Introduction and a couple questions

[Oldmother]

I have been lurking here for about a month now, and thought it was time for the obligatory intro and pictures post. I bought an 84 RoW 911 coupe a couple months ago after a Porsche shop in Atlanta (Roock) looked it over and pronounced it a good car. It has 85,000 miles; the CARFAX I pulled on it before I bought it starts at 1994 when the car had 30,000. The previous owner had new tires put on, but the shop that did the work put both front wheels on the left, and both rear wheels on the right. I have corrected that since the pictures posted below were taken. I do have a couple of questions....

1. The tranny leaks a very small amount of fluid; is there a common place on the 915 this would come from?

2. The car idles just fine most of the time, but once in a while, whether the car is warm or cold, it nearly stalls, but the computer quickly compensates and it recovers again...and then continues to idle. Any ideas? After running a fuel system cleaner and new gas through the car, it doesn't seem to do it as much, but it is still bothersome. The car has had an Italian tune-up.

3. How do I know which shocks are on the car? They are a bit soft for my taste, and I would like to upgrade, but don't know if they are Boge or Bilstein...

I did change the oil with Swepco 306 a couple weeks ago. Thanks to the info on this forum, it was anticlimactic. Also adjusted the valves, which was a PITA, and I feel like I need to redo, as a couple of them still tap too much. Does Porsche want them really tight against the feeler gauge, or is some tapping after adjustment normal?

This forum is a great info source, thanks.

P.S., I am in Columbus, GA..any Pelicans in my neck of the woods?

[Oldmother]

One other question--the car has a slight vibration at about 70 mph and above. The car is smooth for a second, then a vibration begins, crescendos, and subsides. The vibration does not come through the steering wheel. All of the wheels were just balanced. A bad bearing somewhere perhaps? Thanks.

Andrew

[afterburn 549]

Welcome here !
1st and foremost continue your P.car education B4 jumping over a minor thing.
1-leaks are some times very hard to diagnose for the 1st timer...might not even be the tranny, keep a eye on the oil level, maybe wash it all off on the bottom side..smell the fluid to ID eng. oil or tranny.
2-No expert but start with a inspection / vacuum leaks too include injector rubber "O" rings, all boots ECT
3- shocks are ID by color usually. Red Konni, Green bilisteen Also your front struts could have been rebuilt and a may have diff cartridges in there anyway.....
4-Valve adj. Yes it takes a few practice runs and there are a couple diff ways of doing it..But between valve and adjuster you want a nice tight fit....(not so tight that you can not get your feeler out ).
Congrats on the good looking car !

[livi]

Here is the local durn forner, bidding you a hearty welcome!

That is indeed an excellent looking 911! Not much that beat a red vintage 911 in the aesthetic dept.

[Oldmother]

Thanks for the kind words. I will have to do better on the valve adjustment next time. I am quite sure it is tranny fluid--I am familiar with the smell of GL-5 gear lube.

Andrew

[afterburn 549]

Some things are worth thinking through a bit..Least this is how I do it .
Say a axle seal...Be sure to check CV joints whilst there as you had to remove axles any way ....
Tranny input seal ? wait a bit till you could bite bite off a few things there, clutch and related parts if necessary, any other eng. work while out on floor

[crustychief]

Nice looking car and the plate BFF... well I am sure that is the case with the car as you get to love the sounds smells and looks of it. +1 what afterburn said. Welcome to the forum.

[Oldmother]

Afterburn--I know what you mean. When replacing a timing belt or something, you might as well do the thermostat, water pump, hoses, etc. I am new to working on Porsches, but have always done all of my own work on my other vehicles. Thanks for the advice, I'll just change the fluid with some Swepco to hopefully make it shift a bit better, and keep an eye on it until I can put in a new clutch, replace the synchro on first gear, etc.

[porschenut]

You can tell what kind of struts you have by color...black-Boge, green-Bilstein. If the inserts are original, they'll be the same as the struts. If you have Boge struts, you might have Boge, Bilstein, or Koni inserts. Rear shocks are easy to identify.

[afterburn 549]

I have koni now all around.. when I took my fronts apart ...They had KYB inserts !!! In them! EEEkk....... Moral of the story You never know what your gonna get Q. Forest Gump

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by Oldmother

Thanks for the kind words. I will have to do better on the valve adjustment next time. I am quite sure it is tranny fluid--I am familiar with the smell of GL-5 gear lube.

Andrew

Andrew, can you post a pic of the drips -- or tell us where they are on the trans....?

[billybek]

Welcome! Nice looking car!
My 915 weeps a small amount of gear lube too, but a little goes a long way. Small leaks always look bigger when they spread out a bit. When you are under the car, spend some time cleaning and it will be easier to identify where the leaks are coming from.
The nice thing about Swepco is that you can identify it by colour!

[Oldmother]

The tranny fluid shows up on the garage floor dead center of where the car is parked, and just about even with the jack points. I haven't had a chance to crawl under the car, clean it up, and inspect a bit further. Thanks for the help so far.

Any ideas on the vibration issue? Would a bad bearing cause this? Thanks.

[Oh Haha]

The leak sounds like the shift rod seal to me. Mine leaks from the same place.

Worn bearings could cause the vibration as could a tire with a bad belt.

You said you put the wheels back on correctly after the shop messed up the placement. Are the tires directional and on the correct positions?

[RWebb]

ok, I will bet 5 cents on the nose seal...

[BlueSideUp]

Remove the cover behind and between the seats, see if there is trans fluid leaking inside the tunnel. If there is fluid in there your shift rod seal is leaking.

The vibration may very well be your CV joints. When the joint hasn't been repacked in a long time the grease breaks down. As you drive over a bump the joint will jam up and be out of whack so to speak. There are some great threads on CV joint servicing, it would probably take a days worth of your time and maybe $50 to service the joints. My car had the same problem.

CV Joint disassembly

[Oldmother]

The tires are directional, and all going the correct direction.

Thanks for all the help so far, I will hopefully have some time to do some investigating this weekend if I can fend off the in-laws long enough. The CV joints sound like a project for a weekend next month...even if that is not the problem, they probably need to be serviced.