A plethora of questions

[t951]

So, here is the deal.

I recently got laid off from my company.
I have an 07 Vette that needs new tires. The dealership that I bought it from had given me free tires for life. That dealership chain is out of business....ie no free tires.
The tires will be around 2000.

I thought, hey, drive the 911 as a daily driver. The weather is gorgeous and it will be fun.

Ok, now that the 911 is a daily driver I have some issues that are starting to appear and I hope you all can help.

1. I drove the car for about 1 hour and then, with it idling in my garage I checked the oil. It was low so added it until it was between the lines on the dipstick. When I am idling now the oil level is at the top white line. It drops when I drive, but it still is very high when idling (warmed up). Since I added oil, the car has a MASSIVE hesistation through the RPM band. It also doesn't sound right, like its not firing on all 6. Have I screwed something up?

2. My rear suspension is about 3 inches lower on the right rear. Could this have "slipped" (a bolt become undone or something)? I can roll a marble from the driver side to the passenger side on the rear bumper. Is this easy to adjust?

3. The car now has a HARD pull to the right, and my tires sound like monster truck tires. I am guessing this is related to the above. The tires are 1 year old with less than 1000 miles.

4. I cannot stop smiling while driving it, it is much more involved and entertaining than the new Vette.

5. My transmission seems to be getting tougher to get into gear. There is a "notch" at the very end of the gear selection that I have to seem to force into at times, other times it goes in easy. Is this indicative of a failure?


Thanks for any assistance. I have tried searching here and on rennlist, but never seemed to find any issues on point, especially for massive hesitation / oil level issue.

Oh, its a 3.0L with a PMO setup, bursch headers. It ran great before, even though I have not had the distributor re-curved.

[IROC]

I think your oil level observations are OK. You may have overfilled slightly, but what your're describing isn't out of the ordinary. Check it again (using the dipstick) and you'll know for sure what the level is - don't assume much of anything using the gauge on the dash.

As for the hesitation, I'm not sure other than checking the obvious things.

The right rear ride height is odd. I would find out asap what the deal is there. Short of a broken torsion bar, there is not much to cause a 3" change in ride height.

[t951]

thank you for the quick response. i will double check the oil and jack the car up.

[Porsche_monkey]

Originally Posted by t951

When I am idling now the oil level is at the top white line.

My rear suspension is about 3 inches lower on the right rear.

Your car is supposed to be warm and level to check the oil. If the right rear dropped three inches...

[t951]

Originally Posted by Porsche_monkey

Your car is supposed to be warm and level to check the oil. If the right rear dropped three inches...

Holy crap!!! I didn't even think of that!

So, if I have over filled the oil, what should I worry about?

[kodioneill]

get the car level warm it up to full operating temp. set the level just above the bottom line. your hesitation is definitely related to over filled oil.

[DRACO A5OG]

The temperature must be at the first chicklet (dash) on the temp guage then while the car is on check at the dip stick. I do agree the rear should be level but it should not make that much of a difference, in fact it should have read higher in theory.

Over fill of oil may cause fowling of the plugs. Make certain of the oil level is not too high.

Right Rear, wow that is quite a difference. It could be as stated torsion bar but also a failed shock/strut. Test by putting you knew on the rear bumper and press down quickly to see if the rear bounces i.e. failed shock/strut or up then settle to down.

Also check the ride height adjustment bolts are same of just slightly different in height. Do a search on Rear Torsion Bushing replacement. There is a height adjustment bolt that adjust hieght levels. CAUTION this may throw off the alingment as well if you adjust it. (In you case, it may correct it)

As far as tire noise, it could be out of "round" from sitting in the garage (deformed), out of balance or loose front bearings. The rears are sealed so that is off the check list. A failed shock would throw the alignment off and cause steering wheel to pull and yes cause irregular wear and noise. Today I found my driver rear tire very low which cause her to drift to the left. Filled her up and she drove straight again.

Shifting, You need to make certain the clutch is all the way in before you down shift or up shift. Our baby's are very sensitive to this. I bet if you conciously insure clutch is all the way down before shifting you will no longer have "notch" issues. NEVER ever force into gear!

my 2 cents.

[t951]

Here are two pics that I took:

This one shows the angle of the lean:



This one shows where the suspension shows "movement"



Please ignore the mess in the garage, we are re-doing the epoxy floor and have moved all kinds of crap.....

