Back home again in Stuttgart - 1985 Porsche 944

Upon closer inspection, the front crank seal was leaking. Which, of course, meant that the woodruff key needed to come out of the crank:


Easy, right? Well, after several days of PB Blaster, ATF/acetone mix, vice grips, end-cutting pliers, heat, screwdrivers, mini pry bars, basically you name it, I finally got the little bastard:


As you can see, it's pretty chewed-up. By this point I had already ordered a new one, so I ended up using my Dremel to very carefully cut a little slot in the end which I was able to jam a screwdriver into and lever it up.

Removing the oil pump drive gear revealed the usual groove:


So, a new one of those is on the way now, too. Part of the reason everything takes forever on this car is that every time I find a new part to buy, it takes the better part of a week to get it from Paragon/Pelican/etc.

I feel your pain on waiting for parts. That is one of the reasons it has taken me so long on my 944. Waiting a week for parts is painful. And when they come in, you have to schedule time to work on the car again.

You are one step closer. Keep at it!

I'll chime in about the pain of waiting on parts.  A couple hours to tear something down, a few minutes ordering, 7-10 days waiting, wait for the weekend, a couple more hours, project is done if reassembly didn't reveal something else that needed ordered.

I have to give credit to Tom for his massively restrained and understated comments about removing the Woodruff key.  I know he was fighting it for a week to get the little berkeleyer out.  Much restraint shown in his public description here.  

Glad you're making progress again.  

Adrian_Thompson said:

I have to give credit to Tom for his massively restrained and understated comments about removing the Woodruff key.  I know he was fighting it for a week to get the little berkeleyer out.  Much restraint shown in his public description here.  

Glad you're making progress again.  

Well, you had the "benefit" of hearing about it in the moment. At this point, I've had a couple of days to calm down. 

Slow progress continues on the timing and balance shaft belts. I made an interesting discovery when I was under there putting the flywheel lock on:

Seems the previous owner (or a previous owner, who knows how long ago this happened), not only left an O2 sensor socket on the sensor, it was only finger tight, which explains the exhaust leak I had. After removing it, the sensor and socket are so jammed together there's no way of getting them apart without destroying the sensor, so in the trash they went, and a new sensor is on it's way.

Anyhow, after a few fits and starts, the timing belt is on:

I don't have the Porsche tool or the Arnworx equivalent, but I've read just about all there is to read about tensioning the timing belt, watched a bunch of Youtube videos, and I did use the "kriket" tool:

So, the kricket is in range, the "twist test" shows that I can turn it 90 degrees without too much effort, and I can turn the water pump pulley with some effort. I think I'm good. Some folks swear you need to have this thing checked to the millionth of a percent of perfect, but just as many say that this is no big deal. I'm satisfied with where it is, though I guess I won't know for sure until I start it and listen. I've at least turned it over and I know there are no piston/valve collisions.

Long time no update! The car's been sitting while life intervened, but I've finally made some progress. Timing belt/water pump is done and the car runs. Of course, there were a few hiccups along the way.

For instance, I cracked the solenoid housing, so I had to get a new starter:

Also found a leak in the radiator when I got it all together, so I procured an aluminum one on eBay:


I had to do a little persuading on the surround to get the new one to fit, but it's all good now.

In the two years the car was down, I heard enough horror stories about failing fuel lines and fires that I decided to take care of that issue before anything else:

Now that my mechanicals are mostly sorted, I need to turn my attention to the interior again. There are a few issues, the most pressing of which is the mildew that keeps showing up. It stands to reason, it's always kind of damp in my barn because of tree coverage. So I have removed the seats and scrubbed the carpets (again) and am taking it outside to air out as much as possible:


The rest of the interior work will wait, because I want to get it back on the road. I'm taking it to Radwood Detroit in a couple of weeks.

Decent milestone today - I drove it to work. My commute is about 25 miles, mostly freeway. I figured it's a good shakedown since I'm driving it downtown for Radwood in a couple of days. So here's a kind of "state of the project" report:

There are still some issues, for one thing the heat is still staying on. I have replaced the rod clip connector thingy under the dash, and that didn't fix it, so I bought a new heater control valve and a bunch of silicone tubing to replace the vacuum lines under the hood. Well, the old control valve seemed to be working OK, I could push the lever in, put my finger over the vacuum port, and it would stay in. Also, and more importantly, it is absolutely crammed in there between the engine and the firewall and it's going to be a huge PITA to get it out, so I left it for now. I did replace the vacuum lines, but it doesn't seem to have helped, I still had heat on this morning. For now I'll live with it, the weather is getting cooler anyhow.

