Gauges and More Questions

[kyngfish]

Hi all,

I recently bought an 86 Carrera. When I wash it and wax it this weekend I'll take some nice pictures and put it up on the site. Everyone here has been really helpful and I wanted to thank the community for helping a newbie. Just in case anyone is in Miami and has some pointers on where to meet up with other people, I'm all ears.

This weekend I changed all my oil over to the Brad Penn 20W50 and the car seems to be running smoother. The information on this site was great, it went easy-peasy.

On to my next question.

The clock seems to work, only when the car is running. I don't really understand it. I'll look at it this weekend and see if anything is disconnected, but I just wanted to see if anyone had run into this and had a solution.

The lights are terrible. I've been reading threads about the LED lights and people not being too happy with them, but if anyone can point me to the best possible thread on making the lights work best, I'm all ears.

Sound - I'm not asking for the best sound system, but if anyone has any recommendations for the speakers I should be looking at just to get a solid sound for long drives, I'd love to hear your thoughts. The engine is the most enjoyable part of the car, but sometimes when my wife is in the car, we just want to hear some tunes. I don't want subs or anything of the sort, but I wouldn't mind spending some money on decent speakers and maybe a 4 channel amp.

Also, I was planning on tackling the motor mounts this weekend, but they are original and I'm REALLY worried about bending the welds on the engine cross-bar when I try to pull off that center bolt. Has anyone had any experience with this? My indie will do the job for 100 bucks plus parts, but I'd REALLY like to do it myself. Do I REALLY need an impact wrench? Or will WD-40 and a breaker bar do the trick?

Thanks!

[DRACO A5OG]

Hey Kyngfish,

For the oil change make sure you do not over fill, check level only when she is at operating temps ( hot ), on level ground, running at idle. Just a reminder , Level at dip stick at or just below middle of the two hash marks. Your oil gauge is only accurate when car is fully heated up to operating temps, if not faulty.

Clock, pretty normal for a broken clock, a component has died inside. Check and clean all contacts but it probably will not fix it, best thing to do after verifying all connectors is to send it into NoHo Speedo and have it repaired. Caution, the power source is always hot so be careful not to ground the positive lead to the chassis. Use your DVM to insure you always have 12volts at positive lead, you should.

Lights. We need to know what type of lights you have to better answer you. Is it original sugar scoops, H1, H4's? For standard bulbs, the best incandescent are the OSRAM Night Breakers Plus, if you have H4s then some people have liked the LEDs. I personally have a cheap HID system in my H1s. I love them and no cutting. I put the ballasts in the wheel wells.

Sound, I like my 4 Pioneer Coaxials round speakers with JVC 1Din Head unit plus under the passenger seat JVC sub, I know you said no sub but it makes a big difference, I thought just the head unit sounded fine but when I uped with a under the seat sub, almost perfect . I think Kenwood also makes a under the seat sub too. Not too Boom, Boom Boomy but just enough bass to enjoy the music properly.

Do not use WD40 ever on your car unless your plan is to use it as a solvent to clean while temporarily lubing ( it drys out and promote rust to bare metal surfaces ). Get some Kroil penetrating spray, Raise the car then spray down the center bolts, this will allow the lube to get onto the top of the threads and hopefully some deep inside, let sit over night.

Next day, lower her until the mounts sit right before they compress. Use your 19MM deep socket, breaker bar and break the bolts loose ( leave the jack under the engine as you need to support he engine while doing this task ). Remove center bolts and you may hear something drop, that is your two concave washers. Note orientation of them. Now remove the two sets of the 13MM bolts, once off remove the old mounts. Install in reverse order but here you will need a BFS to push the crossmember forward or back to align the center bolts, remember to put the washers back in place first. Torque to spec, do not over tighten. You can use some antiseize to make it easier in the future.

Break a Leg Brother,

Jim

[patz]

Clocks, DIY fixes are on a few threads. Do a search. You can also send it out to a gauge shop to rebuild it. Or you can do like I do....chuck it and put a voltmeter/head temp gauge in there. I wear a watch and have the time in my radio and GPS.

