found one off the bay for a reasonable price and bought it. It went from this to this to this, well you get the idea by now.







You'll never see it as its burried by air intake equiptment, but I care not. I'm happy its present and correct now

Now this isnt really very factory, but my 2 into 1 section of the exhaust is rather thin these days, and a new section is strong money. So hopefully £6 worth of fibreglass wrap will see me through enough year, giving me time to put some penny buy for the new piece.

I blasted it, gave it many coats of vht, and then spent and hour trying not to be itchy.







Theres much more to come, but thats all youre getting tonight!

[Alpina99]

Beautiful work as usual,
Have to ask though, are those tie wraps on the exhaust, if so, will they last ??
Nigel

[bstardchild]

Apr 18, 2024 15:51:47 GMT Alpina99 said:

Beautiful work as usual,
Have to ask though, are those tie wraps on the exhaust, if so, will they last ??
Nigel

Looked to me like he used plastic tie wraps to hold the wrap when doing the job and then replaced with metal ones - there are definately metal ones in the pictures

[broady]

Thank you very much .

Exactly as bstardchild spotted! I have used metal straps to secure it, the tie wraps were while I was working out the best wrap.