[robinm]

Hello All. I am a new member, that is now desperate for any suggestions or help. Some quick background: (Sorry if this is a little wordy, but I need someone to feel sorry for me :-(

Actually, I am going into detail just to see if anyone sees a pattern that I may be missing...



The back story

3 weeks ago, I finally purchased a 93' 968 Coupe I have had my eye on for 2 years. The previous owner finally gave in to selling it to me. In the 3 weeks I have owned it, it has been in the shop for almost 1.5 weeks.



Repairs #1

Replaced broken Power Steering tensioner.

Had the timing belt re-tensioned.



Once the above work was done, I started the car and noticed a fairly loud ticking at low RPMs. I had the mechanic at the shop listed before I drove away, and he said it was just the lifters, and that it should go away once the oil made its way up. (The car had sat for almost a week). Sure enough, he was right, the sound was gone before I hit the first traffic light.



Then the sound came back 2 days later. While going over the sound with the previous owner, we noticed rubber dust under the hood. A belt had slipped a cog and was rubbing. Back I went to the shop and they said the mechanic must had missed a cog, and that they would fix it straight away. Then the real trouble started.



The mechanic called me over to point out that the problem was not the fault of the mechanic, but the fact that 2 bolts had sheared off the A/C Compressor. The compressor was flopping all over.



Repairs #2

Drilled out sheered off bolts. replaced Compressor, etc.

Another repair bill, and they fixed that problem. (Not sure how that one got missed in the

insurance inspection...)



Then I drove home, only to have the tick return from the lifters, But this time it was not going away. I took it back again, and the shop recommended a engine flush and oil change. I drove the car 2 more days realizing that the oil pressure was getting less and less. (I have not yet had the oil changed as the oil was only done about 3000 miles ago. I figure waiting a few more days or at most 100 miles would be OK.)



Now there is no oil pressure. I took it back this evening and the mechanic is stumped. He is going to investigate further for me. The oil level is fine. It was down about 1/2 a litre, so I topped it off, but it made no difference.





SO. This sounds a bit like the Oil Pickup Tube being cracked. I have plenty of oil, and the pressure kind of comes in spurts. It used to work if I was accelerating or cornering. But now no more.



This all has been within the span of about 200 miles of normal daily driving. Now the car is parked in my garage, completely un-driveable...3 weeks after I bought it.



Any ideas??

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[sasilverbullet]

Broken oil pickup tube - sorry!



There's another thread that shows how to modify the thing so it won't break again, poor design at best...



Suggestion though - from your description of the problem i'd find another more experienced shop to work on the car...

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[robinm]

[quote name='sasilverbullet' date='Sep 19 2006, 10:46 PM']Broken oil pickup tube - sorry!

There's another thread that shows how to modify the thing so it won't break again, poor design at best...

Suggestion though - from your description of the problem i'd find another more experienced shop to work on the car...

[right][post="26239"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]



Thanks for the comments. I would like to add that this particular shop has serviced this car for the past 6 years. They are one of the largest and oddly enough, one of the best in the area. I would like to trust in their abilities, just frustrated these things are all popping up so soon after purchase. Thanks for the suggestions though.



I did neglect to mention that the mechanic did check the main crank bolt last night. (They were good to just take the car in and throw it up on the hoist). It was torqued to 155 ft/lbs, just as it should be. When he said he was stumped, it was cause the problem seemed very odd to him for a 968. He said it sounded more like an older 2.5L 944.



I have seen the other thread though, thank you. Any other threads on actually getting to the oil lifter tube?



(My wife wants the Neon back...) :-)

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[sasilverbullet]

To fix it you have to pull the oil pan, no easy job.

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[Charles Geer]

Refer to articles "Harmonic Balancer" and "Pics of my new Oil pick up tube."



1) Your engine may be damaged if the oil pressure dropped to 0. If your oil pick up tube broke off and dropped in the pan, then you certainly have bearing issues.



2) Buy the 944 S2 Harmonic Balancer. It cost 450.oo but it is worth every penny.



3) Have a new oil pick up tube bracketed and reinforced "read recent artles".



Don't be mad at your mechanic because he probably has not heard of these issues although members of this forum have experienced these problems more times than not.



4) It tends to happen more with people who rev these car high (racing) or with cars that have not had their balance shaft belts properly adjusted.



5) I know of 5 968 owners who have had the problem...Including myself.



6) My car is as reliable as a Honda now that I have made these adjustments.

And that's considering that I beat the living ---- out of it at the track...often hitting the rev limiter at each up shift.



7) These cars can be made bullet proof, again with a few adjustments.



8) If you track the car, change your belts out annually.



9) If it is a dedicated race car I would change the belts every 3 - 4 races and adjust the balance shaft belt before every race weekend....I really does stretch a little every time you race it.



Good Luck

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[robinm]

Thank you for the input and suggestions. I have cooled my anger a bit, and realized that it just comes with owning a Porsche.



Great to know that there are others who have suffered the same fate before me. :-)

I am going to document this repair and take a bunch of pictures, just in case it might prove useful for someone else in the future...



If it turns out to not be the lifter tube, heaven forbid, then I will continue this thread.



thanks again



R

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[robinm]

As an update to this issue, and to close the loop, I was correct in what the problem was. The lifter tube needed replacing, a did the Old pan baffle. The bolt hole locations on the baffle were also cracked and broken from vibration. Whe the lifter tube broke, it also broke the bracket on the return tube, so a bit of brazing was needed to repair the bracket that held the two tubes together.



My final bill was just under $1500 with all the labor and parts. Ouch!



Car runs like a dream now, though. NO more vibration, so the process of taking things apart and putting them all back on really tightened things up. The mechanic also checked the pump and other oil items while he was in there.



That harmonic balancer is not looking too bad now. I chose to leave the part alone, and not try to do any modifications to it. It lasted 13 years, so I figure I will trust it again. It is a major job, so hopefully you don't ever have to do this.

9.5 hours was the total time on my car, not including the 2 months down time I had. The lifter tube had to come from Germany, so that delayed things tremendously.





I was please that I found the problem on my own though, for whatever good that did.



R. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[cooz]

When you say "Lifter Tube", do you mean oil pick up tube at bottom of engine in oil pan?



norm mandell

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[robinm]

[quote name='cooz' post='27684' date='Nov 7 2006, 08:30 PM']When you say "Lifter Tube", do you mean oil pick up tube at bottom of engine in oil pan?



norm mandell[/quote]

Yes, it may be my mistake. I have heard this referred to several ways. Oil Pick up tube, Oil "Lifter Tube", etc. I meant to be clearer.



R

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[chris]

Well, sounds like you are on the right track. I would also recommend another shop, just for a comparison. Just because they have been around and have worked on it before, doesn't mean they do the best work.



You did ask for for some people to feel sorry for you......so I do! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[robinm]

Thanks for the Empathy...or was is it Sympathy? <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/dry.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Thanks for the advice on another shop. It is something I have considered, ther prolem is just finding one that I can trust...more than these other guys. Sometimes the Evil you know is the bet bet...



R



And now my post with out all the spelling errors:



Thanks for the Empathy...or was it Sympathy?



Thanks for the advice on another shop. It is something I have considered, the problem is just finding one that I can trust...more than these other guys. Sometimes the Evil you know is the best bet...



R

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