Running Report 1 - November 2001

Introduction

I bought my first 911 shortly before being discharged from the Navy, in December of 1988, in Charleston, S.C. It was a beautiful, black ’66 911. The car came will all receipts since new, and I was the third owner.

I used this car as a daily driver for a few years, but eventually had to concede that it lacked the proper comforts and safety features for such a role. In late 1990, I purchased an ’84 Carrera Targa. The ’66 was fun, but this was a performance car!

A picture of my old ’84 Carrera Targa.

Incidentally, that is not me in the photo, and the white Targa belongs to a friend.
 

About a year after buying the ’84, I made the “mistake” of test driving a brand new 964. It knocked my socks off, and I had to have one! The power was intoxicating, and I couldn’t believe how effortless it was to go really fast in a hurry. I thought to myself, “It’s a good thing Porsche installed such excellent brakes, or else an unwitting driver could easily get hurt driving this car.”

Not only did I love the 964’s performance, but its styling made my heart go pitter-pitter-patter like no 911 had before (or since). I feel the 911's styling reached its pinnacle with the 964, integrating the bumpers and bulging, muscular fenders of the Carrera into a clean package reminiscent of the original 911. Contemporary, yet classic.

Not being made of money, I had to wait until November of 1992 to realize my dream of owning a 964. By then, I was able to land a used version at a $15k discount from the original sticker price, on a car with 13.8k miles. The ’84 was given in trade, while I still owned and enjoyed the ’66 911.

A picture of the ’91 C2 …. dated 2001:

The purchase of my 964 began a love-hate relationship that continues to this day. I’ve never lost appreciation for the way the car looks and performs (love). On the other hand, the amount of money it has absorbed in maintenance $$ is (more than?) a bit shocking (hate). Then again, excluding the spun rod bearing at 100k miles, the car actually hasn’t been much more expensive to maintain than my previous two 911s.

Fortunately, I’ve always been of the opinion that life is short, you can’t take your money to the grave, and if you have the disposable income after responsible retirement saving, well, damned it!, you ought to buy something you really want. I finally parted with my ’66 911 in 1998, after becoming a homeowner for the first time. Just one too many money pits in the family. Selling the ’66 was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do, but entirely necessary under the circumstances.

The report that follows below is really a narrative of my maintenance log, with the occasional anecdote and subjective impression:

My maintenance log can be found here and  is a “blow-by-blow” summary of the receipts I have generated since owing the car.

1993 - the First Full Year of Ownership

As the maintenance history document shows, my first year of ownership was rather uneventful. A major service and oil change, and a minor idle bug.

1994

A bit of a rough year, and I was cursing the quality of my P-car.

First, the Targa-top self-destructed, and required recovering. I thought this to be unacceptable on such a new car.

Then it was the notorious dual mass flywheel (DMF). I was driving up a fairly steep grade--kinda’ lugging the engine a bit - when I noticed a disturbing vibration coming from the rear of the car. Take the car to the local dealer for the 15k mile service, and learn that I have a failed DMF. Estimated repair cost = $3,000! This in a car with less than 35k miles, and barely out of warranty. I was very unhappy with Porsche.

I wound up discussing the DMF with a well respected independent service shop. At the time, the quality of Porsche’s replacement DMF - the LUK - was still unknown. The independent shop suggested that I have a lightweight flywheel (LWF) installed in my car. Cheaper, more durable, and better performance. So, that’s what I did - in retrospect, a costly mistake.

I loved the way the LWF revved, but found the stalling and erratic idle (when running the A/C) intolerable. Actually, it took awhile for me to learn that it was the LWF causing these problems. In the meantime, the car was in-and-out of both the dealer and independent shops, in an effort to correct the problem. It wasn’t until late in 1994 that a dealer technician finally correctly diagnosed the idle problems as being caused by the LWF.

Besides the idle problems, I did not care for the shift quality with the LWF - notchy gears. In an effort to improve the shift quality, the slave cylinder was replaced, and the transmission fluid changed to Swepco.

At 46k miles, the first note of a head leak was made by the dealership: “#1 cylinder head leaking oil onto heat exchanger.” I will add now that my head leak was never serious, never even leaving a single drop of oil in the driveway.

I also had a power steering pump leak repaired in 1994, as well as a leaky right-rear lower valve cover.

