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Old 04-11-2020, 05:25 PM   #1
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Today was a relatively good day.

I have a fuel leak at the outbound side of the fuel pump. After doing some Internet research, I found there is a check valve there and it might be sticking open. So today's adventure was to remove the fuel pump and then the check valve, clean it, and see if that eliminated the leak. Unfortunately, to remove the fuel pump (the blue tube), you have to remove the fuel filter (the silver canister).


I got the check valve out. It was only finger tight so I was hoping that might be where my leak was. Since I had it out, I shot it up with some Aerokroil and carb cleaner. Put it all back together and flipped the ignition switch. Still a few drips. Tightened the cap a bit more but to no avail. Oh well, I went upstairs and ordered a new check valve and copper washers - $34 incl shipping.

Next I pulled the driver's seat out of the basement and greased up the threaded rods that make the electric seat move fwd & back. Then got it in the car and bolted down w/o getting a hernia. Tested out the movement and it was much improved (I also did some work on the switch while I had it out). Still have the passenger seat to work on but that's for another day.

Then got her down off her jack stand perch, drove her out of the garage, and turned her around in the driveway. The light was good, so I took a couple of pics. You could see the green much better in the sunlight, but it doesn't come thru as well in my pic. While she was in the driveway, I took advantage of the nice weather and gave her a quick bath. And then a couple more pics, but the light was fading. She's now better situated in the garage. When my friend and I dropped her off the trailer back in Nov, we didn't have the option of getting her nicely situated - she went where she wanted to go and that was that.

Now that she's on the ground, I can loosen the wheel nuts (they're tremendously tight and I'm probably going to need a cheater pipe to get them lose) so I can remove the wheels and bleed the brakes. She had stopping power when I was turning her around, but I'm sure the fluid is VERY old and well past the 2yr requirement.

Tomorrow it's supposed to snow.



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2008 Boxster S Limited Edition #005
2008 Cayman S Sport - Signal Green
1989 928 S4 5 spd - black

Last edited by husker boxster; 04-11-2020 at 08:21 PM.
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Old 04-24-2020, 08:50 PM   #2
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In an effort to bump start the economy, I ordered $550 worth of parts from our site sponsor. The stash included various fan belts, brake pads, the high pressure power steering hose, an automatic trans filter and gasket, along with a gear oil syringe (new tool #13). The fuel pump check valve also arrived from a 928 specialist vendor.



I thought I might be able to save time by just pulling the fuel pump off w/o removing the fuel filter, but alas, it wasn’t possible so I removed both. Got the check valve and new copper washers into the fuel pump and re-installed. Turned the ignition and let the pump fill. Bumped the starter and the engine cracked to life. Shut it off and checked the fuel pump. Dry as a bone. Problem solved – no more fuel leaks. I think the old check valve was stuck open. I’ll keep an eye on it for a while. Trust is earned.

Next item on the agenda was some wheel and wheel well cleaning. Put the shark back up on jack stands and removed the tires. The inner barrels were all filthy with 30 yrs of grime.



Used my usual products to cut thru the grime but it took a bit more elbow grease than normal to clean them. However, I was a bit disappointed with the results. They all looked like this.


Turns out the black was paint, not grime. I tried several toxic fluids from carb cleaner, brake cleaner, and even some lacquer thinner to remove the paint but to no avail. Took some 800 grit sand paper and wet sanded 1 wheel.


Looks presentable but too much work. Need to rethink another solution for the other 3 wheels.

On to cleaning the wheel wells. They too had 30 yrs of grime. Each one took a couple hrs to clean, but they turned out ‘well’.

before

after

before

after
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GPRPCA Chief Driving Instructor
2008 Boxster S Limited Edition #005
2008 Cayman S Sport - Signal Green
1989 928 S4 5 spd - black

Last edited by husker boxster; 04-25-2020 at 05:32 AM.
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Old 04-24-2020, 09:08 PM   #3
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Now that everything is clean(see previous post), time to move on to a brake fluid flush. I gave all the nozzles a squirt of AeroKroil and crossed my fingers. All 8 easily broke loose and I got the flush completed. The fluid that came out looked a bit like Coke, but now has a nice amber glow. Maybe the normal maintenance items were going to be more routine.

Next up was changing the brake pads. It looked like a simple system, even simpler than a 987.



You pinch the retaining ‘spring’ with a vise grips and then swing one of the ends free from the caliper. Carefully disconnect the pad sensor and remove the pads. I started with the left rear caliper and it took me a bit to figure out the best way to do everything, but the old pads came out and the new ones slid right in. Easy peasy. This shouldn’t take long. On to the right rear.

The spring and sensor weren’t a problem. The inner pad wasn’t either. But the outer pad got part way out and became stuck.


