Your BEST P car tips!

I've found there to be a world of smarts on these BB's and I never cease admiring the quick wits, sharp ideas and new approaches I get to read. I'd like to suggest a new topic. What are your two or three newest and/or most favorite tips having to do with the care and feeding of our P cars, garages, etc.?

I'll start with the following:
1) I got tired of burning, singing, melting
things (including ME!) with my garage drop cord light (normally 75-100W) so I replaced the bulb with a screw in flourescent bulb (22W=100W light). Beautiful COOL light. And you can let it lay on you leather seat all day.

2) While I don't remember seeing it on these BB's--it seems the best quick tune-up for my 3.2 Carara is a bottle of ProGuard about every six weeks to clean up the injectors. There's an almost immediate improvement in idle and overall smoothness. Most of my driving is short haul so I make it a habit
to add a bottle whenever I take a lengthy trip.

3) If you haven't tried "Claying" your Porsche's paint finish I suggest you give it a try. It gives "smoothern' a babies butt" a whole new meaning.

Looking forward to your ideas.

George
86 911T

I recall the following tips, these are specific to the Carrera engines

1) Check and clean the ground connections on the #1 intake runner.

2) Update Head temp sensor

3) Carry spare DME relay, and fuel pump relays.

I have another REALLY LONG one (of course this is quite long) about idle control and testing each of the O2, Idle speed Motor (ISV), the Air Flow Meter (AFM), Injectors and a few other sensors, EMAIL me if your interested.

I am sure there are others... nothing else off the top of my head.

Below are some I found from Automotion, when the site was run by Automotion.


911 owners: check your transmission vents!
Todd Meisner (who received a $25.00 gift certificate for submitting this tip) warns us that if your 911 is blowing its transmission seal or it appears you have a persistent oil leak, check that the transmission vent is not plugged. Also double check when installing a vent tube that it is installed correctly. If installed backwards so it does not prevent oil spillage, it will allow oil to spew out easily, making a big mess, and possibly causing transmission damage if not caught soon.
Thanks to Todd Meisner


Save On Cruise Control Repairs
Before you spend hundreds of dollars replacing a 'faulty' cruise control unit, spend a few minutes checking your brake light bulbs! True, on Porsches, if there is an open circuit in the brake system (blown bulb, faulty brake light switch, or bad wiring connectors), your cruise control will not work. A few minutes checking might save you hundreds of dollars.
Thanks to Kevin Mitchell, Sr.


Improved O-ring performance
Several o-rings in Porsche engines must be lubricated and not sealed in place in order to perform their function correctly. These rings must maintain the ability to continually seal as they are effected by the thermal contraction and expansion of the engine as it goes through its heat cycles. Recommended is a silicone paste lubricant (silicone has the advantage that it better withstands high temperatures). Dow Corning 111 compound is used by some engine builders.
You do not want to use a sealant, like RTV in these applications, as this prevents free movement and re-seating of the rings. Pay special attention to camshaft and thermostat o-rings, and 911 oil return tube and number 8 main bearing o-rings.

Thanks to Bruce Anderson


For fuel-injected engines--or shake, rattle, and no roll
Give your new metal fuel filter a shake before installing it. Beware of rattles. A rattle generally indicates that the paper element has separated from the metal housing. This can lead to rapid paper deterioration and loose bonding elements that might contaminate your fuel injectors or cause erratic performance.
Thanks to Guy Hagan




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Nick Hromyak
'85 Carrera 7 & 9 Fuchs
Havin' Fun in Sacramento

Jorgeman,
who makes Progaurd injector cleaner? I was going to see if I can pick up a bottle at my local auto parts superstore.

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Matt Chamblin
78 911 SC

The flourescent bulb idea sounds good but somehow my troublelight always gets knocked around and the bulbs go out. It would be very expensive to replace all those flourescent bulbs in my case.

One thing i did do that is an easy tip. My lugs and locking cap on my 90C2 style wheels were blackened. I tried to wet-sand them to restore their silver color and it didn't work. I had some "chrome" spraypaint and decided to try it. The color match was perfect, and as long as you are careful with a socket the paint will not chip. The "chrome" spraypaint they sell looks more like a polished aluminum.

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Daryl 91C2 Targa

Originally posted by Planter91C2:
The flourescent bulb idea sounds good but somehow my troublelight always gets knocked around and the bulbs go out. It would be very expensive to replace all those flourescent bulbs in my case.

One thing i did do that is an easy tip. My lugs and locking cap on my 90C2 style wheels were blackened. I tried to wet-sand them to restore their silver color and it didn't work. I had some "chrome" spraypaint and decided to try it. The color match was perfect, and as long as you are careful with a socket the paint will not chip. The "chrome" spraypaint they sell looks more like a polished aluminum.

Usually a regular light that gets banged and
goes out has a broken filament. They're pretty flimsy especially when hot. Unless you
actually break the flourescent bulbs, they take a pretty good knocking around. AND most of them are usually guaranteed for a couple thousand hours!

[docrodg]

I like my LED trouble light so much I have 2 and gave my old style to a friend.

Beer makes all jobs 2x easier to handle and 10 to the power of 2 times longer to do.

A little abrasive cleaner like comet will give a screwdriver grip on a stripped screw

Chem-dip will clean carbon great, and cause you to break windows when you get some in a cut as you scream

soda blasting is a great way to clean parts... especially on halloween... instant ghost costume!

Rifle bore brushes and bore snakes (a fabric tube to wipe barrels) work great to clean passages.

[Peter Zimmermann]

1. Never expect a 915 transmission to adjust to you, the driver. Always use a 915 in a manner that makes it happy; YOU must adjust your driving to a 915.

2. Anticipation should be job one regarding your driving habits.

[S2GART]

Proguard is a Chevron product. You can get it at Advance Auto, Autozone, Pep Boys, etc.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by docrodg

Beer makes all jobs 2x easier to handle and 10 to the power of 2 times longer to do.

Such a beautiful statement.

So simple. So true.

Car is 30+ years old. Few hours extra......... Really!!!

Schedule a smidge of sober time to check things over.

I do like the comet idea!!!!!!!!

[SilberUrS6]

1.) Drive it.

2.) Do everything necessary to make sure 1.) happens.