I believe it was in 1994 that I had a bit of a near-miss on the interstate. I was just cruising along, minding my own business, when some guy in a hopped-up 70’s Nova came up along side and baited me into a race - a bait I took, being younger and more easily “encouraged.” Well, he managed to get me trapped behind a slower car, and gave me a “bye-bye” wave as he pulled away, this act rubbing me completely the wrong way. As soon as I managed to get past the slow car, I pulled out all the stops. I quickly had the muscle-car in my sites, and passed him at close to 130 mph. Meanwhile, having failed to keep me behind him, the Nova driver was trying desperately to hang with my 964, and was continuing to build speed.

As I had built up my speed, I was in a long break in traffic. As I topped 130 mph, I suddenly noticed the next block of traffic closing quickly. So quickly, that I thought perhaps I wasn’t going to be able to stop in time. Porsche brakes to the rescue!! I laid into the brakes, a slight pulse of the ABS, and I pulled up to the block of traffic as calm and controlled as could be. At the same time, I was conscious of the fact that the muscle-car dude would not have the same world-class brakes as myself. Sure enough, I looked over my left-shoulder to see him fish-tailing wildly, fighting to keep control of his goes-fast in a straight-line-only mobile. For a moment, my heart sank to my knees, thinking I was about to be at least partially responsible for a multi-car pile-up. Much to my relief, the guy did manage to finally gain control of his car - if not his bodily functions!

Even after all this, I still felt I owed this guy something for his impetuous bye-bye wave. As he finished regaining control of his car, I scooted my 964 through a small break in traffic, and was off to the races again - waving bye-bye as I did. Last I saw of him. Satisfaction.

1995

My experiences of 1994 had left me pretty sour on my P-car. I had a self-destructed Targa top, bad DMF, and a head with a leak (albeit, very small … not even a drip of oil in the driveway). To make matters worse, the LWF was driving me mad with its stalling and embarrassing erratic idle. BTW, at the time, no one was offering a software fix to cure LWF idle problems as they do today. If one did exist, no one told me as such.

I had come to learn that the replacement LUK DMF was quite robust, and I wanted Porsche to put one in my car as a good will gesture to a 3-time 911 owner. After corresponding with the West Coast Service Manager (or whatever he’s called), I obtained an agreement for Porsche to supply me with a new LUK DMF - assuming I paid for the installation labor and had my next major service performed at a Porsche dealership.

In February of 1995, with 50,129 miles on the car, I had the LUK DMF installed. No more $#%#$ stalling, and life was pretty good again. Unfortunately, my transmission problems were not over ….

Besides having the DMF installed - and the clutch chatter I now had - the rest of 1995 was thankfully uneventful.

1996

In the spring of 1996, a buddy and I took the car for a road trip up through Mono Lake, Death Valley, then Las Vegas:

C2 in Death Valley
 

During this trip, we were on a deserted road somewhere between Death Valley and Las Vegas. He asked if I minded if he “opened the car up.” “Be my guest, it’s your driver’s license,” I said. Well, he proceeded to take the car up to 150 mph! I had only had the car up to 140 mph before myself, and I couldn’t tolerate the thought of someone else having driven my car faster than I had.

“Pull over,” I said, “I’m driving.”

After taking the wheel, I proceeded to take the car to 160 mph. Still had pedal left. Going this fast gave me an appreciation of why fighter pilots need to have such good vision - the real estate comes up so fast, you hardly have time to react before you’re on top of something. I told my buddy, “Make sure you let me know if you see a rabbit or stop sign ahead in the road.” I needed all the eyes I could get ;-).

In September of 1996, at 69k miles, I took my car to an independent shop that was highly recommended by a friend. I asked the shop owner what he made of the clutch chatter. He drove the car, then asked to see the receipt for the DMF installation. He noticed that the pressure plate had not been replaced. This is my problem, he said with certainty. Sure enough, after another clutch job(!!), life was finally completely beautiful.

I can only assume the dealer was trying to save me money when they didn’t replace the pressure plate - they didn’t ask me. At the time, a pressure plate alone was around $600.

1997

I was with a buddy, cruising the streets late one night. I wound up at a stoplight across from a 93-95 RX-7. I had handled these cars before in stoplight races, and we went at it. I lost! We came up to the next light, went at it again, and I lost again! Not by much, but despite my best efforts, I had lost both races.

