86 911 Questions

[wanabe911 owner]

Hello all! Have a dilema. Have just thourolly road tested my newly purchased 911 (86 Carrera) and I have some observations. Braked severlly judder under hard application, I also susoect 1 caliper in the front is not doing anything, A/C does not work, clutch engages, only hot air, pulled cap uf compressor fitting and no Freon, seems to be some oil residue on the front of the compressor clutch, car idles fine and once its in the higher rpm ranges flies, but accelaration down low is not smooth. I know this is alot, but my question is the following, should I take this to a independant specialist shop, or try to sort these issues out 1 by 1. Im hesitant to take to a shop since 1 I dont know of any, and 2 what the bill might be! Please help! This is my first Porsche...

[911mot]

Check for a cracked brake disc on the front, it happened to me and at first I put it down to warp. Take the wheel of and check to be safest.

[jester911]

I assume you don't have any recent history on maintenance so you first thing should be to go through the car with things like
change oil
check plugs/change
new rotor/dist. cap
check plug wires
change tranny oil
check brake pads/ calipers
the calipers may need a rebuild as it sounds like one of the pistons may be sticking

These are a small list of things that you should probably do first along with some others I am sure I am leaving out.

If you don't feel comfortable diy then you might want to have a wrench do it.

As for the a/c you might just need it recharged but, for what it is worth I pulled out most of the a/c stuff out of mine.

It never cooled that much to begin with and it just heated up the engine if in traffic at all.

Post some pics of your car and good luck

[wanabe911 owner]

Have limited records: Oil changed, cap & rotor and wires new (all pelican parts), dont know about the tranny oil though, will check. Being that this will never be a daily driver, I guess I could live w/o A/C perhaps in the winter months. But in the summer or in the rain (everyday in florida) its brutal. Thanks for the response

[wanabe911 owner]

Here is my new baby!

[djmcmath]

She's a beaut, but that's a long list of little problems. FWIW, I've had my '86 since last November, and I'm still finding little details that need repair. It'll take a few months to DIY your way through all of this stuff, most likely, but I'd say it's worth it. Taking it to a shop is great if you're less DIY enthusiastic, but can get pricey in a hurry. Also, doing it yourself gives you a sense of ownership, and you understand your own car better.

Let's go item by item:
1 - Brakes. Check the rotors for wear; it sounds like at least one is severely warped. This happens to all rotors when they get old. You can check to see if it's fronts or backs by slowing with the hand brake instead. If it judders with the handbrake, it's back rotors. If not, then it's just the fronts. I'm less certain about the calipers -- how do you know that one isn't doing anything? The caliper rebuild kit runs about $15/corner from our host. While you're in there, getting SS brake lines is probably not a bad call either, for about $60ish.

2 - A/C is easy. Search for "A/C delete" and you're good to go. Save about 150lbs and a couple of hp for not running that compressor! Seriously, if A/C is important to you, this may be one to take to a shop. A/C repairs are rumored to be expensive -- I've heard of >$1000 bills for this sort of thing. But don't trust me, I'm just waiting for my A/C to die completely so I can justify removing it.

3 - Low end pull? This may be something you can fix yourself. If nothing else, you might do a search for it here on the board. That might give you the knowledge you need to narrow down the problem some. If it isn't something you can do, then when you go to the wrench and he explains that "your QTL is installed upside-down, which crapped out your exhaust bearings" you'll know he's full of horse puckey.

Bottom line -- yes, you can DIY, but you'll need some confidence, some tools, and a space to work in. And some time. If you have more money than time, take it to a wrench. Congratulations on the new car, and welcome to the board!

Dan

[moazam]

You bought an '86 911 with NO AC, in Miami, Florida? You are a very very brave man.

I've lived in Miami for the majority of my life, and I personally would never be able to deal with a non-AC car there. The 'delete-AC' option sounds more like a non-option to me.

I know a general mechanic who is very good in Homestead who might be able to hook you up on the AC side..but he is not a Porsche specialist.

[wanabe911 owner]

I expect 1 caliper is not working because, 1 rotor had dust on it when pulling into the driveway, while the other 3 are nice and shiny from the calipers/pads wiping them clean

[rbcsaver]

"...Check the rotors for wear; it sounds like at least one is severely warped. This happens to all rotors when they get old. You can check to see if it's fronts or backs by slowing with the hand brake instead."...

This myth should be put to bed. Rotors are cast iron and do not warp, according to the late Carroll Smith. See his very informative paper via this link:

http://www.stoptech.com/whitepapers...rotors_myth.htm

Also my experience with what I "thought" to be warped rotors, but was built up brake material:

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/showthread.php?t=133518&highlight=Warped+rotors

Welcome to Porsche ownership and the learning curve. I suggest 2 books for your DIY library: Wayne Dempsey's 101 Projects and Bentley's 911 Shop Manual.
regards,
Steve

[djmcmath]

Originally posted by rbcsaver
"...Check the rotors for wear; it sounds like at least one is severely warped. This happens to all rotors when they get old. You can check to see if it's fronts or backs by slowing with the hand brake instead."...

This myth should be put to bed. Rotors are cast iron and do not warp, according to the late Carroll Smith. See his very informative paper via this link:

I stand corrected; knowledge upgraded. Thanks for the fix.

Dan