It wouldn’t budge any farther. The caliper was held on by 2 19mm bolts. Based on previous history, I wasn’t looking forward to the upcoming fight. Got a breaker bar and ½” drive 19mm socket onto both bolts and thankfully both came loose. With the caliper free, I was able to hammer the offending pad out. The new pads slide right in w/o issue. On to the left front.

The outer pad gave a bit of a fight. They have a couple of holes drilled in them, so I looped a couple of wires into the holes and then stuck a long screwdriver into the loops. Gave a good pull and the pad came out. The inside pad wasn’t as cooperative. It didn’t want to come out at all. I decided to chip the material off the pad to give it more wiggle room. Surprisingly, the pads on all 4 wheels had quite a lot of material on them (they looked almost new), so removing the material on this one would give it a lot more room to maneuver. But it would only come about 25% out.


The front calipers are held on by 2 bolts with a 10mm hex indention in them. Once again, not looking forward to pursuing that fight but I got my 10mm hex socket out along with the breaker bar. Gave the 1st bolt a careful push and it turned! Except it was the socket turning inside the bolt, which was petrified and not budging. Didn’t bother trying again and fully stripping it and since the 1st bolt wasn’t coming out, no need trying the 2nd. I had to get the pad out with the caliper in place.

So I put my thinking cap on and decided to build a puller.


I looped a couple of wires over the plate and then screwed the nuts to move the plate up. It got the pad out a shade further but 1/3 out isn’t good enough. The plate started to bend, which caused the carriage bolt heads to slip off the caliper. Rats!

At this point I decided to try the right front. Maybe that side would cooperate. I don’t normally like to take both sides apart so you have no reference point to look at, but these were so simple it wasn’t going to be an issue. Got the outer pad out with a bit of a struggle, but the inner was just like the left side. I chipped the material off it too. Here’s a shot of how much room it had but still wouldn’t come out. Also note the caliper hex head bolts.


Having the pad at that much angle should have been enough to release it, but it was just as stuck as the left side. So I went to O’Reilly’s and got one of their loaner gear pullers. Got the smallest one they had. Tried sticking one of the arms down the opening, hoping to catch the pad on the hook of the arm. But the arm was too fat and it wouldn’t fit. Double rats!

Got on the Internet to see how much slide hammers were. There was one at Home Depot that had an attachment that looked like it would work perfect. But it was $55. I didn’t really want to spend that much, I wasn’t sure if I needed another new tool (already up to 13 new tools on the project), and wasn’t sure when the next time I’d need a slide hammer. Took the gear puller back to O’Reilly’s and asked if they loaned slide hammers. They said yes! But the only attachment they had that would kind of work was shaped like a V with hooks on the ends.

The V was too short and fat to slide down the pad side and hook it, so I had to come up with some way of wiring it to the pad. I tried several variations of wires but each would break. However, I could see it was slightly moving the left side pad. I tried a thicker wire in the pad and then wired one of the V sides to it. It took a couple of wire reloads, but the pad finally submitted.



Moved to the right side with the correct formula. Took a couple of attempts but that pad finally came out too.


Now all I had to do was slide the new pads in and I’d be done. Except they wouldn’t slide in. Even if they did go in, they would never slide back and forth. So fired up the bench grinder and took some extra material off the edges. Once they easily fit, I added a dab of paint onto the exposed metal. Popped them in and buttoned them up. Finally done!


What should have taken me the better part of an hr took me 4 days. When I originally looked at the pads, I thought about not changing them since there was so much material on them. But there’s no way they would have worked properly being rusted in place. At first I thought maybe they were cheap Chinese pads that were a tad oversized and easily rusted from not being used, especially when the new rears slid in without problems. But since the new fronts had trouble going in, I’ll have to rethink that. At least the next owner shouldn’t have issues the next time they need changing.

When I got in and pumped the pedal a few times, the pedal became rock hard and I mean ROCK hard. Looking fwd to trying the brakes on the street. They should be really good.

Onward and upward.
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2008 Cayman S Sport - Signal Green
1989 928 S4 5 spd - black

Last edited by husker boxster; 04-25-2020 at 05:23 AM.
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Old 04-25-2020, 05:15 AM   #4
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Sundry updates

Keys
Because of the age of the 928 and the complexity of the key, it is basically impossible to have a key made at a regular locksmith. I have a stubby key that requires a sturdy key ring to be able to turn the key in the ignition. According to Rennlist, the best place to get a replacement key is a place in Australia (yes, down under). You send them a couple of pics of your key and they make a key from the pic. Supposedly they’re very good and highly recommended. The other option is to go to the dealer, go thru the Spanish Inquisition about ownership, fork over hundreds of $$$, then the VIN is sent to Germany for a key.