[tonythetarga]

I think you're looking at a possible broken torsion bar on that side. The "pushing down on the bumper" suggestion probably won't yield much of an answer as you have to twist the steel torsion bar before the shock will even react. That test works on a Dodge but not a Porsche.

The notchiness of the 915 transmission could be normal or it could also need attention. I would suggest you put in some fresh Swepco trans oil and analyse the stuff that comes out. Make sure your clutch is adjusted as is the shift coupler. If it isn't grinding anywhere it probably just needs adjusting.

Suggestion for oil check...after it warms up and you have it parked and idling, just jack up that corner slightly to level it off. If you're overfilled, you could always use the turkey baster and extract some from the bucket. The overfill could be getting sucked into the intake causing your hesitation. If it wasn't there before that could be it.

If you're not up to replacing the rear torsion bar as a DIY, then you might want to get some tires for the Vette .

[DRACO A5OG]

But a broken torsion bar would cause the plate to move like that?

[tonythetarga]

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

But a broken torsion bar would cause the plate to move like that?

That's a good question. I think if it is broken and he hit a bump or pot hole while driving the jolt could be enough to make plates could move like that. It sure is unusual for the plates to move however.

[Porsche_monkey]

If he were in the rust belt and had an older car I would say he also could have a rotted torsion tube. A broken sway bar seems most likely.

Not sure why the plate has moved....

[vash]

i seem to remember the adjustment plates gives you less than 1 inch of ride height adjustment.

that photo is wierd. is the car still riding normal? wierd.

[burgermeister]

+1 broken torsion bar. It's just what my old beetle looked like when it broke one. The sway bar and rubber bushing probably hold it up a bit.

I think the jounce stop is in the shock, so I don't know about the spring plate adjuster movement, but there sure isn't 3" of adjustment in there unless you take both bolts out: +/- 3/4" is about it I think. Easy to check - if it moved, the bolts ought to be loose. Mine took a 3' breaker bar to crack loose. If they're loose, it ought to be cake to adjust them.

The torsion bar is easy to check too: jack up the rear of the car, disconnect the stab bar and shock from RH & LH side, and see how easy things are to move. The rubber bushing alone can exert considerable force though. If it's not obvious side-to-side, you could use a bathroom scale between the jack and the tire. Spring rate at the rear tire patch should measure around 140 lb / in.

[Dixie]

If he were in the rust belt and had an older car I would say he also could have a rotted torsion tube.

I wouldn't rule out a tube failure. A lot of S. Florida cars are from the rust belt.

[t951]

Ok, so, if it is a broken torsion bar, how bad is this? Is this something that an amateur can do? Is it expensive? (I am currently jobless!)

I believe the car has spent its entire life here in florida, however it does have rust bubbles and even the gauge rings have surface rust. Overall though it seems good.

The other picture I want to share is the oil cap. Does this look normal?

[DRACO A5OG]

Yeah that looks fine but a bit wet maybe? You may want to replace the rubber washer for a proper seal to avoid vacumm leaks.

To test, while the car is on remove cap if idle drops you are good. if no chance the gasket needs replacing.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by t951

Ok, so, if it is a broken torsion bar, how bad is this? Is this something that an amateur can do? Is it expensive? (I am currently jobless!)

I believe the car has spent its entire life here in florida, however it does have rust bubbles and even the gauge rings have surface rust. Overall though it seems good.

The other picture I want to share is the oil cap. Does this look

clean the oil cap and re-install

an amateur can replace a broken torsion bar - it is not pleasant but not hard - do you have DIY experience on cars or mechanical things in general?

new ones are $300?? you could buy used also

search on torsion bar for more

could be a LOT more rust tho!!

[teamfee3]

Great vanity tag!

[efhughes3]

I'm not trying to be mean here, but these questions lead me to believe you don't have a lot of experience with a 911's mechanicals? Changing torsion bars isn't fun, it isn't too hard. Maybe a 6 on the 1-10 scale because of the technical aspects. That's with a simple change.

If you've got a broken one due to rust, you just climbed up the beyotch scale. If you don't have mechanical abilities, aptitude and a decent set of tools, I'd look at taking it to a mechanic.