quote: "They said they let it sit outside and idle for 20 minutes to recharge the battery."

That's a helluva bad way to recharge a battery in a 911/930.

Advice isn't action - it's advice. And I'm certain anyone who happens to be surprised with the potential of a $10K rebuild when all they wanted was their car to be painted, could use advice.

I'd be surprised that they don't have a real battery charger. With cars sometimes taking several weeks to months to repaint, you would think a shop would have one. I would ask to look around the shop to see if the do indeed have a charger or were making that up to explain the car's use.

That's exactly why he posted here. He should go down, determine everything he can, and take it from there. He was asking for diagnostic help, to determine the possible problem and solution. That is the first priority.

Besides, not many lawyers will give in depth free advice, especially on the phone. That's what retainers are for...

He's much further ahead to do more investigation and arm himself with knowledge to begin with.

Ok, I talked to my dad who is a lawyer. He said as many of you did to check it out. Well I'm back. My god the car is beautiful. That said. I pulled the dipstick, it had a level. It looked like new oil, it didn't smell, the fan belt was on, the oil sender wire was on, but I did not attempt to start it on my dad's advice. He said have my mechanic do it which he is going to do this afternoon. They are flatbedding it down there and my mechanic said he would run it to at least see if it had any pressure indicating.

When I bought this car 20 years ago it was a Euro model so the tank level shows druck. I didn't have a clue what that even meant. We were on a 1000+ mile trip and the druck indication kept getting lower and lower, and I was freaking out. It took it into a shop who added 2 quarts of oil and in a polite way told me what a dumb ass I was for not knowing it was the tank level for gods sake. Anyway that could be the case, but when they tell me it is also running rough it may not bode well.

When I went to the shop I took my wife with me to make sure I didn't go ballistic. The owner there is so nice and polite it is impossible to get mad. When I told him the last rebuild was done in Scottsdale Arizona which is over 1,000 miles away he said yea, we'll have them flatbed it there, and he didn't even blink an eye. If it does indeed end up being something bad I'm thinking of Imagineauto. That guy seems to know his stuff. Anyone here have any experience with them? I think it is only 500 miles or so from here. If anyone else has some experience with some reputable Oklahoma City, Tulsa, or Dallas shops I'd be interested.

Thanks again for the advice and support. You guys more than anyone know how these cars can get to you. Especially after owning one for 20 years that was perfect, and hopefully will be again.

Mayo Performance in Euless, TX (between Dallas and Ft. Worth) has a really good rep around here. Tel # is 817-540-4939

"Oel" is your level
"Druck" is pressure

If they are not familiar with the cars, they could have looked at the guage at idle and seen little to no pressure registering, which is quite normal.

Did they view the pressure level at any RPM over idle?

How hot is too hot? Are they familiar with the temperature levels that air cooled 911s run?

Where did it "burp" oil from? Did it backup into the breather?

Was it just a "burp" of oil, or a stream while running?

OK...you've take the first step, and it's good you haven't antagonized the shop owner. It sounds like he's willing to work with you.

The quote above caught my eye. The car's been sitting for three months. Maybe the plugs fouled, and that's why it's running rough. Flatbed it to a qualified mechanic and let him diagnose it.

Hang in there...

I know, I know, I should know something in the next couple of hours. That oel druck deal tripped me up too back in the day and I hope and pray it is something that simple. My wife doesn't trust the pope so she is saying we couldn't be that lucky.

This guy has a shop in Fort Worth, and I would trust him 100% on any 911 work that you need. He is one of the national PCA guru's, specializing in the early cars.. He's at Hershey this week, but will be back in a week or so, i imagine..

Mayo, Ed - Ed bought his first Porsche, a 1960 Roadster, and joined PCA in 1967 while living in Cleveland, Ohio. He also joined SCCA and raced the Porsche in E/P until 1978. During the day, Ed was a shop teacher at a local high school while repairing Porsches in the evening. In 1971 he moved to Fort Worth, Texas and spent a few years working for local Porsche dealerships until opening his own shop in 1975. Ed has been to twenty Parades and participated in many autocrosses and tech quizzes. For the past several Parades he has been a Concours Judge and wrote the Tech Quiz for the Fort Worth Parade. He is now a Member of the National Tech Committee focusing on early 911s.

His outfit is called Mayo Performance Specialties, in Euless, TX
Phone is (817) 540-4939

Good luck - there may be nothing wrong with your car, the guy may just not know anything about 911s...

I just want to say, "bravo", Copper! I couldn't have said it better myself.

damn the suspense is killing me.


there wouldnt be a family of mice on top of the motor, right? i also think they read the wrong gauge. let us know ASAP!

Well?

Pony up cowboy.

Sounds to me that they put too much oil in and she just spat some out when it was hot and thin enough.

i was thinking the same thing, that they overfilled the oil tank.

Yeah ,I had a wrench's assistant fill up the oil tank when it was cold,without saying anything,and when the engine reached near to normal temperature it started vomiting the "oel" all over the place, resulting in clouds of stinky burnt oil as I pulled over .

I've talked to my mechanic once already today and thought he would get back to me before now. The good thing is they were fouled up on the OEL DRUCK thing. It does have pressure. Bad news is it is making a grinding noise from the right rear of the engine. I didn't sleep well last night to say the least. So maybe by the end of the day I'll know somehing. I did forget to mention the shop that painted it yesterday told me to hold off on paying them until I find out what's up with the engine.

P.S.
No it wasn't toasted,but it was one godawful mess!

My mechanic just called. He said the grinding noise is definitely not going away. If he runs it any time at all and it warms up it starts missing on several cylinders. Like I said yesterday this guy is not going to be the one to tear into it but knows a guy in Oklahoma City that he's gotten parts for for years and works on 930's. Once I get his # and talk to him I will know where to go from there.

Anyone have any ideas on what I've described so far?