I had suspected my car wasn’t running quite right, but wasn’t sure. For example, I thought I could feel some subtle misfiring at low RPMs, and that the car was running sluggish overall.

Shortly after the RX-7 race, I had the car in the shop. I learned that my distributor belt had failed, at 74k miles. After getting the car back, I was all smiles. The car ran noticeably stronger … back to the stuff legends are made of!

I also had the windshield replaced in 1997, which may have lead to rust forming at the windshield seal, repaired under warranty in 1999.

1998

During or shortly after rain, I had noticed binding in my steering. This binding always went away a few days after the rain had passed. My mechanic told me I needed a new steering rack, at some $1300! “But what about it only occurring when it rains,” I asked? “You need a new rack,” was the reply.

I finally crawled under the car myself, and was shocked to find the steering rack gaiters split wide open. It was obvious to me what was happening here. It rained, water got on the rack shaft, the water caused binding between the shaft and seal.

I had the gaiters replaced, and the binding problem was gone. I had taken the car to a foreign car service shop near my house, thinking they couldn’t possibly screw up a simple job like installing gaiters. I asked the shop owner if I needed an alignment, now that the gaiters had been installed. “No, you don’t” he said.

I should have known better. I went through a new set of front tires in less than 5k miles. When I took the car in for an alignment with my new front tires, the shop owner was shocked when I told him how the foreign car shop owner had told me I didn’t need an alignment.

During 1998, I had to recover the Targa top a second time. Very frustrating, and I still don’t know why it went to hell so quickly again. Targa top #3, finished by Dan Pechtel, is holding up fine - just like it’s supposed to.

At 93k miles, in December, I had to replace the speedometer because the face had peeled off. I replaced it with a used unit showing 22k miles, costing $135.

1999

With the car at the dealership, a reoccurring airbag warning light was finally diagnosed correctly as being caused by a faulty clock. After having the clock replaced, I haven’t had anymore problems with spurious airbag warning lights.

I also had a rust spot at the windshield seal repaired under warranty. In retrospect, this rust may have been as a result of the new window installed two years prior.

After just passing over 100k miles, doomsday = spun rod bearing.

Considering how much it was going to cost to have my own engine repaired correctly, I opted to have a used 993 Varioram engine installed in the car. I also had a 6-speed 993 transmission installed. This chapter of my 964’s history is a story unto itself.

The car spent the rest of the year in the shop, as the 964 to 993 engine conversion was performed.

If I had known how long it was going to take to have the 993 engine installed in my car, I would surely have had my old 964 engine repaired. But, at the time, I was given an estimate of “no more than a month” to have the engine installed. All that said, I wouldn’t want to give the 993 engine back, now that it is installed and running great!

2000

Around June, the 993 engine was finally in, and the car was running - kinda’. I would pick-up the car, it would run good for about a day, the check-engine light would come on, then performance would go to sh**. I finally drove the car to Protomotive, where Todd Knighton adjusted the four (4) O2 sensors around my 964’s single catalytic converter in such a way that the OBDII computer got values it expected.

Life was good again. I now had the 993’s more powerful engine and 6-speed in the 964 body style I preferred.

2001

In April, I had the last of the 993 engine installation sorted out, when Protomotive adjusted the idle to cure rare stalling.

At around 93k miles, I had first noticed occasional sticking-in-gear when downshifting. I made very clear mention of this to the mechanic installing the 993 engine and 6-speed - encouraging him to be on the look out for anything suspicious.

After the 993 engine/6-speed installation was complete, the sticking-in-gear problem was not only still present, but getting worse.

In May, I finally took the car into the shop to have the transmission removed again. The shop performing the work found rust on the input shaft and clutch center. Also, two seals hadn’t been installed, and standing water was found in the case. After sealing/lubing components in accordance with the factory manual prior to reassembly, and sealing the transmission properly, downshifting could now be performed with normal effort.

Closing Remarks

My ’91 C2 has cost me plenty of money and heartache. But, one needs to keep in mind that all Porsches are expensive to maintain. Yes, a new Porsche won’t need too much feeding, but once it becomes more than 4-5 years old, I do believe the maintenance costs will be present. I feel it’s been this way since Porsche has been making cars, and comes with the territory, one might say. A 911 is not a Toyota Camry - or even a Miata. One needs disposable income to maintain a 911 properly.

