Gee do you think this might be a problem....

f1rocks · #1 04-06-2007, 09:28 PM

Eric's no oil pressure, car shaking like a cat $hitting razor blades 944....

I always thought it was the oil pickup tube. First time we took it apart I didn't see it. Then thought it was a missing seal. After a really close inspection, I saw a hairline crack. With not much effort it opened right up.

%$#@@#$ mechanics, gotta learn how to put these balance shafts on right

Eric's making first fling!!!!

Oh yeah, Eric, your eBay pickup tube is going in tonight. I "machined" it and it fits like a glove. New seal and all.

Now anybody up for putting a clutch in the Tiger car??

Eric · #2 04-06-2007, 09:52 PM

Huzzaahh!!! Three Cheers for the Tiger-Master!!! (There's a Sigfried and Roy comment in there somewhere!)

I'm sure that we can find lots of able-bodied clutch installers. Name a time, we know the place!

billy · #3 04-07-2007, 07:24 AM

I'm on vacation next Week from Tuesday until Monday night. Amazing what you're finding on that car

f1rocks · #4 04-07-2007, 11:16 AM

Oil pan is going on right now....should have it fired up by tonight.

Eric · #5 04-07-2007, 04:58 PM

Just got a call from Dr. Knoll, the Tiger-Master, and we've got 5 bars of pressure on start up!!

My sincerest thanks go to Brent and his father, who risked raising the ire of his very understanding wife in order to get it back together and test it out.

I'm told that once the new oil pickup tube went in, it pulled oil right away... no need for priming.... and yes, they did need to pull the A-Arms

Steak Dinner for Brent, and a round of beers for everyone else are on me at First Fling, can't wait to see you all there!!

kbrew8991 · #6 04-07-2007, 05:07 PM

no other engine damage?

f1rocks · #7 04-07-2007, 05:38 PM

I looked at the cylinders when I pulled the pan off, again, they looked good. I don't think the internals show any issue. (knock on wood)
Still some lifter noise but thats not uncommon on the older 944 engines. Some of that may go away after they get pumped up better.

With the motor out of phase as bad as it was, I think most of the stuff that could shake off, did.

Nothing says test like extended 5000+ rpm runs down the straights at Brainerd though.

Lobo6 · #8 04-07-2007, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billy

Amazing what you're finding on that car

I hope to never read that about your hopefully soon to be delivered 944.

Andris · #9 04-07-2007, 08:46 PM

... and I don't want to see that when I crack open the engine on the 924S. Glad to hear everything's so far so good.

Eric · #10 04-07-2007, 09:05 PM

In the end, there were not really a large number of problems. There were problems that took a lot of energy to diagnose and solve, but it isn't like the car is a basket case.

The fundamental problem was that whomever did the timing belt replacement put the balance shafts out of phase. (I suspect that the shop in S.D. that did the restoration messed this up)

The excess vibration most likely caused...
1. The fuel rail brake that could have ended in calamity, but didn't
1.1 The fuel rail brake caused the ignition wire cut, easy to fix.
2. The alternator to give up
3. The oil pressure sending unit wires to come apart.
4. The oil pan baffle to break
5. The oil pickup tube to break, which killed our oil pressure.

We went through a lot of agony to diagnose the oil pressure problem, but we ended up validating or updating the Rod Bearings, Oil Pressure Sending Unit, Oil Pan, Oil Pan Baffle, Piston/Piston Walls, Oil Filter, and finally the oil pickup tube. We never found any metal or shavings in the oil, or any other sign of -excess- wear and tear. It is clear that the pickup tube was the only failure in the oil system. Let's just hope I haven't jinxed it.

There is a lesson here. Many people who saw the car thought that there was a lot of vibration in the engine, but we all just shrugged it off as a characteristic of an old engine. Two different qualified Porsche mechanics worked on the car. One even noted the vibration, looked at the balanced shafts, and decided that they were not a problem... all this happened well before the car was ever driven hard. Had I taken more seriously the symptoms and gotten other opinions, I might have saved a lot of trouble.

Trust your instincts, post your questions, seek help, don't just "hope" it will get better. BTW, this applies to that funny pain in your left arm too.