New Owner--I don't even know what I don't know yet.
 

Hi Folks,

A couple of weeks ago I bought this '85 928S. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that...I've been working on VW's for a few decades (mostly Vanagons, the latest a high-top Syncro with a supercharged 2.0 inline 4) so I'm relatively handy with a wrench; however, this beast seems a bit more daunting.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...3835.jpg?w=680

I got it for next-to-nothing; it runs and drives (with a bad idle and a few noises I haven't identified). It has a million little problems, and perhaps some big ones. but it's straight, original, has 115k miles, and I'm jumping in. I've been daily driving it and taking notes on what it's telling me, mainly that it needs some basic TLC. I'm the third owner and have some documentation, but not nearly enough.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...3853.jpg?w=680

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...3338.jpg?w=680

First things first, I've spent the past two weeks reading everything I can find and ordered tune-up parts, fuel lines from Roger, and a bunch of odds and ends from various places to complete the interior and fix a bad window motor and the inop sunroof. I'm finally going to have time to shut myself in the garage this weekend and get started on it.

I'm planning on doing the timing belt and water pump in the next couple of months as well.

Very excited to start a new project, and I'm going to have a million questions. Thanks!

welcome - very nice looking car

Very Nice!!!! Good luck

Congrats on the new ride and welcome to the forum! Ask away all the questions that you have, we have an immensely knowledgeable and helpful community. Make sure to check out our DIY tech articles to save you some headaches. Keep the photos and updates coming!

https://www.pelicanparts.com/928/928tech_articles.htm

Congratulations - New 928 Owner
 

Hey Joe - Welcome. You've scored a very nice 928 and are actually way ahead of the "New Ownership Curve"..... Many of us had a laundry list of cosmetic, interior and paint issues to tackle along with everything else needed to make her reliable. The 928 Porsche owners are a pretty tight family and always willing to help with any questions you may have - so don't hesitate to ask.

While visiting Ouray last month my wife and I had taken a jeep to do a little sight seeing along some of the area's mountain dirt roads. Up toward the top of Yankee-Boy Pass we even stopped long enough to look into the entrance of a couple of abandoned gold mines. Somewhere along the timber line we came on to a surveyor and his dog in their 1989 VW Synchro camper. That 4WD VW must be tough because our rented jeep struggled a bit in "Low Double Granny" on portions of the climb. 1st Synchro I'd ever seen - other than in magazines. He was contracted by the Colorado Bureau of Mines to locate any remaining old mines and map them if they weren't properly blocked off. He said "Too Many Dumb A$$ Tourist keep wandering down into the mine shafts and getting hurt or lost".....:)

Good Luck With Your New 928 - Michael

Joe,

Welcome to 928 ownership. As you grow more comfortable with your car, the question you will be asking is not "what do I need to do to this car?", but "what do I need to do first?"

Lots of great help here and other forums for these projects.

Just ask if you cannot find the answer.

Thanks for the warm welcome! My plan for the car, and for this thread, is to hopefully show that a 928 is not too much car for the average schmo like me to rehabilitate in spare time in a garage. Whether or not this is a fool's errand is to be determined... :)

The car definitely photographs well, but I've been daily driving it to get a feel for its issues and there are many.

I was finally able to get in the garage for a little while last night and change the caps, rotors and plugs and replace the cracked intake boots. I was happy that the seller didn't clean the engine.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...26-2.jpg?w=750

It has a new idle control valve and one new fuel pressure regulator.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...4416.jpg?w=750

-The #4 plug was oily; all others were old but uniformly used up--bad plug wire on #4? Injector? Hoping it's something simple.

-The MAF wobbles around on top of the manifold, very unstable, which I chalk up to a flattened o-ring (ordered.)

An important part of the process for me is to punctuate dirty jobs with easy wins. To that end, I found the missing fuel sender cap and fabric cover on Ebay for a few bucks and "installed."

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...5031.jpg?w=750

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...5037.jpg?w=750

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(New sender O-ring is on the way--I learned that lesson the hard way.)

With fresh ignition parts and air filter, the car definitely runs better but still has a nasty miss at idle. We'll see if the MAF o-ring and/or resolution on #4 helps any.

I'll probably test the plug wires then investigate the inop passenger window and sunroof this evening. Fuel line replacement and grounds/connectors/fuse panel cleaning are on the docket for the weekend.

It's also got one or several exhaust leaks so it's pretty loud and smelly. I'm going to farm out that repair to a shop but don't want to take it in until I've solved some of the smaller issues...I rarely take my vehicles to the shop, and when I do I don't want to be embarrassed by a perceived lack of maintenance! 5280 Motorsports in Denver has been recommended.

