850 CSi - first steps
Discussion
hello folks
my mate has just bought one of these cars, its currently a non starter having been left to mature for a few months. Now he is wanting to get the project moving and needs to start the car. It turns over very well and the plugs are sparking so does anyone have any ideas how to get it to go? we are suspecting its a fuel thing possible filters? I have a magic wand in my toolkit but its not worked!
cheers
mike.
my mate has just bought one of these cars, its currently a non starter having been left to mature for a few months. Now he is wanting to get the project moving and needs to start the car. It turns over very well and the plugs are sparking so does anyone have any ideas how to get it to go? we are suspecting its a fuel thing possible filters? I have a magic wand in my toolkit but its not worked!
cheers
mike.
It will need rather more than just a spark to run!
Is there fuel up at the injectors/fuel rails? Is the fuel pressure correct? Is it sparking at the correct time? Are the plugs flooded? The list is almost endless but you have to start somewhere and those are the best starting points.
Was it running ok when it was last in use or was it parked up because of a problem? Are there any fault codes showing in the OBD memory?
You say "one of these cars" Another CSi, an 850i or an 840i?
I recommend you start a new thread for this too rather than take this one off track from Nik.
Is there fuel up at the injectors/fuel rails? Is the fuel pressure correct? Is it sparking at the correct time? Are the plugs flooded? The list is almost endless but you have to start somewhere and those are the best starting points.
Was it running ok when it was last in use or was it parked up because of a problem? Are there any fault codes showing in the OBD memory?
You say "one of these cars" Another CSi, an 850i or an 840i?
I recommend you start a new thread for this too rather than take this one off track from Nik.
Sorry guys, went a bit quiet there for a moment.
Here some updates with a lengthy introduction.
In view of the car being resprayed and mechanically sound we planned to do a "youngtimer" trip through the Alpes for a week. Two E31, 850i and 850CSi, one Porsche 993 and one other yet to be defined - but it has to be from the 90ies.
That should be a nice test under Alpine, serpentine and elevated conditions!
However, before the trip starting end of next week I had planned to stop over at a E31 specialist in Germany just before for another thorough check before I take this car onto a 2k miles trip.
When I got the car back recently the car felt very different. Slow, non-responsive, non-smooth - just not right. I drove it around for about 50 miles and was thoroughly unimpressed about the performance. Therefore I contacted the guy in Germany and asked whether I can drop it in a week earlier, which was last weekend. He luckily was able to fit me in, and I started my journey on Saturday morning towards the tunnel.
Here some updates with a lengthy introduction.
In view of the car being resprayed and mechanically sound we planned to do a "youngtimer" trip through the Alpes for a week. Two E31, 850i and 850CSi, one Porsche 993 and one other yet to be defined - but it has to be from the 90ies.
That should be a nice test under Alpine, serpentine and elevated conditions!
However, before the trip starting end of next week I had planned to stop over at a E31 specialist in Germany just before for another thorough check before I take this car onto a 2k miles trip.
When I got the car back recently the car felt very different. Slow, non-responsive, non-smooth - just not right. I drove it around for about 50 miles and was thoroughly unimpressed about the performance. Therefore I contacted the guy in Germany and asked whether I can drop it in a week earlier, which was last weekend. He luckily was able to fit me in, and I started my journey on Saturday morning towards the tunnel.
Edited by niki0712 on Friday 1st August 15:38
well, it just didn't feel right.
Anyhow, Saturday morning, no traffic, and I made it through the tunnel, France, Belgium and Holland to Germany.
When I arrived in Kaarst near Dusseldorf Wolf, the German specialist (www.wokke.de) was not impressed at all. Hi rather Germanic opinion was "your car sounds like s
t".
We had agreed that we do diagnostics on Saturday, and that I would leave the car with him after that to do the repairs necessary and essential for the Italy trip. That Saturday resulted in two impressive to-do lists, but more about that later.
I had never seen the car up on a hydraulic ramp, only on little stands. I regret not taking photos but now the entire result of the car being parked outside for 12 years became apparent...
Nothing is badly damaged but rust, even though superficial, is everywhere. Easy to sort out but currently not pretty...
Anyhow, here are repairs to be done before my trip:
- replace cooler
- replace break lines with steel flex lines
- refurbish brakes, clean break pads with glass perls, grind all break discs
- replace ABS sensor
- replace lambda sensor and both lambda probes
- replace heating sword (?)
Those are the most pressing repairs.
Further did the bodyshop manage to return the car to me with a broken electric seat adjustment passenger seat and non-functioning tilt-mechanism driver seat. Pretty pissed off about that to be honest. Anyway, those will also be done.
Anyhow, Saturday morning, no traffic, and I made it through the tunnel, France, Belgium and Holland to Germany.
When I arrived in Kaarst near Dusseldorf Wolf, the German specialist (www.wokke.de) was not impressed at all. Hi rather Germanic opinion was "your car sounds like s
t".We had agreed that we do diagnostics on Saturday, and that I would leave the car with him after that to do the repairs necessary and essential for the Italy trip. That Saturday resulted in two impressive to-do lists, but more about that later.