Of course, one hopes to avoid catastrophic failure like I experienced with my spun rod bearing. A person interested in purchasing a 964 should keep in mind that I have never heard of another 3.6L engine that has spun a rod bearing. I have written off my spun rod bearing as horribly (expensive) bad luck.

Considering how much money goes into maintenance of a 911, one should appreciate how important it is to ensure a prospective purchase has been kept up. Deferred maintenance on a 911 can get very expensive in a hurry!

Finally, even after owning it for some 9 years, I can’t think of another car I would rather own than my 964. I love the way it looks, sounds, drives, the speed, you name it. As the saying goes, “Like owning your own private roller coaster!”

Running Report 2 - May 2002

Introduction

Well, the last 6 months have been pleasantly uneventful. The car has been an absolute joy to drive, and still makes me look forward to getting out of bed in the morning for the drive into work. At just under 115k miles, it’s hard to believe how solid the car feels, as well as how much confidence it inspires.

I do have a short “tic-list” of minor items, and suppose I’ll spend the majority of this update expanding on these items. But, first, I’ll go into a bit of depth on the one major expenditure from the past 6 months.

Climate Control Unit

The 964, as well as the 993 that followed, use a very effective external oil cooler. This oil cooler is mounted in the right-front fender. While the system is very effective, the parts that make it work are somewhat unreliable. The result? Owners driving about with oil coolers that are not working as designed. In particular, blower fans that do not start automatically as they should. The cooler is pretty effective with just oil flow and no fan - especially once the car is moving - but a 964/993 stuck in traffic with an OOS oil cooler fan will run warm enough to cause concern.

The oil cooler fan on my own car came up lame sometime during the period the 993 engine was being installed - or shortly thereafter. I eventually determined the problem component to be the climate control unit (CCU). This was after extensive troubleshooting, (low cost) component replacement, and ultimately running a donor CCU long enough to find it started the fan as designed.

A $CCU$ is quite expensive (some $1250 list), and mine was otherwise perfectly functional. As an alternative to purchasing a new CCU, I designed a jumper that operated the oil cooler fan continuously in slow-speed (ignition on) by tricking the fan relay into thinking it has received a start signal from the CCU. The jumper was rather simple and elegant, requiring no cutting of wires or drilling of holes. It was also very effective at keeping the oil cool.

After driving the car with the jumper installed for a few months, I learned that Hendrick Porsche would sell me a new CCU for “only” $760. So … I jumped at the chance (perhaps this deal might evaporate in the future?), and purchased a new CCU near the end of December, 2001. With the new CCU, my oil cooler fan now operates automatically as designed.

Considering the cost of the new $CCU$, as well as how effective my slow-speed jumper was, my purchase of the CCU was not terribly rational. That is, I should have just kept running with the slow-speed jumper installed. But, while not a fanatical perfectionist, there’s a part of me that can’t tolerate anything on my car not functioning as designed. Anyway, all things considered, I look upon my CCU purchase as an elective purchase, rather than something the car had to have.

High Idle

Somewhere near mid-October of 2001, my engine started idling at  1050 RPM. Not a huge deal, but not normal, either. I’ve had the car at Andial, where they spent some (not a lot of) time looking for the cause. The head temperature sensor and idle position switch (and maybe one or two other things that slip my mind just now) checked out fine. Considering that it’s really not a big deal, I’m hesitant to spend several hundred dollars chasing after the cause.

There’s actually an upside to the high idle. Not that I had a stalling problem before, but there’s absolutely no way the engine is going to stall with the idle as it is now. The idle sits rock-solid at ≈1050 RPM. I’m sure there are some light-weight flywheel (LWF) owners that would love to know what is wrong with my car, so they can break the same thing on their own car! (LWF’s are notorious for inducing idle problems in 964s and ’95 993s).

Interestingly, my friend Mike F. has a ’94 964 with the exact same idle as my own. Mike’s car has idled this way since purchase. His car has a mass-airflow kit and Autothority chip (installed by the P.O.), which may be the culprit. It’s also possible (though not likely) that his car is equipped with a LWF, and the Autothority chip has a bumped idle to compensate.

