DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

So tonight I replaced the oil filter. Not used to this side mounting thing, I usually fill with oil, so went for half full and a quick install! Didn’t spill any. Put in a further 7.5l and whilst waiting for it to get to the bottom of the tank cable tied the oil pipes up.




With it all looking neat and no kinks, I disconnected the ECU so it wouldn’t fire and span over until has decent oil pressure (2 bar). Reconnected the ECU and fire in the hole! Fire first time after 9 months slumber on the lift.

I just need to wire the sender now and repair / refit the sharks fin and cill cover (waiting for some 3m weatherstrip which comes tomorrow), and can then get up to temp, sort the levels and enjoy a week of driving before the MOT is due again!!


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I realised the MOT runs out in a couple of weeks so I called my local man today and he offered me a cancellation on Wednesday, which focused the mind on finishing the job off!

I stripped the wires and soldered them, and finished with heat shrink. The old cable sleeve was literally made of granite - it must be special heat resistant stuff because of where it runs. So I protected the joint with some heat protective fabric.




Then out of the garage for the first time in 9 months, a quick wash and run up the road after topping up the oil and some fresh E5. I don’t know if it has fixed it because I didn’t give it any revs but it was great to drive it again. It drives so nicely….




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I know I'm biased, but 964s are just ace, aren't they?

Ha ha, I think so. Even with RS settings, it drives really well on 17s - sports seats are super comfortable too


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So time for an update.

I won’t lie, I’ve been getting a little despondent with the 964. I know I have been busy with the house and the engine conversion in the race car, but the oil leak has been getting totally in the way of me enjoying the car. I hate things not working as they should, in fact the little things drive me slowly mad, and I feared the leak was something major given I have done so much to rectify to no avail. I was somewhat transfixed on it being a pressurised case, and therefore prob a piston ring installed incorrectly or moved and needing a major rebuild (remember only being about 2k miles old).

I have even been thinking about selling it. I have done 20 miles since the last MOT, the kids won’t go in an orange car because it is too embarrassing and so it had become an expensive piece of art in the garage. I convinced myself that I might just be able to afford a GT4 if I sold it - and have turn key reliability and stuff the children re the back seats. It was also a reminder of Gus, who always promised a warranty repair but we never got round to it. And 964s were his favourite 911, despite having a gorgeous 72 presented as an RS himself, and were he here he wouldn’t let me sell it..

And if I did, I would never be able to afford one again


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So at Le Mans with his brother in law and best mate, they made me commit to fixing it over a night on the vin rouge. I got back and started in earnest.

Firstly fix the new leak from the oil tank. With the sill cover removed it was easy to see what it was. The only rubber I did not replace was the tiny one between thermostat and oil tank. It had gone rock hard and was weeping. So new one ordered, I had to cut off a jubilee which was nadgered, and also replace the mount with a proper rubber mount instead of the jubilee clip employed by the previous custodian





A really good clean under the arches followed


I then spotted that one of the oil lines to the front cooler was crushed by some prior ‘action’ could that be the source of the pressurised case? My Prodrive engineer friend thought not



That then is to become a repair job when I next take the cill cover off when I paint the car- expenditure deferred.

So, one oil leak down although back to where I originally was before I changed the tank, but
- tank proven not at fault
- all breather limes replaced

Next to look at the biggest problem


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I cleaned up the engine and took it for a 15 mile drive. It looked crap with the cill cover off and the exposed wonky oil pipes but it drove bloody lovely. Smooth, comfortable, head turning fun. Just what I needed.

Up to temp and not revved more than 3k, I got home and checked the oil and ensured it was still all in the block. It was.

A further drive, with a couple of more spirited accelerations to 5k revs, got home and the smell of oil that I knew so well was back. Again looking at the engine bay the fan shroud was literally 5mm deep in oil. Diff to photograph, but trust me this is wetness. And then of course it runs everywhere underneath and burns



I cleaned it all off again and decided not to drive it until I found the leak. I had lost an inch of oil on the dipstick in a 10 mile drive and I risked doing damage to a new motor

So I stripped the blower off and associated pipes to gain access. Nothing obvious - certainly nothing that would allow oil to spray out of the case - a sheared fan shroud stud that was sealed, a knock sensor that would not allow oil to leak as the hole does not go through the case etc.

