Thank you pelican

[lusso]

I would like to take a moment to thank the members of Pelican.

I purchased my first Porsche in June of this year, it is a 73.5 911 t in a lovely shade of Gemini Metallic.
After purchase I almost suffered from buyers remorse. I took the car to a mechanic, who was said to be "the best", for a knocking sound coming from my CV's, and a e-brake adjustment.
After delivering the car to the mechanic he basically told me the car was a piece of s...! Your engine has no pressure it is a grenade waiting to go off! He did "re-pack" the CV's i.e. roll the boot back and put grease in it, which after 10 miles of driving ripped open and splattered grease all over the bottom of my car. Going back to the oil pressure problem he had attached his shop gauge to the car and got an unsatisfactory reading.
Upon receiving this info I did searches on Pelican and sent the info to the mechanic and he in turn told me that the people on pelican are weekend mechanics and don't know what they are talking about.
So I made some calls did some more pelican research and found a great well respected mechanic who also rebuilds four cam engines(I wish I had one). His comments are as follows: If I were buying a car I would buy a car just like you purchased, he also replaced my half shafts, re-adjusted my throttle linkage, adjusted the cold start, and surprise told me that my oil pressure was perfect. With the install of a factory VDO sender the car reads almost 100 on a cold start and actually moves when the throttle is pressed.

I also purchased the car from another pelican member. I'm constantly learning, and greatly appreciate such a great venue for knowledgeable information.
Thank you,
David

here is a pic of the car.

[lusso]

PS this was the day I picked up the car and that is the last cig I've had since.(pre purchase agreement with my wife)

[DeutschMark]

That is a beautiful car with a great color. Hang around here, search the archives, and ask questions if you need to. You'll never turn back!!!

[Paulporsche]

Good luck w/ the car and stopping smoking.

BTW, it might just be an "optical illusion" but is your rear tire smaller than your front?

[ghnat]

Nice find! Yes, maybe some of us (like me) are weekend mechanics, but we are learning thanks to this BBoard. Heck, if it wasn't for this place I would not have had the guts to tear my car a part. Well this site and Wayne's books!!!

[}{arlequin]

hang in there dave, there's nothing these guys haven't experienced and can't help you with. nothing.

[lusso]

Thanks to all. I'm enjoying the car, and feel that the car is extremely solid and nothing critical to be had right now.
The rear tire is an optical.
This BBoard has been fantastic.
The car is having all the bushing replaced this winter and tid bits powder coated, and searching for the oil leaks(nothing crazy) that drop on the heater boxes.
There is no question I'm stuck on these cars!
Just amazing what one person can do to your mental well being when he is a pro(in the sense that he gets paid for what he does).
After talking with the new mechanic I have no fears about this car.
Dave

[Tut]

Who is the "new mechanic"?

[lusso]

Wes Montieth, he is outside of Hershey, PA. A gentleman named Jim Facinelli suggested him. Give me a shout if you would like his number.

[Tut]

Thanks.

Why did he replace the half-shafts, as opposed to replacing the CV joints?

[jimi_c]

Hey Lusso - I've driven behind you and have seen you smoke plenty.

[}{arlequin]

maybe just easier and less work.... it took 2 hours per side to rebuild cv joints on my car. 4 hours of labor is prolly similar $$ to 2 new 1/2 shafts

cv's by themselves are $100 each, aren't they?

i was going to just replace them w/ new units but the place sent me newer (6 bolt) axles and i needed 4, so i said forget it + plus i had an offer of help that was worthwhile

[Tut]

I'm curious about the cv vs. half-shaft issue because I have to, at the least, replace torn boots. Haven't yet determined if any cv joints are bad, but I'm geting a stange noise from the rear. If any are determined to be bad I might just do the half-shafts as preventive maintenance.

[sammyg2]

I'd like to know the name of the clown who gave you the bad advice in the first place, and called us weekend mechanics.
Sure we may work on the cars on weekends, but I would venture to speculate that there is no one person (except maybe JW) who knows more about Porsches that the collective members of this board.
No noe here knows everything (except JW ) but we all know something and together that adds up to a very impressive and un-matched wealth of knowledge and experience.

[lusso]

Tut,
As Harliquin said, it was less labor and parts worked out to be about the same actually a little less. The axles are fine, need powdercoated, and can always add cv's and boots in case of future problem or can sell. I have peace of mind knowing that there are new half shafts. If it is a clunking sound coming from the rear chances are it is your CV's. On my car the bearings had dimpled the CV cage(lack of proper term) about an 1/8" of an inch which would cause the bearing to stick hence the "clunk". I found an incredible threat on CV's.

Sammy,
That mechanic is a clown. I was at a DE/autocross event this past weekend and spoke with a man with a simular situation. He has a late 70's european 930 and had a pedal assembly re-build due to a sticking throttle, $1100 dollars later and 10 miles down the road guess what- STUCK THROTTLE!! Not to mention when the owner drove up the mechanic was drilling something in his headlight recess, slipped and scratched the paint, which there was nothing to be done in that area of the car. Oh yeah, on the way to the autocross event this owner had another stuck throttle flat out in third gear having a sporting drive with a corvette. The good mechanic (Wes) climed under the car at the event and fixed it for nothing and in about ten minutes. I hate name bashing. All I will say is that I'm very happy with my new mechanic. If anyone would like the name of the bad mechanic they can e-mail me privately, but I will not disrespect him like he did me.

[Rufblackbird]

David,
that's a very nice color! Any more pics of your 911? too bad your experience with the first mechanic was bad...glad you didn't give up and did more research on Pelican! There is a wealth of information from everyone here...even the backyard weekend mechanics have become good after coming to this site for a while

[john walker's workshop]

worldpac and other supplies have discontinued stocking several CV joints, so complete axles are the way to go now. they really are not very expensive, compared to 4 new joints, boot kits and labor.

[450knotOffice]

Your car is gorgeous!

Don't listen to the naysayers who claim that the guys on the Pelican board don't know what they're talking about. There are quite a few regulars on this board who've been working on and driving Porsche 911's since the seventies, at least. John Walker and Grady Clay come to mind, for example. These guys know what they are talking about.

Additionally, like my buddy Sam mentioned, there is a monstrous base of knowledge on this board from thousands of Pelicans who've come before you and have "been there, done that". Like Sam said, the amount of collective knowledge on this board is unsurpassed and most likely exceeds ANY mechanic's experience and knowledge.

I hope to see you as one of the regulars on this board.

[K. Roman]

I didn't read all the replies but, yes, thank you Pelican...this site is like no other. The members are great people, and will give you the shirts off their back,
PS: we still need good Pelican stickers for our cars to recognize each other.

[Jason Cullen]

What a wonderful car! The 73.5 T is a fantastic car!

Enjoy!