Driver’s Side Window Sticks

On two occasions, the driver’s side window would not lower. The first time, the window started lowering again after driving off, about two blocks from the house. The second time it didn’t start working again until a day or so later.

After the second occurrence (about a month ago), I swapped the driver and passenger’s side switches. The passenger window would still lower, but the driver’s window would not. So, the switch (a common failure item) is okay. I checked voltages in the switch plug, and they appeared fine, as well.

What I didn’t try was lowering the window manually, using the manual crank behind the tweeter. Next time it acts up, I’ll do this, to determine if the problem is mechanical in nature.

Engine Insulation Sagging

As is common on 911s, my engine insulation is starting to sag. I spoke with some people that had good luck with 3M adhesive (forget the specific kind just now), and gave it a try. It’s an improvement, but not really ideal. Part of the problem is the edge of the insulation breaking away from the main section. Next time the engine is lowered, I’ll look to have a new pad installed.

Catalytic Converter, 993-Style Headers?

One thing my 993 engine is lacking is headers as effective as those on a 993 bodied car. Problem is, the 993 exhaust system - with its dual mufflers - will not easily fit in a 964 body. Among other things, the 964’s body is too narrow. A few people have installed the 993 exhaust system on earlier cars, but the installation is not for the faint hearted.

GHL recently introduced dual catalytic converter, equal (or near equal) length headers/heat exchangers that fit ’75-94 911s. The basic design of this system is - in my amateur opinion - quite similar to the 993 system. Other manufacturers make equal-length headers/heat exchangers that fit ’75-94 911s, but only GHL’s system incorporates proper catalytic converters. Best of all, C.A.R.B. certification of the GHL cat.-header/heaters system is pending. When/if C.A.R.B. certification is obtained, I plan on having this system installed on my California (i.e., must be smog legal) 964

Till next time!

Running Report 3 - November 2002

Introduction

Over the last 6 months, I have spent over $3,000 dollars on my (now) 118k miles 964. However …. the majority of the money has gone towards two upgrades (or updates) that I felt were necessary to keep my 12-year-old car fresh. Only a relatively small percentage of the money was spent on unplanned repairs. Details to follow.

Suspension Freshening - Update #1

Over the past year or so, I had found the power steering reservoir low on a few occasions, and had to add fluid. Around April, the rate at which the fluid was escaping increased considerably. At first, it appeared that the system was leaking at the reservoir-to-power steering pump line (at the pump), a low-pressure line. Or, possibly from the pump itself (a common leaker on 964/993s). Sent the car off to the shop, where the mechanic tightened the hose clamp on the reservoir line at the power steering pump, deeming this to be the source of my leak. Well, after the car was returned, I found that the leak rate hadn’t lessened. Crawling under the car, I found this:
 

After some 115k miles, my power steering rack had finally started to bleed fluid. Another common 964/993 ailment, often springing a leak at much lower miles than my own car.

A bit of research determined that a factory-rebuilt rack was out of the question (over $800). More reasonable were the rebuilt units offered by Performance Products (only $299) and Vertex ($399). Unfortunately, the PP unit was back-ordered at least 3-weeks, and my leak was now of such magnitude that it really wasn’t practical to drive the car (I was adding that much fluid). So, I ordered the in-stock Vertex rack.

After more research, I learned that there are “short racks” - without tie-rods, and “long racks” - with tie-rods. The Vertex unit was a short rack. I also learned that - if your car has appreciable mileage - replacing your tie-rods with the rack is highly recommended (to do otherwise is considered foolish). The wheels started turning in my head …. besides the tie-rods, now would be a good time to replace not only the ball joints, but also the original shock absorbers. The cost really started to escalate, but it was the right thing to do. I gave serious consideration to replacing the A-arms (wishbones), but at over $300/each - and considering that my car was not experiencing any abnormal tire wear or alignment problems - it was just too large an expense for what would be essentially preventative maintenance.

Some $2700 (!!) in parts and labor later, my 964 had a rebuilt steering rack, new tie-rods, ball-joints, Boge (OEM) shocks and a fresh alignment. How did the car drive?? The difference was impressive, the car driving like (or nearly like) new. As has been the case with many before me, the suspension components (most notably the shocks) had aged gradually, and I didn’t appreciate what I was missing. Actually, this was the third 911 I had replaced the shocks on, and in each case the results have been impressive.