JK McDonald,

Syncros are surprisingly capable on the trails. The Jeep guys in Moab are always shocked and intrigued when they find us in the backcountry.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1948220.jpg

Amazing photo, that's one tough ride!

New Project - Name
 

Hey Joe - It sounds like you have a good handle getting started on your new project. You'll have to give her an appropriate name.... :)

One suggestion on your inop window - the problem is usually just the window switch. If the fuse checks OK - sometimes you can firmly hold the rocker down and wiggle it a bit to get the window motor to run in an emergency. Although you can disassemble and clean it's internal electrical contacts, in the long run - it's best to just replace it. Even after reassembly (without losing any of the tiny springs) a used switch tends to only have a certain number of cycles built in before becoming erratic again.....

Here is a handy copy of the 1985 928 Fuse/Relay chart that can be printed out. It's was put together by a member of Rennlist. Another Porsche Enthusiast Site.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1694/8685/files/1985.png?13047582372723095894

I keep a set of wiring schematics and a Fuse/Relay Chart for Miss Purdy beside the computer (Right Hand Passenger Kick Panel). When traveling cross country - they can really come in handy.

Good Luck - Michael

i was commenting here on another thread the other day about how i see very few 928's on the road here in denver - hopefully yours will be one i see driving around soon

Michael, thanks for the suggestions. From what I've been able to piece together, the car was purchased new in Philadelphia in 1985 and was lovingly maintained until 2001, when it went to auction and came to Colorado. The bronze Porsche nameplate on the dash says "Marilyn J. Engle," so I'm going to go with that.

I arrived home to several parts orders last night. I changed out the fuel sender O-ring (FAR easier than any VW I've ever done) and messed around in the hatch area to start. I pulled the battery and found the box in decent condition, although no hold down was present. I glued a chunk of rubber onto the door over the positive side and added hold-down to my list of needed parts. I'll wire-brush the tray and respray after I find a proper hold-down.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...0327.jpg?w=750

The negative cable appears to be in good shape. I prefer to clean corrosion off with Scotch-Brite red pads, very effective.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...0328.jpg?w=750

The ground point was a bit dirty as well; I got it nice and shiny before reinstalling.

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In a fit of vanity, I ordered some unnecessary pretty stuff last week. :) After scrubbing the hatch floor area with diluted Simple Green, I threw in these bits.

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The mat is from Amazon...I was surprised to find such a nice repro for $57. The cover is from Ebay. Far more expensive but it does look nice.

(I'll attack the right rear ground point this weekend.)

I'm torn over the missing spare tire. I shouldn't be shocked by 928 prices but the spare caught me off guard. A steel wheel with disintegrated rubber for $150 seems excessive.
I've got a little shallow sub box that fits perfectly there...As a Vanagon owner I'm already a AAA Premium member so maybe I'll just carry a can of fix-a-flat and call it good.

honerboys, I'm putt-putting between Stapleton and downtown daily. Hope to see you out and about!

On to the passenger window. The panel came off with alarming ease...Whoever was in there before just slapped it back together and left off most of the hardware. It's a used car and it comes with the territory, but missing hardware can be quite irritating.

But Hey, I got free vice grips as part of the sale!

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...5031.jpg?w=750

Dome light and speaker wiring:

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...3433.jpg?w=750

The bulb was also burned out; after converting two Vanagons to LED, I have plenty of appropriate incandescent Bosch bulbs lying around. I've read that there could be a current draw associated with the interior lights on 928's, so I'll keep any eye on it.

I tested the window motor and found it working fine. The switch was the problem (although I'd been told that the motor needed a rebuild and the switch was new. :rolleyes:)

I took apart the switch, cleaned it, and hit it with an exacto knife per a procedure on Rennlist. Worked like a charm...Temporarily. Still finicky--Michael's post above is spot on. I went ahead and ordered two new switches.

Due to more missing hardware, I had to use a couple of VW fasteners from my depleted stash on the mechanism. I hope that's okay.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...3429.jpg?w=750

I hit the moving parts with Accrolube, connected the speakers and dome light, and buttoned the door back up as best I could.

