Picking up from where we left off on the last cliffhanger
First trip out of the garage under her own power (thankfully I didn't have to push it again) to tighten the front ARB bushes and the rear trailing arm to torsion tube bushes (for some reason I think I forgot something, more on that later).
Then on Monday a trip to the MOT test centre and a pass with one advisory for play in the offside front wheel bearing (more on that later). Emissions look fantastic compared to the last one before the rebuild (possibly an error by the operator last time though, see emissions history from previous MOTs below.
I chose the wrong time to go for an MOT and whilst waiting for them to finish an almighty thunderstorm erupted, meaning the drive home got her a little dirty. I did the right thing and gave her a thorough wash before getting tucked back up in the garage (after drying it off first).
Porsche Parking Only!
Only one leak, more of a weep as there was only a smear on the undertray. I can't be sure where it is coming from, first I thought it was the sump gasket, but I could just see a little wetness on the bottom of the belt cover. From what I can see of the crank when looking up from underneath it looks dry. I will take the belt cover off when I have a few moments and see if I can spot the source. It hasn't left a mark on the floor whilst I've run it in the garage.
I'm also getting water droplets that appear to be coming from the exhaust downpipe and centre join. Definitely just plain water (passed the taste test) so assuming it is just condensation from the exhaust system.
On the drive to the MOT station, I noticed a couple of issues, when driving at slow speed and making tight turns I was getting a clunk from the front suspension, also there was a bit of "binding" / "chatter" from the rear end which felt like the transmission. Just to be clear the gear change was fantastic and the best it has ever been in this car. So smooth and no problem with any gear even when it was cold. I've hopefully fixed the second issue as I checked the fluid level in the transmission which was a bit low so managed to add another 200ml or so to get it just under the fill plug. Checked the level with a 90-degree pick as a makeshift oil dipstick (factory workshop manual states approximately 5mm below fill plug). Will come back to the first issue in a little while.
Yes, it was tricky to get that photo, mainly because the phone wouldn't focus on the fluid!
Next up, I couldn't see my gauge screens due to the sunlight, so got the hoods installed, hopefully that will help a bit. Readings were spot on, around 14.7 on the wideband at idle dropping to 11s on full throttle.
I prefer the red colour at night, but white will be easier to read in the daytime (they do have switchable modes for day and night, but it only changes the brightness and not the colour unfortunately).
Then onto the first engine oil change, the oil drain plug was pretty clean with minimal deposits on it which looked no different to when changing the oil previously. Just a very fine soft emulsion, presumably the additives from the assembly lube.
The engine oil definitely had lots of sparkles but only very very fine ones, reminiscent of very fine sand. I'm assuming this is the additives again mainly from the assembly lube (Liqui Moly LM 48 Installation Paste), which contains a large amount of MoS2. I'm not panicking yet, will see what it looks like after the next change at 500 miles. The photos have lots of reflections and don't show how clean it looked apart from the previously mentioned sparkles. There was nothing bigger than those very fine particles, I've still got the oil filter to inspect, need to pick up a large set of tin snips to cut it open.
So back to the first drive and the clunking from the front end
after checking all the fasteners it looks like I forgot to tighten the nuts on the back of the castor eccentrics (the one that holds it to the rear bush), they weren't completely loose but enough to knock against the bush. Hoping that was all it was. I've since stripped down the front suspension and so far, I've checked the front wheel bearings (the adjustment was fine, I think the MOT tester didn't understand that the type of bearings on the 944 have a tiny bit of play when properly adjusted), and the control arm ball joints are nice and tight, rotated them by hand and they were not loose or grindy or notchy, very smooth but firm.
Next up I'm removing the struts to check the top mounts and hopefully install a set of H&R lowering springs I've ordered from CP4L, the rear is already low but will adjust it to be the same.
My odometer was also not working on the first drive, and I dismantled it this evening to find out if it was the infamous odometer gear.
Yes, it was the infamous odometer gear, I barely looked at it nor even touched it and it disintegrated into a million pieces.
New one ordered, mine was 20 x 22.
Was hoping to drive the car to Porsche at Prescott next weekend but don't have an alignment booked in till mid-October. Might try and do a string alignment if I have time.