One more footnote with regard to the leak at the power steering pump, on the line from the reservoir. The suspension shop told me that this leak was caused by my rack’s bad seals (high pressure being passed to the low pressure side, I presume). Sure enough, since the rack has been repaired, this leak has also ceased.
 

R-134a Upgrade - Update #2

Summer was here, and I found my AC much less than adequate. Did some testing, and found that the system was only cooling ambient air by some 4F. With R-12 at around $60/pound, I decided it was time to upgrade the system to R-134a. $260 in parts (receiver/drier and a few miscellaneous items) and labor later, my 964’s AC is now operating wonderfully on R-134a. Center vent temperature runs from 46F (8C) to around 52F (11C), right inline with factory specifications for an R-134a equipped 964/993.
 

Loss of Interior Blower

On a few occasions over the last 6 months, the interior fan had stopped operating. In each occasion, jiggling the key restored normal operation. Eventually, the problem got to the point where I was able to reproduce it through judicious jiggling of the key. During this troubleshooting, I also determined that not only was the interior fan power losing power, but the headlights, as well. Obviously a problem with the electrical portion of the ignition switch, so I ordered a new one for just under $30.

The switch looked like something I could replace myself. After disconnecting the negative terminal of the battery, I removed the central informer to allow access to the switch. But, despite my most earnest efforts, I was unable to get the upper screw off of the switch. And, there was no way I was going to tackle the shear bolts on the ignition switch and steering column. I eventually turned the installation over to Andial, who - in the service advisor’s words - used “about three tools” to install the switch.
 

Baja Norte Road Rally

Over a 3-day weekend in October, the 964, myself and da’ wife participated in an exiting road rally to Ensenada, Mexico. The roads were a wonderful mixture of mountain curves and long straight-aways. Must confess, the group drove like banditos, but oh what fun!

Here’s a photo of da’ wife and the 964 and myself and the car

Links to more photos:
http://members.rennlist.com/rgranaas/Baja%20Norte%20Rally%202002.htm
http://www.tremotorsports.com/
 

A Trip to Andial

Besides having the aforementioned ignition switch installed, Andial also replaced all three belts on the engine. I was showing off my engine, when a fellow Baja Norte Road Rallyer pointed out that the belt for the alternator “wasn’t looking too good.” Time for me to get a little nervous, being some 200 miles from the good old US of A, with an alternator belt that appeared to be ready to blow. Surprisingly, we were able to find an AutoZone in Ensenada (turns out the AutoZone had just opened two months earlier), from which I purchased a spare belt.

Fortunately, I didn’t need to install the spare belt during the return trip. Once removed, the belt didn’t look nearly as scary as it did while installed:

So as not to let me off too easily on the bill ;), Andial also noted that the left-rear inner axle boot was torn, and needed replacing to the tune of $180. Not too surprising, considering that the right-rear had been replaced in February of 2001.


 

Driver’s Side Window Sticks-Update from 5/01 Report

After sticking most recently (in August), I successfully used the manual crank to loosen and lower the window. From this, I’ve deduced that the regulator is the most likely fault. I’ve purchased a new regulator for $138.69, and plan on installing it in the near future. That’s after I buy a set of stainless steel door handles to install while I’m at it.

Till next time!

Randall G.
Dana Point, Ca.

Running Report 4 - May 2003

Introduction

The last 6 months have been free of any corrective maintenance, a relatively modest amount of money being spent on routine maintenance and two cosmetic upgrades.

Cosmetic Upgrades

In December, I installed new stainless steel door handles and door sills.  I really like the SS door handles, being much more attractive than the factory units, besides being more substantial.  Easy to install, as well.

I also like the door sills.  But, a part of me misses the easy care of the factory rubber, as I now have to be constantly on guard not to scratch the metal.  There’s also the water spots left behind after washing the car, that have to be removed with Windex once the car is completely dry.  In addition, I learned (after the professional installation) that drains at each end of the door leave a small scratch in the metal.  I considered grinding down the drains (wouldn’t hurt anything), but decided that I could live with the scratch left by the rear drain.  The scratch left by the front drain can’t be seen, without making a special effort, it being in the dark corner of the door jamb.  This rationalization surely wouldn't fly for a hard-core perfectionist.