While in the switch panel, I went ahead and replaced the sunroof switch with a new one I'd ordered. Hoping to get to the sunroof next.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...5245.jpg?w=750

Working with crusty, broken panels is part of the gig, but electrical tape probably wasn’t the best choice here. I used Gorilla tape as a new replacement. I do have some leftover 1/8” ABS that might work really well to replace the broken cardboard backing.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...0749.jpg?w=750

So, the panel's back on temporarily, the window is intermittent, and the dome light and speakers work.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...3324.jpg?w=750

Gotta find some hardware. I'll probably go with generic metric stainless stuff and a bag of VW panel clips that I have squirreled away somewhere. It's times like this that I wish I could find a 928 in a u-pull-it yard. I've spend entire afternoons pulling screws and fasteners from wrecked VW vans, but almost all of my stash resides on the Syncro now.

Driving to work today a semi-operational passenger window, and subsequently with better airflow to keep the exhaust fumes out of the cabin, was a true pleasure.

Question: What’s the function of this little steel rod, mounted aft of the sunroof mechanism?

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Marilyn -
 

Hey Joe - Giving her the name of "Marilyn" sounds perfect....

You might throw in a hand full of baking soda to lightly coat the floor of the battery box to help keep any future corrosion at bay. Also insert one of the plastic protective caps found on a new battery post into the hole in the bottom of the battery box to help keep any road wash out. If you cut an "X" into the bottom of the battery cap - the battery will still be able to breath.......

There is a short length of "00 Battery Cable" between the frame and the lower right side of the engine block that should be checked for any corrosion as well. It's part of the primary ground path from the battery to the starter, alt charging circuit, ignition and all the other electrics.

You can loop a ZIP TIE through the white circular plastic window guide (just above your vice grips) to take up any slack or rattle as the window glass is moving.

The motor for the sun roof is usually good - but as a quick test if the roof doesn't want to move - you might try placing your palm against the roof panel while hitting the switch to help pull the roof open.

I think you have pictured one of the steel tube enclosures for the flexible spiral rod that drives the sun roof. The roof motor, located in the center rear hump of the ceiling has one of the drive rods on each side of it's output gear. There are two - 3 foot spiral, flexible rods that run along each side of the roof (inside these steel tubes) that often just needs lubrication once you get things loosened up.

If the roof panel seems to pull to one side or jam - one of the spiral drive rod's "Ramp Feet" (at the windshield end) could be sheared off. Although it's a common problem, there are lots of used parts around....

***Just thinking about the partial photo of the rod you mentioned - It is not the sun roof hand crank is it ? In Texas a good friend from south of the border and excellent Porsche mechanic calls it a Mexican Hand Crank (because it's "Manu-al") :) It allows you to close the sun roof in an emergency ****

Good Luck - Michael

The spring steel rod is used to hold the back of the Sunroof motor cover flush against the headliner. You have to hook the front clips of the cover under the headliner and slide the spring steel into the metal receptacle that's located in the underside of the motor cover.
Fitting it can be maddening, but then you got a free pair of vice grips with the car, so you can't be too upset. :)

Welcome to the world of 928s. You're going to love it here. I had/have an 85 that's been my daily driver for the past 10 years. 240K miles on it when it got T-boned by a Chrysler 200 who ran a red light. car still runs strong but doesn't look quite the same. I've picked up an 86.5 as a replacement and will be parting the 85, now that I've gotten the 86.5 running reliably.

From the looks of it you are starting with a better example than I did at least cosmetically, and you seem to have the mechanical aptitude from you VW experience, so I'm sure you're going to do well and enjoy it.

P.S. I love the Syncro. Being out in CO and into Vanagons I don't know, but you may be familiar with Mountain Bus Werks. I went to school with Stephen for a short period in time.

76FJ55,

I am familiar with Mountain Bus Works. I think I met Stephen at a GTG a couple of years back. I think last I heard the shop was up for sale?

Things have been progressing well, going in fits and starts.

--I took the sunroof apart, cleaned everything up, and put it back together. It works! However, I broke one of the little plastic shoes that go on the ends of the rails then lost half of the piece and along with it any hope for repair. :mad: $18 for that tiny piece, but I'll accept responsibility for my ineptitude...I'll disassemble again when I get the piece; I also need to add loctite to the attachment bolts.

Stepson, thanks for the tip on that rod! It was a bit finicky to get together; I found that if I attached that rod end first, there was enough wiggle room to the the two tabs over the front and reattach the cover (my cover was missing; I found a perfect one on Ebay.)

The actual sunroof cover was pretty ratty; I've been hitting it with my favorite miracle-in-a-bottle, 3M Vinyl condtioner, each evening to get it pliable enough to stretch and re-glue.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...0847.jpg?w=750

--The windows are working perfectly with new switches installed. The passenger door panel is nice and snug with addition of new hardware.

