When you own an old car, whether it’s a Porsche or any other brand, you have to accept the fact that it will eventually break down, or at least, need some unusual repair at some point. Several times through the last two years, my ’85 Carrera has reminded me that it is getting older and starting to need more than just regular maintenance.
I generally enjoy working on my cars, but recently my time has been at a premium, allowing less time to enjoy wrenching. Consequently, the repairs are taking a lot longer than they used to. Of course, my old friend, procrastination, has also made regular appearances, adding additional time. It’s almost enough to make me pay someone else to do these relatively easy jobs – Almost.
The 2018 driving season started with the 911 out of commission because it would not go into 5 th gear. A relatively easy fix, replacing the shifter bushings ended up taking two weeks to complete. Of course, I had to install a short shift kit at the same time. In addition, I changed the oil, filter and brake fluid. All this just in time for spring HPDE.
Next up was Parade at the Lake of the Ozarks and Gail wasn’t going to go if the A/C didn’t work (as well as the A/C in any air-cooled 911 will ever work: Hint; it works okay at 80 degrees, somewhat at 90 and not at all at 100). So off to Reid Vann the car went for A/C service. I just don’t have the tools for that.
After Parade, I found a gas leak where one of the fuel injectors plugged into the fuel rail. So, in September, I decided to rebuild the fuel injectors. Seemed simple enough – until it wasn’t. After rebuilding all six injectors, the engine ran very roughly, probably missing on one or two cylinders. After thinking about and researching the problem, I guessed that I had damaged at least one of the injectors.
I figured that I was going to have to replace all the injectors. However, I really didn’t want to pay the $335 – $350 per injector that my wholesale supplier and Pelican Parts wanted for rebuilt injectors. About this time, I decided to drive the car to the region’s Porsche Only Cars & Coffee. It sure was fun to get the car out but it was a very uncomfortable drive given the poorly running engine.
After the event, I pulled all the injectors and tested to see that each opened and flowed liquid when power was applied. They all seemed to be ok, so I rented a test kit to make sure they were all receiving power. They were. But the engine still ran poorly and driving it didn’t make it run any better. I pulled the spark plugs and could see that I likely had two cylinders that weren’t working properly.
Research continued. I finally found a reputable eBay seller with the correct rebuilt Bosch injectors at a much more reasonable price of $40, but they only had one available. I bought that one injector, installed it in the number 6 cylinder and took the car for a test drive only to find it didn’t run any better. As a “Hail Mary” play, I decided to do a full tune-up and replaced the spark plugs, ignition wires, distributor cap and rotor. Didn’t help!
I was running out of time. The next weekend, Gail and I were supposed to lead a tour to the Weingarten. Early that week, I called the eBay seller with the injectors to see if they had any more available. They had one more; so, I bought it, waited until it arrived and, on Friday, installed it in the number 5 cylinder. I then took the car on a test drive.
Sweet Success!!! The car ran smoothly and had all its power back…Just in the nick of time!
The tour to the Weingarten was a great success, the car ran beautifully, we met some new region members and a few we don’t see often, had some good food and drink, raised a few dollars for a great charity and enjoyed a generally beautiful afternoon. All was right with the world…until next time.