Routine Maintenance

In March, I brought the car in for an oil change and brakes all around.  The rear rotors were machined, but the fronts had to be replaced.

Over the history of the car, my rear pads have lasted 20k miles on average, the front 30k miles on average.  I’ve replaced the front rotors at 63.5k miles and 121k miles, the rear rotors at 87k miles.  I expect the rears will need replacing when pads next come due.

A Trip to England

In March, the wife and I traveled to England, spending time in London, Oxford, Bath, Avebury and Windsor.  While there, we had opportunity to meet up with many of my virtual 964 friends, including Riccardo, Christer, Gary N., Dave K, Taj, and a few others, besides some of my 993 owning virtual friends.  Incredible having so many friends in a country you've never lived in.

We also had a wonderful lunch at the beautiful home of this site’s proprietor, John Miles.  This was followed by a brisk drive through the English countryside, with the wife & I taking turns riding in John’s 964 and Melvin’s racing car.

Straightened Smile

Knowing that John M. wouldn’t be able to rest peacefully until I did so, I finally got motivated and straightened my car’s smile.  You can see in the before photo that my smile was pushed up pretty good, likely from that trip through the washboard back-roads of  Death Valley back in ’96.

Driver’s Side Window Sticking—Another Update

The window hasn’t stuck since August of last year, when I freed it using the manual crank.  However, I have since found that the window now rattles when partially lowered, though not when fully raised.  In the near future, I’ll get motivated, and install the regulator I purchased last fall.  Really, I mean it.

Well, that’s all.  Till next time!

Randall G.
Dana Point, Ca.

Running Report 5 - May 2004

Introduction

The last 9 months saw the car leave me stranded (kinda’) for the second time in 10+ years of ownership = failed fuel pump. There has also been a rework of last year’s leaking powering steering rack, besides a pending Targa top rebuild (just noticed a tear in the top’s vinyl). The first two repairs wound up costing just under $1,000, and the Targa top refurbish is going to cost $507.75

Also, thanks to a visit by Arjan, I (we!) finally replaced that pesky window regulator.

Power Steering Rack Leaking—Again

The wife & I had just left a party in Laguna Beach. As I backed the car out of the parking spot, I heard a rubbing noise coming from the front end. Got out of the car, checked to see if anything was stuck in the tires or the front suspension, found nothing out of the ordinary, then proceeded home.

During the ~12 mile drive home, I continued to hear the rubbing sound when I made low-speed turns, gradually growing worse. By the time I pulled into my garage, the sound had become quite prominent. It had escalated from a mere rubbing sound to a disturbing groan. Looked under the front end, and found fluid all over the left side of the car. Popped the engine cover—sure enough, the power steering fluid reservoir was over half drained.

I had one month left on the warranty for the rebuilt power steering rack I had purchased from Vertex last summer. Called them up, and they shipped me a replacement unit. Once it arrived, I took it over to my favorite suspension shop for installation. According to the shop, here it where my old rack was leaking. Surprisingly, not from the seal rack, but from the “case seal” at the spline for the steering column.

The new (rebuilt) rack did not only return my power steering system to leak-tight. It also corrected an annoying dartiness that I had been noticing for several months. That is, the tendency for the car’s steering to over-respond to small inputs when traveling in a straight line at freeway speeds. I sometimes felt as if other drivers might suspect me of being drunk, zigzagging down the freeway. The new rack performs perfectly.

Failed Fuel Pump

It was a beautiful summer evening. The wife, my visiting from-out-of-town friend, the dog, and myself were all loaded up into the P-car for a short drive up the coast to Laguna Beach—al fresco. First, I needed to stop at the ATM. Parked at the bank, got out of the car, and drew cash out of the walk-up ATM. Came back to the car, turned the key: “rrrrr, rrrrr, rrrrr, rrrr.” That is, nothing but turning over, no start. First thing I did was swap out the DME relay with the spare I carry. Nope, still wouldn’t start. Checked for spark—yep, got spark. Messed with the car for close to an hour (checked fuel pump and DME fuses, etc.)—no luck. We finally gave up, and made the 2 blocks walk home (thus, my reference to being stranded—kinda’).

I came back later that night, and tried starting the car again. Still, nothing but turning over.

