The latest rescue story is a silver 924S that suffered a broken timing belt, then sat for over a year, partially disassembled. The car was relatively sound, but the silver paint doesn’t do well in Florida so the hood and roof are not looking too good. There is a little damage to the bolster surface on the driver’s seat, but otherwise everything else seems to work properly. That was, until we brought it into the shop…
The head was removed to reveal, of course, some tweaked valves. Luckily, the pistons didn’t’t show damage! We replaced the head with one that had been rebuilt by our DeLand machine shop Express Engines. In doing so we found a couple of damaged/collapsed cam followers, so these were also replaced. New water pump, hoses and belts, and we were in business.
The previous owner supplied us with a new Bosch alternator, so it was installed with the belt service. The old battery was also replaced, along with the battery ground cable – insulation should not be missing! The connectors for the reference sensors were broken and crumbling, so those were replaced after a lot of aggravation getting the old ones out. Also the throttle body was a bit sticky, so we replaced it with one off the shelf.
The car had an 80’s-vintage anti-theft alarm system, so stripping that out was on the list as some of the components were looking pretty bad – actually, rusty and corroded. The aftermarket amplifier that was positioned on top of the glove box was also removed, along with the twelve pounds of wiring that went with it.
Old fuel was drained and the fuel pump, fuel filter and tank screen were replaced. A cold compression check showed 175 psi on all cylinders, so the engine seemed healthy. However, it would not run. With new fuel, we found that there was spark, tach bump, but no signal to the injectors. Fuel pressure at the rail was fine, and once in a while it would try to run, but not enough. Wiring in the reference sensor circuit was suspect. Finding it? Could be tough.
The wiring on the harness side of the reference sensor connectors looked little knacky, so we tried something. While cranking the engine and playing with the wiring at the connector, we were able to get the injectors to fire. We found the issue. We now have a new harness coming from 944Online.com – thanks, Ian. I have used this kit before and find it to be complete and very user-friendly as long as you have the tool to release the pins in the DME plug. Cheap tool, easy to use. Here is the kit that I have from Amazon.
Once the new harness is installed, it will run well and be complete. The bad paintwork on the hood and roof take away from the car, but everything works and it runs well. It is a good, solid 924S. Another car lovingly rescued by 924S944.com!
And it is for sale!
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