Rob's Blog

Three and a half weeks and almost $3k later, and I finally have it back from Schneider Autohaus. Yep, it was a lot more expensive than I thought it would be. But it's now on a firm foundation and the stuff that could easily break on a 30 year old car have been fixed. It's by no means "done", but it should be thoroughly roadworthy at this point. Here's what was done...

I took the car into Schneiders hoping that the good experiences we had driving through Colorado and Denver reflected well on the condition of the car, and for the most part it did. We already knew about the window problems, and there were few other "problems" other than things that aren't surprising for a car almost 30 years old and that had sat in a garage for most of it's life. In many ways, sitting around (not accumulating mileage) is a great thing, but in others it's not so good. Belts, gaskets and hoses harden and crack without use and electrical systems rot whether they are used or not, and after they start being used the problems start showing up. That's the sort of stuff that was found. Details:

"Pre Purchase Check"

Yes, I had bought it already so this was kind of after the fact, but this still tells me what the general condition of the car was. Fixed items are detailed elsewhere, but notable here is the compression tests. 1)155, 2) 145, 3) 135, 4) 150, 5) 150, 6) 120, 7) 150, 8) 150. Not too bad, but cylinder 6 is a bit low. I'll watch that.

Major Service due

The previous owner had replaced the timing belt and water pump already, but everything else needed service.

• Fluids: oil, tranny, brake & coolant
• Hoses, washers & rings: many coolant hoses collapsed when handled, and the braided vacuum tubes we so brittle that they snapped like twigs (audibly!). Good thing we didn't wiggle them in Denver or we might never have made it to California.
• Filters: oil, air, fuel
• Belts: all of them
• Hood struts
• spark plugs & connectors
• check and tune various systems

One interesting thing on a hose; Porsche was agressive in reducing emissions on the early 928s, and part of that was a special "oil breather hose" that directed oil gases back into the air cleaner. The hose was special in that there was a channel in the rubber to pass a pipe carrying coolant along the gases. The idea was that the coolant would heat the oil gases, which somehow would reduce emissions. Well, after a few years they determined that this didn't really accomplish much, and they changed the design. And stopped making replacement parts. Schneider's took a couple of days looking for an original design replacement that apparently doesn't exist anymore, and then just rigged something up using standard flex hose.

Driver's side window switch

They needed to fix the switch that burnt out in Colorado, and correct the kluge we did to get the window back up.

Repair windshield washer system

The washer system had broken hoses. I knew about this in advance and had planned on fixing this myself, but neglected to tell them that.

Thermostat

Hopefully this fixes the issue with overheating while idling with the air conditioner on. Complete replacement,including gaskets, o-rings & hoses.

Passenger side window

This is the primary reason it took so long. The window regulator was broken; the regulator is a geared arm that the electric motor moves to guide the window up and down. A plastic wheel that's riveted on to guide the glass had sheared off. No problem, a new regulator is under $100. But apparently I have an odd version, and I counted no less than 3, probably 4, different regulators tried that didn't allow the motor to "mate" correctly with the gears. It is common knowledge that there are "8 tooth" and "10 tooth" versions, but this was different; there was a plate next to the regulator gears that prevented the motor from getting close enough to the gears to get them to mate. Getting a whole new matched set of motor and regulator would be quite a bit more expensive. Luckily, I saw a matched set come up for sale on eBay from HRE Racing, and I ordered that for about $40. Ironically, that regulator was exactly the one we needed, so Schneider's actually didn't use the motor that came with it and used my original one instead. Mission accomplished, but it took over 3 weeks to get that one item resolved.

Smog Check

After a bit of tuning, it passed easily. At idle it was above average on hydocarbons & carbon dioxide, and at 2500 rpm both measurements were significantly below average.

So now I have my car back, and am able to enjoy it. The battery was very weak and I replaced that myself right away. There are some remaining items that need to be watched or fixed in time, according to Schneiders:

• Handbrake not working. Technically, it seems to work, but only pulled all the way to the top. Maybe just an adjustment.
• Driver's side door panel broken. It's functional and looks good, but one or more of the fasteners are broken. Schneider's rigged something up to secure it.
• Oil pan gasket leaking. We'll see. I haven't noticed any leaks anywhere, but that gasket is hardened. If I'd known they were going to change the oil again I'd have had them do it then.
• Power steering hoses leaking. Again, I hadn't noticed any leaks, but if they are I'll get it done next time.
• Alternator cooling duct gone. I'll research this item to see what it is and if I can replace it myself.
• Heater doesn't work. Well, I tried it, and it does. What doesn't work is that there isn't any airflow through the center vents, but the defrost, leg and door vents blow hard and hot. If that's the extent of the problem I'll just let it go, since repairing this would likely involve pulling the entire dash out.
• Leak at shift seal at transmission. I'll watch for leaks.
• Needs new fan clutch. Could be contributing to idle/AC overheating. Probably won't know until weather gets hot again next year.
• Gas tank has cracks. Apparently this is a common occurance and doesn't cause leaks unless it's really bad, which it's not. But another thing to keep an eye on. The gas tank is made of plastic and these would be cracks in the outside surface of the plastic.

The last item to mention is the upholstery. You can see in some of the photos that it's kind of a psychadelic checkered flag pattern, which Porshe called "Pascha Op Art". The black portions are faded to olive green, and there are some wear/tears. More on this soon... :)

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