I called around early the next morning, and was fortunate to find a Porsche shop open on a Saturday (the German Car Garage in Mission Viejo). Otherwise, I would have been forced to leave the car in the bank’s parking lot all weekend, or have it towed twice (once to my house, then again to the shop on Monday). Called AAA, who sent a flatbed tow-truck. I met the tow-truck at the bank, and watched him winch the car onto the bed using that big threaded eyebolt out of my tool kit (the driver knew just what to look for, and where to find it).

On Monday, the shop called, telling me the fuel pump had seized. The mechanic went on to tell me that—out of curiosity—he had tested the fuel pump again after dropping it “with authority” on his workbench. It worked. I thought to myself, “Damn, maybe if I had banged around the fuel pump, I could have driven the car to the shop.” Two problems with this line of thinking: 1) it likely would have prevented diagnosis of the problem; 2) the fuel pump is inside of a padded compartment, and it’s unlikely any banging would have transmitted itself to the pump.

I suppose 125k miles out of a fuel pump is not unreasonable. Considering the consequences (stranded) of it failing due to old age, I probably should have replaced it earlier as preventative maintenance.

German Autofest Caravan

Arjan B. from the Netherlands came to visit in mid-September. While here, we joined a caravan of Porsches driving to the German Autofest in Ventura. The caravan started in the south with a single Boxster from San Diego, which hooked up with us in Dana Point, with the two cars meeting up with a large group of cars at the Krispy Kreme in Orange, and this group finally rendezvousing with the LA crowd on PCH, to ultimately form a 26 P-car caravan.

Here’s a pic of my car bringing up the rear (thanks to a missed turn, not because of poor driving skills ;-), with only the “chase car” behind us. That’s Arjan sitting in the passenger seat.
 

Installation of the New Window Regulator—Finally!

Arjan was here, willing to help. In fact, he did most all the work (thanks Arjan!). I was pretty much relegated to tool gophering, and making a few trips to the hardware store for tools I didn’t have (like a T25 torx bit). Here’s Arjan tearing apart my driver’s side door:

Once removed, we didn’t find any obvious wear or broken rollers on the old regulator. I can only presume that it was just worn in general, with the wear causing the rollers to bind within the track. With the new regulator installed, the window no longer rattles, and hasn’t stuck in position since.

A/C

In late spring/summer, I began noticing a hissing sound emanating from behind the dash when running the A/C. This hissing cycled with the compressor, and was proportional to engine speed—but was independent of interior fan speed.

Initially, the A/C cooled as well as it had summer of ’02. But, as the summer turned to fall, center vent temperature gradually increased. When it should have lowered, due to lower ambient temperatures.

Finally, in about January or ’04, I officially declared the A/C “dead.” That is, center-vent temperature is for, all intents and purposes, unaffected by running the A/C. In addition, while the compressor still engages, it no longer cycles at all. As it did when the A/C was working effectively (and had a nice, sweaty hose at the compressor). I suspect there’s enough gas to allow the compressor to run, but not enough to cool. I imagine, given more time, there would come a point where the compressor won’t even engage.

I plan on recharging the system in the spring. Well, hopefully, only a charge is needed. The last charge lasted about 18 months. At $60/charge for R-134a, I’ll happily continue an annual charge, as opposed to tackling any major repairs (such as an evaporator). With the recharge, I’ll also learn if the hissing goes away.

Targa Top

Just recently, I noticed a tear in the top of my top:

(Yes, the top is dirty. But, also tired.)

Pretty disheartening, considering that the vinyl is barely over 5 years old. It appears to have just worn out. For example, I can see where the vinyl’s texture appears to be worn down, near the leading edges of the top. I had also noticed, over the last year or so, that it was getting pretty difficult to get a reasonable sheen on the top—it’s stubbornly holding a dull black.

I’m having the top refinished by an upholstery shop within walking distance to my house = West Coast Motoring, which has done great work on da’ wife’s Miata top, besides some general upholstery work on my P-car. The guy (Joe) has impressed me with his attention to detail, but I’m still holding my breath that the top will come out okay. Another option is to send the car to Dan Petchel, but the shipping (all the way across the country) is a bother. Yet another option is Autos International, in Escondido, California—within driving distance of my house. But, not nearly convenient as being within walking distance of my house.


Well, that’s all. Till next time! Randall G.,Dana Point, Ca.