So my plan was to get up to temp in this partially stripped state, and then rev to 5k or more to replicate driving and hope I could see something


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All was going swimmingly until probably the most poo inducing thing happened - it caught fire. There was a huge constant flame out of the LH heat exchanger, the car was half out of the garage on am axle stand, a foot from the motorhome to the rear and a foot from the race car to the left. And below our bedroom. I could not open the door to turn off the engine e as it was tight against the door frame, so I had to do from the passenger side. All I had at that end of the garage was a semi combustible oily rag, so I shoved it over the hole to exhaust the air supply and mercifully the fire went out. I then walked past my fire extinguishers to the sink, got a wet towel and shoved that over for good measure.

I sat down and reflected on the most brown trouser of moments


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Crap!!!

I have a fire extinguisher in the garage too but if caught on the wrong side of the car I wouldn't be able to get to it either.

It's very strange for oil to ignite. Do you think you have a petrol leak?

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I figured that my next one was going to be difficult - I had a heat exchanger full of oil preventing me from identifying the issue. Why not run it up again now and stick with plan A?

So I did, with one eye on the flashpoint.

It was already up to temp, so I gave it some revs by hand and sure enough oil started spraying on top of the clean fan shroud. But where from? I had a couple of LED lights set up when I saw from the spray pattern where it was coming from…

The gasket is new, the bit you can see looks mint, but at revs it just flies out at 90 degrees. It is the oil breather takeoff plate


New gasket ordered….a cheap, if not easy to get to repair after 3 years of pain


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Well, funny you should say that Neil.

Tonight’s plan, with gasket ordered, was to clean it all with girlish glee knowing it will hopefully be the last time. My plan was to remove the heat exchanger and flush it with degreaser and pressure washer, but I will be honest it looked a proper ball ache to get off. So I opted to remove the heat crossover pipe, which to get to the mounts I had to remove the rear middle silencer (the one behind the bumper that a Cup pipe replaces). It was all pretty oily and in need of a clean anyway


Then, I put my fingers down the heat exchanger expecting g to find an oil bath and found this…



It is the seal that goes between the fan blower pipe and the tin ware in the engine bay. When I took the blower off it must have dropped inside the exchanger and the temps are just too high for it down there.

In the plus side, at least I stripped it down and found it. With the pipe refitted it would have filled the cabin with noxious fumes - let alone the further fire risk.

Anyhow, last job tonight was to properly degrease and jet wash the engine r bay and underneath, ready for reassembly. You might be able to see from this pre cleaned shot that everything is just coated in oil where it has literally been spraying around.



Finally, we are making progress and for the first time in 3 years I am really looking forward to sorting and driving it properly.


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The gasket arrived and I set about removing the cover plate. Unfortunately it is just about an interference fit with the inlet manifold, so whilst managed to manipulate it off, I could not get it back on!

Anyhow, I think I worked out the issue. Either Angus or I had brain fade in the day we put it together, because the oval gasket was fitted upside down, exposing about a centimetre of mating face to having no gasket at all. You are supposed to fit dry, but frankly I wasn’t going to risk it after 5 years of it being self servicing




After undoing the jubilees on the inlet, I managed to pull it up just enough to get the plate on and tighten it up. It is really tight for space - to do it up you have to put your left arm behind the alternator and your right arm right around the back of the right inlet manifold. Them your can’t get your head in the right place to see any of the bits, so you have to do it pretty much by feel



That done, another clean up and refit the exhaust and heater pipes. I decided to delete the rear silencer and fit the G pipe


Before cleaning the tail pipe ready to fit up





Finally the engine looks as new as it actually is from below. I ran it up to temp and it seems to be dry at last - I just need the seal to be able to refit the fan pipe and test on the road




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Today, some locking wheel nuts I bought 3 years ago found their way onto the car. I have also been preparing the sill cover for refitting. This time I am using the right 3M adhesive for the seals, as these were a proper Horlicks before. I have new clips throughout but the old covers are a bit knackered and gluing them in situ (because the mounts are broken) is not ideal, but that is another job for when I paint the car.




Finally, a GPS Speedo because the near 40 year old one is not accurate enough for today’s roads. I will see how accurate it is versus Waze when I get up and running



Nearly there!


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I’ve got a similar gps speedo in my camper as my original one bounces all over the place - it seems very accurate


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Wow, what a gigantic ball ache. Well done for persevering and not burning your house down! Hope it all works this time.