--3 of 5 ground clusters are clean, and with every little step the car runs better and better. I did find this last night, in the front area of the tire tray:

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...2115.jpg?w=750

I can't figure out what these wires are for, but glad I repaired the break.

--The old tires were, well, very old and very, very wide. The car was super squirrelly when braking and had a pretty violent shudder above 60 mph.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...3507.jpg?w=750

The techs at the tire shop had compliments and a million questions about the car. "Whoa, that's a Porsche? Never seen one of these!"

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co..._537.jpg?w=750

You might notice the cheap 10mm spacers on the back. :rolleyes: Those were removed and discarded. I went with Continental DWS 06 in OEM-spec 225/50ZR16. I know they get mixed reviews with some 928 drivers but they hit all of the boxes for what I'm after in an all-season tire. We'll see how it goes.

I can say initially that the new tires are spectacular. Braking, ride, handling, speed...Everything is exponentially better. Instead of driving like my '73 Mustang, the 928 now drives like a 928. Any concerns I had about the front end are, at least temporarily, resolved. Very satisfied so far.

(I should say that my '73 Mustang was a coupe with a 351 Windsor and I loved it dearly when I was fifteen.)

Still a million things to do. Fuel lines tonight and a whole bunch during what I hope will be an uninterrupted weekend of garage time and college football.

Oh--Perusing 928 pics last night, I came across this perfect analog to my car on BaT:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1985-porsche-928s-28/

https://cdn.bringatrailer.com/wp-con...59-940x609.jpg

The 100+ photos are a godsend and have been saved...Not only can I see what the goal is, but I can see all of the parts that my car is missing. :)

Hope everybody has a good weekend.

Jacking Points -
 

Hey Joe - You're making great progress. You might monitor a little closer where a garage places the jacking points on the underside of your baby. There are narrow boxed rails along the doors that look strong enough to a tire shop but that can be easily deformed. The underside of most 928 floor pans have evidence of years of indifferent mechanics.

The 928 isn't as particular as the 911 but when I wasn't watching (Only Once !!!) the oil cooling lines along the right side of "Well Hung" were crushed by a tire tech. Ever since then I've been a bit more focused when a shop jacks my cars........:)

Good Luck - Michael

Ah, thank you Michael. The learning continues...

I forgot to add this photo:

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...5145.jpg?w=750

The battery ground strap can be deceptive. Mine looked good, cleaned but later became defective. The inside of those crimped on terminals get corroded inside. Just something to keep in mind. I opened mine up and dust fell out! One day the motor just did not want to turn over very well. Battery voltage was fine. I also cleaned ground strap from motor to frame.

Welcome, and great work! 928 Intl used to sell “buckets” of hardware pretty reasonable. Random screws , nuts, bolts, clips, etc. don’t know if they still do or not, be worth checking.

Harborman, I pulled the ground strap on your advice and cut back some of the rubber sheathing; it had no corrosion underneath and is still solid along the crimp. Thank you for the suggestion.

Airtek, also thanks for the suggestion--I'll send them a message.

I was able to dig a little deeper into several things over the weekend.

Grounds: I was able to clean all except VII, IX, XI, and XII. I'll get to those this week. I found a bit of corrosion here and there but nothing alarming. I also cleaned up the jumper area--there actually was a good bit of corrosion around there. I ordered the missing plastic cover as well.

https://rennlist.com/forums/attachme...undpoints2.jpg

Fuel lines: I found that the hose between the two regulators that snakes down under the manifold was leaking; glad I got to that one. I also did the U-shaped, fitting-ended hose. I was unable to do the one on the front of the block and the one to the fuel cooler; the fittings are seized. I grunted on those a bit then hit them with PB Blaster and will continue to do so before trying again next weekend. I also ordered a flare nut wrench to avoid damaging them.

After much research on proper lift procedure, I got the car up on jack stands and removed the wheels; brakes looked good. I cleaned up the moving parts (there were cobwebs on the rear calipers) and also adjusted the e-brake, nice to have it operational.

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This is funky...The rear wheels had those cheap spacers under the rims. They apparently also add longer studs. Ugly.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...0715.jpg?w=750

While I had the car up, I took a look around underneath.

I'm missing the fuel pump plate (ordered one from Ebay.)

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...5514.jpg?w=680

New-ish cats with sloppy welds.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...5546.jpg?w=680

These welds look and sound like the sources of my exhaust leaks.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...5613.jpg?w=680

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From the cats back is nice and clean.

