Shark #2 Has Arrived

[dghii]

A few cheap things to try....
Take your old relay and check the coil connections for resistance....you want some! If relay coil is open, it was most likely bad. You can also connect the relay to a 12 volt source to see if it clicks and you have continuity across the relay contacts.
Need to make sure new relay is actually outputting a 12 volt signal when energized. Turn on AC and look for 12 volts at the relay contacts (meter between the contact and ground).

Need to check continuity from your CCU (relay output) to the compressor.
Also, compressor will not turn on if freon is low.

[husker boxster]

I'm putting the AC to the side for right now...

After changinig the tie rods, the steering was way off (even tho I made sure the new rod was the same length as the old one). Tried to eyeball it square and it was better, but still off. Did some research and found a redneck way to do a front wheel alignment - run a string around the car with the string passing thru the center of each wheel. Then measure the difference between the front and back of the front tires and adjusting the tie rods until you get 1/16th of an inch more on the front of the tire vs the rear (equals the proper toe-in you want on front tires).

Ran a string from front to back.









The string does not touch the front tires. It's used to measure toe from the front and back parts of the wheel.



Perfect alignment is 1/16" longer measurement in the front of the tire, to produce a slight toe-in adjustment. The above pic is the left front tire, so the left measurement is slightly longer than the right.

Here's all the "tools" you'll need.



Got both wheels to 1/16" toe-in, then checked my steering wheel. I'd set it at straight across, but somehow it moved, so I had an 8-2 situation rather than 9-3. Started over again, this time making sure the stering wheel stayed in the proper place.

Took her out for a drive this morning and she drove great. Steering wheel is straight across and she doesn't pull to either side. Close enough for govt work.

[husker boxster]

I hopped back onto the stereo today. Had put that project off to the side as other things were more important.

When I last worked on it, I wasn't getting any sound when I hotwired the radio and amp. I had crossovers for both sets of rear speakers but wouldn't get sound out of any of the speakers. Got tinny sound when I went from radio to speakers, so the amp seemed suspect. Took it to a stereo shop to have them check it. Cpl days later they called back & said the amp was good. When I picked it up I asked how they had wired it. There were screws marked + and -, which I was using as my pos & neg. There was also a 3rd, middle screw that they said was for ignition. That was the key - the pos wire was for constant voltage but didn't run the amp. The ignition screw did. Too bad the manual never mentioned that (I did RTFM). So today I did the proper hotwiring thru the radio & amp and got music! Yay!



It may still look like a rat's nest but the speaker wires are now the proper length and the amp is screwed down securely. It's just a bit messy with short wires to the radio and a wire to hold the battery door open. Didn't want it falling closed and shorting my hotwires.

But progress was made. Now I need to work on getting power to the radio from the center console and wires from the radio to the amp. I'm debating how far to go since I take her back to the mechanic 2 wks from tom to have him cont working on the AC. May not need a radio in his way. But we'll see, if I make good progress on the radio installation, I may be able to take the radio back out and just leave the plugs. That's the plan for now.

[husker boxster]

Got the wires all laid from the radio to the amp, along with a couple of hot wires too back and forth. The head unit and 986 cubbie hole are in but not secured. Close enough to the done sign.

The sound didn't come out very loud on my phone vid, but it's plenty strong in the car.


Here are the wires from the amp to the speakers.


Here are the wires from the head unit to the amp.


And finally, the wires from the head unit heading to the amp and routed under the passenger seat.

[husker boxster]

I dropped the shark off at my mechanic friend's shop on Aug 28. He was going to cont tracking down the AC issue of no juice to the compressor. He seemed to work on it occassionally but tracked it down to the AC button on the dash. It supposedly has two functions when you push it on and 1 of those functions wasn't sending juice. Was the problem the button or somewhere down line? After several wks of tracking, he suggested I get a new button. I checked with a few RennList friends but no one had a button specific for an 89. I ended up ordering it from an Atlanta Porsche dealer who had the best price. But there was never an update with a tracking #. I called them and after some investigating, they had to order it from Germany and it could take 5-7 wks. Ouch. So I contacted my friend and asked him to do the 4 whl alignment I needed and then I'd take her home and wait for the part with fingers crossed. He got the alignment done and I brought her home Oct 11.

Luckily, the part arrived in late Oct. I was busy with company arriving for several days, so it wasn't until the 1st w/e of Nov before I could give it a try. Plugged it in, connected the battery, and said a quick prayer. Unfortunately, it didn't click the compressor on. More work to track it down, but I have time to try myself or take it back in late winter. On to other pressing issues.

The last fuel hose needed replacing. It's shaped like a U from the factory and sits behind and below the MAF.





You can't see it in the 2nd pic, but it's connected to the 2 gold diaphram objects on either side of the MAF. I've had the MAF off at least 3 times, so the plan was to remove the MAF to give more room to remove the fuel line. Except the MAF didn't want to come out of the hose it sits in. So with a bit of corrective angles, I was able to get the nuts loose with the MAF in place (I'd loosened & tightened the nuts last summer so I didn't have to fight them now).

The replacement hose didn't look U shaped and I was confused. A call to the 928sRus cleared up the issue - the hose was to be looped around the fuel lines that go into the cooler (928s route their fuel lines into an AC area to keep the fuel cool). I found a pic on his website showing the routing and got the line connected and routed correctly. Here are a cpl of pics showing the new routing.





That completed the fuel and power steering lines replacement in the engine compartment.

I put the radio back in and it didn't fire up. Did some multimeter testing and found the fuse I'd put in the perm lines had blown. New fuse and now I have radio again.

Next up is to track down a gas smell that's getting stronger by the gas tank. There's an S shaped hose that goes from the filler neck to the tank that may need replacing. Or it's the line from the fuel pump to the front. It will mean a lift on the quick jacks and a removal of the rt rear tire. But I need to get it fixed as I don't need any fireworks. I do keep the fire extinguisher from my CSS in the back seat, just in case.

Speaking of the back seat, since I got her back, I've put the 2 back seats and the passenger seat back in, hopefully for the last time. I may have a line on a good dash. I'm #2 on the list. If #1 backs out, it's mine. That will be a nice winter project.