Other than that, mechanically it seems to be good. I still get an occasional no-start because the connectors for my reference sensors like to work their way loose. Easy enough to fix, but still annoying.

New radiator, water pump and everything seems to be working fine. I did add a bit more coolant the other night after driving it around town some. Hoping that's just the bubbles working their way out of the system. There are no leaks, the gauge stays mostly in the lower third, and no signs of coolant on the dipstick, so I think I'm fine.

The drivers side window is missing part of it's frame inside the door, so if you roll it down all the way, it rattles like crazy. I will probably replace that door card while I'm at it, it's pretty torn up from being removed and replaced so many times. The interior in general still needs a fair bit of attention, from the cracked dash to the non-working clock and odometer to the still-iffy carpeting.

My self-rebuilt alternator seems OK for the most part, I haven't run into any dead batteries, and the gauge reads in the middle. The one issue I ran into was when I was driving at night last week with the headlights on. When the car dropped to idle, the "!" warning light would come on. If I revved it up, it went away. My lights are also hopelessly dim. I know there are a bunch of solutions for that issue, I'll look into them over the winter, too.

After driving modern cars for so long, stepping into a semi-restored mid-80s car is a pretty major change. The NVH is of course much higher. I know my control arm bushings are shot, and you can hear them squeaking going down the road. The ride is certainly firm, even with stock suspension and Konis. But you can actually feel things through the steering wheel, and it's nice to be in an old-school manual. I love my modern cars with their conveniences, but this thing is the perfect change of pace from all that. I wouldn't want to drive it every day, but as a toy, it's perfect.

In reply to Tom_Spangler :

Well done, sir.  Perfect Radwood car, but you’ll need to layer the Polos to achieve 944 levels of collar-pop.

AngryCorvair said:

In reply to Tom_Spangler :

Well done, sir.  Perfect Radwood car, but you’ll need to layer the Polos to achieve 944 levels of collar-pop.

No joke, I bought a used Members Only jacket on eBay to wear on Saturday. Of course, it's supposed to be 85 degrees, so I probably won't have it on very much..... 

Excellent.  I look forward to reporting back from Radwood with a view from the passenger seat to keep your assessment honest   Looking forward to tomorrow morning.  

Winter is generally when I try to knock out the bigger stuff on my project cars. With that in mind, I've decided to do a kind of "state of the project" summary of what I've done and what the car still needs. This is for my own knowledge, as well as to just record it somewhere:

Completed tasks

Engine

• Cleaned engine with Seafoam
• Replaced oil pan with good used part, new Victor Reinz gasket, and new Porsche drain plug
• Replaced connecting rod bearings with new Glyco parts
• Replaced connecting rod bearing nuts with new parts
• Replaced engine mounts with new Meyle parts
• Replaced timing and balance shaft belts with new Gates parts
• Replaced distributor cap with new Beck/Arnley part
• Replaced ignition rotor with new Bosch part
• Replaced air filter with new Wix part
• Replaced fuel filter with new Wix part
• Replaced crankshaft front seal with new Porsche part
• Replaced crankshaft woodruff key with new Porsche part
• Replaced oil pump drive gear with new Porsche part
• Replaced power steering pulley with good used part
• Replaced oxygen sensor with new Bosch part
• Replaced starter with new Duralast part
• Replaced underhood fuel lines with Rennbay kit
• Replaced timing and balance shaft rollers with new Porsche parts
• Replaced all underhood vacuum lines with new silicone parts

Electrical

• Replaced voltage regulator
• Installed Focus 9 solid-state DME relay
• Installed new battery hold-dow