So I sent a pic to Australia and got a quick reply back. He can make a replacement key from my pic and presented me with several options from a duplicate Porsche key with a light, to a key with a head on it that’s just plastic. During our correspondence, he mentions I have the ‘short’ key and I know what he’s talking about because I’ve seen the various keys that come with a 928 in the owner’s manual.


However, I didn’t know the significance of the short key and my new friend explained it to me. It’s kind of like a valet key in that it will start the car but won’t let you lock the car with it. Now it makes sense why in one of my earlier posts, I found the key wouldn’t unlock the trunk. If I wanted to send a lock to Australia, he could decode the 4 extra tumblers and create a ‘long’ key for me. I needed to think about sending my trunk lock half way around the world.

I got an idea. There’s a guy in Atlanta that’s parting out an 89 S4 that I’ve purchased a few items from. I asked him if he’d sell the ignition cylinder, 2 door locks, the trunk lock, and the key(s) for those locks. He said he would. Right after I rifled off my IM to him, I did a search on Rennlist and found a thread from 2002 where a current 928 specialist will take your VIN and create a key, after proof of ownership. I contacted the specialist and yes indeed, they still do the service. It will cost $135 for the key.

Thinking over the options, I think the prudent selection is the 928 specialist key. The cheapest option would be replacing all the locks, but I’m not looking forward to removing the door cards with their 30 yr old clips. Plus, the next owner would not be able to do the VIN type key replacement anymore. The 2nd best option is Australia, but with COVID, I’m a bit uneasy having my lock circumnavigating the globe. The only ‘issue’ with going with the specialist is they want proof of ownership. Since my shark has been comatose for so long, I haven’t been able to go to the DMV yet for a title in my name. In Neb, if you buy a car from out of state, it must be “inspected” before they issue a title. It’s basically a VIN check to see if it’s a stolen car and the chance to add $10 to their coffers. The specialists weren’t too keen using the title from the previous owners along with the bill of sale. So I’ll have to wait a bit longer before I get the long key.

Windshield
It appears some youngster took a bat to the windshield, so it needs replacing. Or maybe it was the previous owner who snapped at a routine maintenance job that took 4 days. I’ve called my glass place twice. The nice office lady has taken all my info, says she will give it to the owner, and he’ll get back to me. Which he hasn’t done. My last call to him was a week ago Fri. After talking to the lady, I did a search on Safelite because an old thread on RL mentioned them. I surf thru the various option pages and get to the price - $300. To be fair, I gave my glass guy til Tue to get back to me. He didn’t, so on Wed I rifle thru all the Safelite pages and order up the windshield. They going to come this Sat to put it in. In the words of Wesley Snipes in ‘Major League’, “This is good, this is really good”.

An hr later, I get a call from Safelite. They no longer have that windshield in stock. The only option is for them to go thru the dealership and it will be $1500. Ouch! His recommendation was to just go to the dealership myself. It would still be $1500, but if they order the wrong windshield, it’s their fault not mine. Pretty honest on his part, turning down $1500. But I’m not ready to spend 5X what I originally was going to spend. I contacted my key guy in Atlanta who was parting out the S4. I asked if he was interested in selling his windshield. He said he was planning to sell it. Great! I mention mine has the radio antenna embedded in it. He responded and said his didn’t. I think the 89 928 had the shark fin radio antenna on the roof, so his wouldn’t work in mine. Rats! The search continues.

Steering wheel
I’d removed the steering wheel because the stitches had come out of the leather.


Took it to my leather guys who said they couldn’t re-stitch it because the leather had shrunk. I thought maybe they could find a hide that matched and stitch it up. Except they’re not that kind of shop. Did some searching on Rennlist and found a place in MI that did steering wheel leathers. Contacted him and he had several potential options for my color. Just like the outside color that changes in various light, the interior has that same kind of properties – it can look grayish green to brown depending on the light. He was going to send me some samples. I should note the interior code for my car is QG. From my searches, QG is a no-description code that doesn't have a name associated with it, like burgundy or blue or black. I haven't been able to decode what it translates to, so the code is basically worthless.

I’ve also been following the adventures of Casey Putsch on YT since he recently bought a 928. His 928 also had the steering wheel that needed re-skinning. He got his new leather and did a video of him stitching it up while his wife gave him a haircut in the driveway. He mentioned the place he got the leather from and I went out to the site. He listed an available color of gray-green. I contacted the guy and he sent me a pic of the color.


That’s my color! I ordered up the leather and it’s on its way. Once it arrives, I’ll have to decide whether I’ll try stitching it myself or take it to my leather guys. Stay tuned…
__________________
GPRPCA Chief Driving Instructor
2008 Boxster S Limited Edition #005
2008 Cayman S Sport - Signal Green
1989 928 S4 5 spd - black

Last edited by husker boxster; 04-25-2020 at 08:55 PM.
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