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I'm missing everything underneath the front, but a mixture of new and used parts are on the way.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...5724.jpg?w=680

After a full Saturday of watching LSU dismantle Vandy and good progress on the car, I over-enjoyed an evening with friends then slept like a rock.

Sunday, I had a bit of a dull headache and thought it best to stick to grunt work. I removed the front seats and re-lubed all of the moving parts. I took all of the carpets out and cleaned the floor boards as well. Nothing really interesting to report; I found several oxidized coins, a few nuggets of what appeared to be cat food, a grocery store receipt for a frozen pizza and a pack of cigars, and a lollipop stick.

One of the mats has seen better days. Lucky for me, there was a newer replacement in the trunk that came with the car.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...0332.jpg?w=750

I vacuumed all of the carpets and treated all interior vinyl with 3M Vinyl conditioner; the vinyl really soaked it up. I'll rub it down again in a week or so. All of the leather got a two-stage wash/conditioner product that I had in the garage. It also needs more work as all of the leather was dry as a bone.

After a deep clean.

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I finished up with a hand wash and went for a Sunday drive.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...5643.jpg?w=750

I also ordered a couple of key copies from keys4classics...The driver's door lock doesn't work, and I wonder if the key is just worn out. The gas cap key goes in all the way but doesn't turn, and the black ignition key doesn't fully seat in the lock. We'll find out.

Up next I'll finish up the ground cleaning, install Hella H4s to replace the leaking Sylvania sealed beam headlights, and rebuild the front grill and spoiler area (parts deliveries permitting.)

I also need to figure out what's going with the cluster. Everything reads low--the speedo is ten miles slow, the fuel gauge is 1/4 low, the tach is around 200 RPM low...I searched archives to find info on this problem but didn't find anything. I think I just need to pull it, inspect it, clean it up, and see if that helps.

I've got an appointment with 5280 Motorsports for next Monday to check out the exhaust, flush the black brake fluid, and possibly negotiate a timing belt/water pump replacement. I haven't decided whether I'm going to do that job or not and want to see what it would cost me to let them do it.

Oh--Dart Auto Service in Denver "...no longer services 928's." They should note that on their website.

Bad Ice -
 

Hey Joe - I've found that a headache after having a long, tall, cold one while watching your favorite football team is often the result of "Bad Ice". :)

It looks like you have the "Boxed" style oil cooler just in front of the radiator. Do your oil lines come directly from the engine (or Transmission) to this cooler or are they routed in series through the radiator side tank as well ? Some 32 valve 928's alternately have a single long rectangular style oil cooler. The original factory design was way over built, but because of their age and critical status to the life of the engine (or Transmission) , you should check over the cooler and both oil lines for any signs of scuffs, cuts or leakage. If any seepage is noticed in the lines you can reuse the fittings and have a hydraulic shop rebuild them.

The grille assembly on the 928 is very exposed to parking lot curbs and are regularly damaged or broken out. The parts needed to rebuild your grille are available from our forum sponsor. Once restored, you may want to consider installing a set of extended bump plates to protect "Marylin" from another mishap. Just a word of caution, most new owners will often require at least two rebuilds (don't ask) until you are familiar with how low the front air dam is to the ground.

Good Luck - Michael

Looks like you're making great progress keep it up! Something I remembered when I read the other day and you mention again is the spacers. You may want to verify if those are factory or not (would be part #477 501 701) These spacers would have been removed to fit the optional chain set. The factory spacers should be 21mm.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...2102.jpg?w=750

This is funky...The rear wheels had those cheap spacers under the rims. They apparently also add longer studs. Ugly.

I'll check out the oil cooler lines tonight, thanks.

I actually ordered a set of those bump plates along with the additional parts I need. I've been extremely cautious with the front end so far, just trying to get the spacial reckoning correct.

However, in the interest of full disclosure:

My primary vehicle (Vanagon) is cab-over-wheels and nothing out front. The day I brought the 928 home, I turned into my driveway and BAM! hit the garage door. Not hard enough to do any damage, but I was abruptly reminded that this car has a hood. :)


beran earms, as the title of the thread suggests, I don't know what I'm doing! You're reading my mind--the rear wheels are tucked way inside the wells right now and it just didn't look correct so I've spent part of the morning researching. I'm slightly embarrased to admit that those spacers are actually OEM. I'm going to reinstall them.

Yesterday afternoon I had a spare half hour and installed Hella H4's and replaced some rusty screws. I don't know how we survived the old days with sealed beam headlights.