Suspension

• Installed new Koni Sport yellow shocks and struts
• Replaced front upper strut mounts with Monroe parts
• Removed front hubs and repacked wheel bearings
• Replaced rear wheel bearings with new FAG parts
• Replaced left rear “silent bloc” in rear suspension with Porsche part
• Installed Porsche 72mm wheel studs
• Installed Ubertechnic 25mm wheel spacers
• Installed 16” “Gulleydeckel” wheels with new Firestone Indy 500 tires
• Replaced tie rod ends with new Meyle parts
• Cleaned and repacked front ball joints and installed new boot

Brakes

• Rebuilt all brake calipers with Centric kits
• Installed Techna-Fit stainless steel brake lines
• Installed Hawk HPS Ceramic brake pads all around
• Replaced brake fluid with Valvoline Synpowe

Interior/HVAC

• Removed seats and shampooed carpet
• Cleaned seats and treated leather with Leather Honey
• Removed old stereo system with amplifier and equalizer
• Installed new Blaupunkt receiver with four Pioneer 4x6 speakers and new wiring
• Replaced center console box
• Replaced drivers side mirror glass and repaired spring
• Replaced sunroof seals
• Replaced heater flap clip

Cooling system

• Replaced water pump with new Zims “Late Version” part
• Replaced thermostat with new Zims part
• Replaced coolant lines with new Uro parts
• Replaced radiator with new aluminum part
• Replaced coolant with 50/50 mix of VW/Audi coolant and distilled water

Current needs

• Fix rattling drivers side window
• Fix non-functional passengers side window
• Replace battery
• Replace windshield and seal
• Remove remains of underhood insulation
• Replace odometer gear
• Diagnose and repair HVAC system (heat staying on)
• Replace front control arm bushings
• Replace rear hatch carpet
• Replace driving lights
• Replace door seals

Nice to have

• Replace clock
• New floor mats
• Gauge panel below radio
• Improved/LED headlights
• Find/make better speaker grilles
• Replace or repair cracked dash
• Replace seats
• Install roll bar
• Install new sway bar kit
• Repair bodywork and repaint
• Remove AC compressor and install bypass
• Lowering springs/index torsion bars

Pretty cool when you list it out like that.  Well done.

Lovely spring weekend here in Michigan, so I decided to get the car out. First things first, let's change the oil!


Well, crap. FYI, the coolant looks fine. What are the odds that this is oil cooler seals and I can get away with NOT having to pull the head?

How long ago did you do the T belt?  Did you do the water pump?  Do you disturb any oil lines or seals doing that job?

totally sucks. Don't give up. If I can fix an auto Boxster you can keep this alive. 

Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:

How long ago did you do the T belt?  Did you do the water pump?  Do you disturb any oil lines or seals doing that job?

totally sucks. Don't give up. If I can fix an auto Boxster you can keep this alive. 

Timing belt was last spring, and yes, I did the water pump, too. I don't *think* I tweaked any oil lines, but the oil cooler is right there next to it, so you never know.

Giving this a free bump in the hope that someone who knows 944's might chime in. 

Looks like classic oil cooler seals to me.

Do it, either it will fix it and you'll be fine or you'll be done with them and can move on to the headgasket or other issue.

Last night I did a compression check, 180psi on all four cylinders. I don't know what these engines are supposed to be at, but I'm at least encouraged by the fact that they were all the same. So maybe, just maybe, my head gasket is OK?

In that spirit, I've decided to replace the oil cooler seals. First thing is to remove the exhaust manifold. After soaking the fasteners first in acetone/ATF mix, then with PB Blaster, I tried the first one:


Of course. I don't have the parts yet, so I hosed everything down again with PB Blaster, and when I get the parts, I'll take the hot wrench and try again. I really, REALLY don't want to break off a stud in the head.

Well, almost two months later, and it's fixed! Ended up getting the oil cooler seal kit from Pelican. Had plenty of struggles with the exhaust, and other household tasks, and the fact that I simply couldn't be bothered, but today I spent the whole day wrenching, got it back together and running, and it appears that all is good. I filled the crankcase with a 50/50 mix of oil and ATF to clean out any remaining coolant, ran it for about 20 minutes to get all warmed up, then dumped it. No evidence of coolant. Hooray!

But that's it. I'm tired of all the wrenching. I'm just not in a "project car" place right now. So as soon as I can get it all cleaned up and some pics taken, this thing is going up for sale.