As to speakers, go to a stereo shop and they will do it.

[darrin]

i too have an '86 carrera -- I replaced the 7" sealed beam headlight inserts in my stock "sugar scoop" headlight housings with 7" h4 european headlights (see, e.g. Pelican Parts - Product Information: 70476-M44 from our host at $58 per light) and added our host's headlight relay system (without the relay all headlight current runs through the high beam switch/turn signal stalk and causes issues) --http://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/JWST911HLPR.htm?pn=JWST-911-HLPR&catalog_description=Headlight%20Relay%20Kit

This provides lighting that has the sharp upper cutoff and beam pattern control I've become used to on more modern cars. FWIW, porsche equipped rest of world 911s with 911-specific H4 headlights that look much like the h5 headlights on 87-forward 911s that will also fit your carrera. IMO, these enhance the carrera's look but are pricy at around $600+ for a pair. Either of these options will be "light years" (ha) ahead of the stock sealed beam sugar scoop headlights and can be further tweaked with LED/HID bulbs (though I've found my h4s with 100w low /130w high halogen incandescent bulbs to be more than fine for my use).

Speakers -- I ended up adding 5.25" separates up front with the tweeters installed just below the window switches -- there's a hole precut into the cardboard backing for the door panels, making it easy to install the tweeters. This (for me) focused the sound a lot nice than having the treble come from a coax speaker in the bottom of the drawer. I mounted a nice old A/D/S powerplate amp under the passenger seat and have abandoned my head unit for a bluetooth transmitter that feeds a signal into the line level rca inputs on my amp. This lets me use my iphone as my car's music source and control volume/etc. via my iphone. Bluetooth has some minor sound artifacts, but this basic system (I've also abandoned my rear deck speakers) provides me with a surprisingly balanced sound.

[kyngfish]

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

Hey Kyngfish,

For the oil change make sure you do not over fill, check level only when she is at operating temps ( hot ), on level ground, running at idle. Just a reminder , Level at dip stick at or just below middle of the two hash marks. Your oil gauge is only accurate when car is fully heated up to operating temps, if not faulty.

How long does it really take to get to "operating temp". I notice that my gauge only really measures well after about 45 minutes of real driving.

What's a BFS? The mounts in my car are the original mounts from 1986. Would the factory have used some kind of anti-seize on the bolts?

Thanks!

[DRACO A5OG]

Originally Posted by kyngfish

How long does it really take to get to "operating temp". I notice that my gauge only really measures well after about 45 minutes of real driving.

What's a BFS? The mounts in my car are the original mounts from 1986. Would the factory have used some kind of anti-seize on the bolts?

Thanks!

Well, it depends on ambient temps, ergo colder, longer it takes to reach 194F or 1/8" over the first hash mark on the gauge. Best to get a cheap IR temp hand held reader and measure the thermostat (passenger side rear wheel well) to be absolutely sure. At 194F, the thermostat is fully open and you will then get an accurate temp/oil level reading. Until then it will not be accurate. Our oil capacity is monster large so being a bit low is better than being over filled. If you have to drive 45 minutes then check, do it or find a hilly road and take her for a fun drive, that will certainly bring the temps up.

Caution, in the first 10 minutes or so keep her below 4K RPMS to properly bring her up to temps. Remember we do not sit and warm up, you just drive off as it will circulate the oil more efficiently, per Porsche Owners Manual.

BFS = Big fcukin Screwdriver

No, factory would not use antiseize, but they should have since it is a maintenance item but I guess they wanted to keep the dealer happy so dealer would have been happy to sell you another crossmember :-/. Wow never changed since 86, that would be incredible. In any case, since you are in a rainy state I would use antiseize as not to damage the crossmember in the future maintenance.

[RSTarga]

These are the latest if you have sugar scoops. Perfect easy replacement for sealed beams.