I had never seen the car up on a hydraulic ramp, only on little stands. I regret not taking photos but now the entire result of the car being parked outside for 12 years became apparent...
Nothing is badly damaged but rust, even though superficial, is everywhere. Easy to sort out but currently not pretty...
Anyhow, here are repairs to be done before my trip:
- replace cooler
- replace break lines with steel flex lines
- refurbish brakes, clean break pads with glass perls, grind all break discs
- replace ABS sensor
- replace lambda sensor and both lambda probes
- replace heating sword (?)
Those are the most pressing repairs.
Further did the bodyshop manage to return the car to me with a broken electric seat adjustment passenger seat and non-functioning tilt-mechanism driver seat. Pretty pissed off about that to be honest. Anyway, those will also be done.
now to the engine...
First he checked whether the lambda probes were swapped accidentally, apparently easily done and often cause for loss in performance. After that he swapped the distributor caps but also both working. The engine was getting sparks and clean air. Quite impressive to see somehow listen into an engine with a stethoscope!
Then he took a temperature gun (for the lack of a better word...) to the exhausts and finally found something...one side was a cool 50 degrees C, whilst the other side was more like 160 degrees C. That mage it immediately obvious (to him) that the engine was receiving fuel only on one side, meaning one fuel pump was not working. And there really was no fuel being pumped to the left bank when he detached the fuel lines from the engine.
So I drove over to Germany on 6 cylinders. I was glad because it presented a solvable problem, with the option of giving me the joy back I expected from driving this car!
Wolf then connected the fuel line via a Y-link, so that the remaining fuel pump could provide for both banks - and it worked wonders.
I did take it to the autobahn...and it flies! 160 km/h on the acceleration lane to the autobahn, and constant push up to 250 km/h - what a car!!!!!!
The acceleration is great but of course any normal Porsche nowadays is faster 0-100 km/h. What is impressive is the immense supply of torque, the acceleration in 4th gear from 30 to 200 km/h. And wheel spin in second and third gear!
I must have looked rather stupid flying down the motorway with a very silly grin on my face!
Ah, and the windows do close automatically when going faster that 150 km/h - bit of a surprise when that happens for the first time!
All in all an amazing experience to drive this on the autobahn, and I look forward to doing quite a bit more of that ;-)
First he checked whether the lambda probes were swapped accidentally, apparently easily done and often cause for loss in performance. After that he swapped the distributor caps but also both working. The engine was getting sparks and clean air. Quite impressive to see somehow listen into an engine with a stethoscope!
Then he took a temperature gun (for the lack of a better word...) to the exhausts and finally found something...one side was a cool 50 degrees C, whilst the other side was more like 160 degrees C. That mage it immediately obvious (to him) that the engine was receiving fuel only on one side, meaning one fuel pump was not working. And there really was no fuel being pumped to the left bank when he detached the fuel lines from the engine.
So I drove over to Germany on 6 cylinders. I was glad because it presented a solvable problem, with the option of giving me the joy back I expected from driving this car!
Wolf then connected the fuel line via a Y-link, so that the remaining fuel pump could provide for both banks - and it worked wonders.
I did take it to the autobahn...and it flies! 160 km/h on the acceleration lane to the autobahn, and constant push up to 250 km/h - what a car!!!!!!
The acceleration is great but of course any normal Porsche nowadays is faster 0-100 km/h. What is impressive is the immense supply of torque, the acceleration in 4th gear from 30 to 200 km/h. And wheel spin in second and third gear!
I must have looked rather stupid flying down the motorway with a very silly grin on my face!
Ah, and the windows do close automatically when going faster that 150 km/h - bit of a surprise when that happens for the first time!
All in all an amazing experience to drive this on the autobahn, and I look forward to doing quite a bit more of that ;-)
After my trip I will leave the car in Germany for all not-so-essential repairs to be done...and those are numerous.
- control banjo bolts
- replace valve cover gasket
- de-laquer valve cover and powdercoat
- de-laquer and restore intake manifold
- replace fuel return pipe
- repair rattle in exhaust
- replace oil sump gasket
- seal up differential and replace oil
- replace both steering links/rods
- de-rost underneath
- spray-paint door handles - after a very shoddy bodyshop job on those.
- chromeplate mirrors in both low-beam lights
- upgrade lights to Xenon
Lots to do - but the end result will be one stunning 40k miles (by then) car!!!
- control banjo bolts
- replace valve cover gasket
- de-laquer valve cover and powdercoat
- de-laquer and restore intake manifold
- replace fuel return pipe
- repair rattle in exhaust
- replace oil sump gasket
- seal up differential and replace oil
- replace both steering links/rods
- de-rost underneath
- spray-paint door handles - after a very shoddy bodyshop job on those.
- chromeplate mirrors in both low-beam lights
- upgrade lights to Xenon
Lots to do - but the end result will be one stunning 40k miles (by then) car!!!
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