I've also had an intermittent knocking sound from underneath on acceleration. I was concerned over a possible driveline issue; however, a closer look at the exhaust system revealed a torn rubber exhaust hanger on the tail pipe area--I pushed it around a bit and it made the exact knocking sound. Whew. New hangers are on the way.

I also tapped on the frozen fuel line connections and hit them with PB Blaster again.

I really need to remove the pod and check and clean instrument panel connections. Yesterday on the way home from work all warning lights were on; this morning, none.

Unfortunately for my 928 maintenance time, I'm hosting a Vanagon get-together at a brewery's Oktoberfest block party in Denver on Saturday so I probably won't get much done.

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions and tips. I should have bought a 928 years ago.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...5848.jpg?w=750

(from early last week, but you can't host a thread without including at least one picture.)

Headlight Drive -
 

Hey Joe - Since you mentioned working on the headlights, you might also check over the headlight motor and it's drive assembly. It's internal rotating disc and electrical tracks are often neglected for long periods of time and can sometimes fail to lift the headlights into position at the most inopor-toon time. (There is a manual lift knob located on the top of the motor that can be rotated to raise the headlights in case of emergency) Don't forget to clean-up the 4 wiring connections in the sleeve just above the circle in the photo....

Also inspect the security of the pivot point ends of the short vertical drive arm located between the motor and large crosswise lift bar. If the upper "C Clip" is lost from a lack of lubrication and/or too many wear cycles - the top of this arm can come loose, fall backward and be driven into the radiator.

When I was initially going through "Miss Purdy", my headlight lift motor was intermittent. Although a new light switch helped - when pulling the drive motor for inspection and a good cleaning, I found that it's internal gearing mechanism and all the other pivot points were extremely dry. I also discovered that the short vertical drive arm was hanging on by a thread with both "C Clips" having been replaced at some point with a single twist of thin wire !!!!

One other NOTE from Greg Nichols (928 Guru) His Reference Site is just below : The c-clip is called a "lock ring" - part# 900 116 009 01 - noted as 8mm x 6mm ID the corresponding washer is 12mm x 6mm ID.

http://nichols.nu/tips.htm

Good Luck - Michael
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1569353693.jpg

Hi Michael,

Everything is pretty dusty in there. Clean and re-lube added to the list. Luckily the C-clips are intact, though.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...2540.jpg?w=750

Aside from a bit of surface corrosion, I don't see any obvious damage to any of the hoses around the oil cooler but will keep an eye out:

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...2443.jpg?w=750

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I pulled into my neighborhood from the work commute yesterday and noticed that the "clunk" sound from the exhaust was substantially more pronounced than it had been before. Weird. Pulled into the driveway and well, that there's your problem:

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...4058.jpg?w=750

The other exhaust hanger had let go; they had both pretty much turned to dust. I put a block of wood underneath the muffler to de-stress the system. After it cooled off, I strung up some HD zip ties to hold it until the new hangers arrive. I drove the Syncro to work today.

I was happy to find several deliveries waiting for me at home.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...2208.jpg?w=750

Nice to find a situation in which the hardware is intact.

https://black928s.files.wordpress.co...2629.jpg?w=750

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I vacuumed/cleaned out the rest of the dead leaves and got to work.

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It wasn't until after I'd installed it that I found out that the bottom slat should have mounting points for the spoiler. I'll jump off that bridge when I get to it.

I was able to get the passenger side broken spoiler piece off (that sucker was ON THERE) then ran out of time. I'll remove the other side this evening. I'm hoping that I ordered a spoiler with the proper lip measurements; from my reading, that could be an issue. I'll find out tonight.

On a side note, the alternator sure does hang low. I know there's a possibility that the motor mounts are gone, but even so, why put the alternator so close to the ground? And from what I've been able to find out, belly pans for S3's are virtually nonexistent. Is there any other way of protecting components?

Those little clips on the arm for the head lights can cost hundreds of dollars if they fail. If they look at all brittle replace them, cheap insurance.
As for as the exhaust pumpkin... a RMB is so much lighter and I see one in your future,he he.
Is there any other way of protecting components?[/QUOTE]
ya, plan your route carefully. You should check your suspension and confirm it is at the proper height, if not start soaking the large nuts on the shocks now. The correct ride height makes a huge handling difference.

Ok on checking that ground strap. Mine looked fine, but between the inside of the braided strap where it is crimped was the problem, not on the outside under the rubber. Just thought I would point that out. Yours might be fine. I had taken a screw driver and opened up that crimped connection when I found the problem. Think I paid $40 for a replacement strap. I knew it was the problem because I had jumper-ed the cable and the car started right up.