7" LED Headlights - Model 8700 Evolution 2

[Ducman]

If you're willing to wait until some point this winter I can make you a good deal on some used MB Quart door speakers. They sound great and for what it's worth are far more aesthetically appropriate to an older 911 than 99% of the aftermarket ricer stuff.

I'm in process of going full radio delete....my car is basically a track/autocross toy but I don't want to pull the speakers until it's down for the winter and I have time to recover the door panels.

even if you're not interested in used I'd check those out...i'll look what model i have and post it later.

[kyngfish]

Originally Posted by Ducman

If you're willing to wait until some point this winter I can make you a good deal on some used MB Quart door speakers. They sound great and for what it's worth are far more aesthetically appropriate to an older 911 than 99% of the aftermarket ricer stuff.

I'm in process of going full radio delete....my car is basically a track/autocross toy but I don't want to pull the speakers until it's down for the winter and I have time to recover the door panels.

even if you're not interested in used I'd check those out...i'll look what model i have and post it later.

Used doesn't bother me. Let me know when you're ready to discuss.

[universeman]

Kyngfish I'm a newbie to all this (though I have worked on cars before) and found those motor mounts to be super-easy. Very accessible, a simple job really. The passenger side one was much more difficult; all kinds of stuff is in the way but it can be done. Consider pulling out your A/C compressor (its brackets are designed for easy removal, for this reason) though you don't have to.

Just take your time and don't overpower anything. The Kroil or PB Blaster is the key. If you have to crank hard on your breaker bar, stop - you're doing it wrong. Try an impact driver instead, even a strong battery powered one will break it loose.

Good luck!

[Driven97]

RE: Lights

My car was sketchy as all getup at night. I put the headlight relay kit in with zero other changes and it made the lights suddenly awesome. The OE setup all the current goes through the switch and there's a lot of voltage drop with age. The relay kit gives the lights a shorter shot to the battery and relieves the stress on the switch. Takes about an hour to do and only costs about $30.

RE: Sound

I recently purchased one of those small underseat powered subwoofers and am pretty happy with it. I already had a component system up front from the PO that was decently loud, but left a little wanting down low. The mini-sub rounded things out without making my car sound like a drug dealer car. I chose the Kenwood one because it was inexpensive and tiny (about the size of a ream of paper,) but there's plenty of choice.

[Tremelune]

These topics are worthy of their own threads, and much of it has been covered and debated...

Headlights - As mentioned, step one is to get relays installed. They will provide more juice to any lamp you put up front, and protect the $200 switch in the dash. H4s offer excellent lighting. H1s offer slightly better high/low aiming for 2-3x the price. I had no idea that those JW Speaker LEDs would fit in a "sugar scoop" housing—those lamps are the real deal and are the best standard lighting you can put on these cars...the issue being that they will change the aesthetics.

Sound - What do you currently have? You do want a subwoofer. The under-seat models seem to do a good job rounding out the sound, and they're easy to incorporate. Decklid speakers are a waste—they only serve to confuse the sound stage. All that said, I would start with the head unit and go from there. The choices are endless. I have a DH-PRS80 in mine. It's one of the best head units ever made, and it has one critical feature: after 5 seconds, all the lights turn off.

[kyngfish]

Originally Posted by universeman

Kyngfish I'm a newbie to all this (though I have worked on cars before) and found those motor mounts to be super-easy. Very accessible, a simple job really. The passenger side one was much more difficult; all kinds of stuff is in the way but it can be done. Consider pulling out your A/C compressor (its brackets are designed for easy removal, for this reason) though you don't have to.

Just take your time and don't overpower anything. The Kroil or PB Blaster is the key. If you have to crank hard on your breaker bar, stop - you're doing it wrong. Try an impact driver instead, even a strong battery powered one will break it loose.

Good luck!

Thanks for the pointers. I'm having a really hard time with the Kroil. People seem to recommend it because it's an oil, not a solvent, where PB and WD40 are solvents. if anyone knows any other oil-based options. I'm all ears. Short of ordering on amazon

[Tremelune]

Purchasing things online is glorious. Embrace it.