Thanks again for the suggestions, much appreciated. I wrestled with the new spoiler on Thursday night and got it installed; happy to report that it fit perfectly. I also received a fuel pump cover and got that on...Sometimes it's the little things.

We had an Oktoberfest Vanagon meetup this past weekend in Denver; my wife drove our "other" German car out. It got a lot of attention.

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I had a shop flush the brake fluid and patch up the exhaust yesterday; running much quieter now and the brakes are functioning properly (previously were a little stiff--the system needed to be bled.)

Other than that, the timing belt needs to be done (scheduling an appointment with a shop today hopefully) and I'm continuing down the list of a million tiny things...

When I lived in Vail some years ago, I had my DeTomaso Pantera out there. Lots of nice mountain roads to enjoy the car. The 928 should be a lot of fun. Unfortunately the population there has probably quadrupled since I lived there. I noticed that when I was in the Denver and Vail area last Spring. Good luck with the car!

hey harborman - yep traffic here is the worst - worst planning and road maintenance i know of - if you want to drive in the mountains do it on a weekday..preferably early in the week - it seems no one works on fridays around here

Yes, A great place to have a sports car with many nice mountain roads and fantastic scenery all around. I noticed a Toll Lane on I-70 East bound maybe near George Town or Idaho Springs. Never saw anything like that on an interstate. Was not there before population explosion. A nice ride is Denver to Vail, then to Leadville, over Independence Pass, down to Aspen and hit Glenwood Hot Springs pool. As they say in Aspen, "the Billionaires chased all the Millionaires down valley". Going to be a BMW Z3 meet there next summer.

the toll lane is so folks with $$$ and don't mind paying can bypass the unwashed masses when coming down from skiing - now that i'm retired, i ski during the week and don't have to worry about it - hey joetiger when you make the list of a million tiny things let me know what you need - i have a bunch of parts laying around here i need to get rid of

honerboys, thanks! I still need a few little things to at least make it complete.

I received a box of such little things last week.

Fader knob (doesn't work, but I wanted that little stalk covered)

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Rear seat pull--actually the little metal anchor that keeps the pull from falling out.

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This shifter handle is not OEM but it is leather and far better than the plastic carbon fiber monstrosity that was there before. I'm totally aware of, and okay with, Porsche parts being expensive but $480 for a shifter knob was more than I could rationally accept. The plastic button is lame but the knob matches the interior at least.

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I really should have cleaned the IX and VII grounds before I went for emissions testing...Failed due to NOx being just barely over. Went home and cleaned those grounds and the idle settled down beautifully, motor's running much better now. I believe I would have passed if I'd done it before.

Also I spent some time this weekend installing a missing bushing on the sunroof and installing the inside cover. Then I added a pair of 928 Motorsports spoiler protection plates and re-soaked the interior in vinyl conditioner and leather conditioner.

I dropped the car off on Monday at Eurosport Automotive in Arvada; the head man's been working on 928's since 1978. They're doing the timing belt, water pump and associated bits, making sure it's good for emissions, and generally checking it over. Nice folks.

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I considered doing the belt myself, but I'm still within my budget for the car even with the cost of the service. And, I really didn't want it to be down for an extended time in my garage during such a great time of year for driving it (the exception being tomorrow's expected snowstorm, of course.)

What's left on the living list:

Wiper cowl cover and seal
Belly pan
fix the passenger's wiper sprayer
cracked air filter housing
clean the engine up and repaint the intake
Hood liner
tiny leak from the trans--hose I think.
gauges reading 10% low across the board
HVAC repair (A/C doesn't work, strange noises on some heat settings)
Stereo update
Paint detail/restore

...and of course whatever new issues Eurosport tells me about.

Getting there!

You are doing a great job on this one, but a couple things need to go to the top of your list; timing belt and water pump, replace rubber fuel injection hoses.

85 is an interference engine, timing belt breaks or slips teeth and valves meet pistons.

Given the state of some of the rubber parts its a fair guess you may have original and ready to fail fuel injection hoses. If you are really lucky you might smell a gas leak before a fire, but usually doesn't work that way.

One of the other 928 owners makes an improved cowl cover.
Belly pans are extremely rare, something to consider fabricating.
Do it once, replace all the hoses and check valves to the sprayers.
I think the air filter box may be NLA, so fixing the crack might be the option.
Do a top end refresh, new vacuum lines and seals, many issues will go away, clean injectors too.
Several good sources for replacement headliners, good write ups on how to do it here.

Good luck, its fun to drive and fun to fix.

I've made some good progress since I last posted:

--New timing belt, rebuilt tensioner, pulleys, new water pump, and associated bits.
--New (rebuilt) MAF--made a HUGE difference in idle, throttle response, acceleration, etc.
--Cowl cover and seal from Mr. Feathers, nice piece of kit.

If you have a moment, grab a cup of coffee and read about a much larger issue:

I bought the car from a gentleman who had title-jumped it from the previous owner (I've bought and sold over 30 cars so I know that this happens from time to time and while not ideal, it has never been a huge problem.) The title was in that previous owner's name. When I went to register it with the state, I was told that this 2011 title in my possession was stale--a newer one had been printed in 2018 and the one I had was null and void. This was a major problem. The temp tags were set to expire the last week of October and if I didn't get this sorted out, the car would be basically illegal pending the long and terrible process of applying for a bonded title.

I got back in touch with the seller, who was not totally enthused about the situation. I did some research and and found out that he's a bounty hunter/private investigator. I found out later that he took the car as payment of some kind from an Armenian guy who doesn't speak English. This didn't jibe with the name on the title, which was not Armenian at all. So apparently the Armenian had also title jumped it to the bounty hunter.

How did I find out he was Armenian? There was a first name and a phone number on a folder in the paperwork I received. I googled the number and found out that it belonged to a real estate agent in Denver. One of my employees has Armenian roots, and as I'm telling the story over coffee one morning, he says "hey wait--I know that guy."

He emailed his friend to see if he knew anything at all about a Porsche 928. He did, in fact--his father had bought one recently but sadly had given it up as payment to a private investigator. And title jumped.

I went back through the service records on the car and find a phone number for the man whose name was on the title. I left him four messages over a two-week period, each one more desperate than the last, and did not hear back. I considered knocking on his door, but I had no idea who this guy was and whether any part of this situation was good, bad, or otherwise.

In the meantime, the bounty hunter got back in touch and said he needed to contact the man who he thought was the owner (Armenian.) But in order to discuss it with him we need to have his son present to translate so he didn't know if he could get it coordinated.

Meanwhile, the car was in the shop getting the timing belt done. I was now very much invested financially in the car and staring down the prospect of having it sit for extended time until I could go through the horrible bonded title process. Even with a bonded title, the original owner could have come forward and made a claim on the car.

This was a bad situation. Between repeatedly kicking myself in the ass for being so stupid as to begin major work on the car without a title and the fact that my wife was going to kill me, I had several sleepless nights.

The car came back from the shop and, with addition of a new MAF, passed emissions with flying colors and was running like a banshee. The temp tags expired the next day.

Four days later, I'd made a desperate return visit to the DMV (no help) and had a conversation with a bond agent who was not confident that we could get the bonded title done. What now, part it out?

Then the miracle happened. I received a call from a gentleman who said he'd gotten my messages and had been the owner of the 928. His name was on the title. I told him the story; he said he'd printed a new title but had lost it and used the one from 2011 for the sale to the Armenian. He'd not known that a previously-printed title would be invalid.

After discussing the situation and (more importantly I think) my plans to lovingly return the car to glory, he offered to go to the DMV and request and new title which he did the very next day. A week and a half later, I met up with him and he signed over the new title to me. I thanked him profusely and gave him a gift card for a very nice dinner.

With the title in hand, I was finally able to get plates.

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Work can now continue on bringing her back.

Oh--in the meantime, my wife attended a track day with a coworker and drove his M3. She decided that she wants to start a new hobby and subsequently traded in her Subaru for a Golf R. It's crazy how huge the thing is next to the 928.

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Coincidentally, both cars were rated for 288 horsepower from the factory.

LUCKY LUCKY LUCKY (at least it's good luck) :)

yikes - this story could have had a way different ending - i bought my neighbors 80's kawasaki motorcycle - he said he had the title but never could find it - after asking DMV what was involved with getting a new one i sold the bike for parts - glad you got it done

Lucky Duck -
 

Hey Joe - With all the different ways that your title could have been tied up or held in limbo somewhere - You are one "Lucky Duck". My cousin bought a 911 that turned out to have a mechanic's lien on it. It was a good deal initially, but after he had already paid for some major engine work while trying to sort out a couple of title jumping owners - the lawyers and an insurance company gobbled it up. They were trying to charge him with felony theft.......

What's that old story about a 2nd cousin - twice removed - once by the police....:)

Glad it all worked out for you - Michael