Less haste, more speed!

Having told you last time around that the Jeep was running well, it's gone and blotted its copybook. Whilst David was returning from a family get-together in Farnham, and with the Jeep purring along, the radiator sprang a leak and emptied quite a lot of coolant over the road. David pulled to the side as soon as it was safe to do so, but it does seem as if the strain was too much and a gasket gave up the struggle. The Jeep was recovered – albeit after a very long delay – and is back home, but neither David nor I have had the time or the inclination to do more than a cursory investigation. I'll keep you updated.

In my last Driver Diary, I mentioned that I had altered the braking specification of the Davrian by swapping one of the master cylinders for a larger one. Well, I have since decided to revert back to its original specification of using two same-sized master cylinders. I'd come to the conclusion that the swap would be masking the rear lock-up problem, not curing it. Nevertheless, in doing all of this work I unwittingly created a real nightmare of a problem.

Removing and refitting the brake master cylinders is a very difficult job due to their location. They are tucked away in a void that's almost impossible to fit my hand in, let alone be able to manoeuvre a spanner. I managed in the end, but when it came to bleeding the front brakes, no fluid was evident, not even a trickle. I tried bleeding the traditional way, but no joy. I then resorted to using a pressure bleeder (two varieties), but still no joy. To cut a very, very long and frustrating story short, and following lots of investigation, dismantling and testing, I discovered that there was a piece of fibreglass swarf wedged in the four-way junction, the one that supplies the front brakes.

It was there because I'd been a bit careless when drilling a hole to reroute a brake pipe. Despite covering the open brake pipes, the offending piece of fibreglass must have dropped inside the junction and it was now well and truly wedged in. In addition to this, the inside of

the junction was very grimy. So, to ensure that nothing remained trapped in the junction and that it was devoid of any detritus, I borrowed an ultrasonic cleaner. This not only removed all traces of unwanted material, it made the junction look like new. Fitting was then straightforward.

I then adjusted the pushrods (where they enter the balance bar) in order for the master cylinders to get a full stroke. With this done, and with the junction cleaned and refitted, bleeding the front brakes was achieving in a matter of minutes. What a joyful moment! The rear brakes were no trouble, although quite a lot of air had to be expelled. I now have to road test and adjust the brake bias accordingly.

With a lot of time having been wasted doing this job, (one that really shouldn't have needed doing,) I turned my attention to a job that does need tackling – replacing the nearside fuel tank. Removing the original tank, which was bonded in during the car's manufacture in 1983, requires cutting away some of the inner wing and digging out all of the old protective foam which surrounds the tank. Refitting involves making good the inner wing, filling the space surrounding the tank with expanding foam, some more fibreglass work, and finally some painting. I'm really not looking forward to this!

But I have been enjoying driving the Porsche 944 Turbo, which is in regular use. It has been to APS Automotive to have all of the belts, rollers and the water pump changed. Although I could probably have done this job myself with a little help, it's something I prefer to leave to an expert. Plus I don't possess the specialist tools needed. The above parts, all to OE specification or above, were obtained from Frazerpart, who provided excellent service as usual.

Interestingly, whilst researching what parts I needed using Porsche Classic parts diagrams, I discovered that the Turbo has two thermostats! One, a standard size, is in the main circuit. The other, a miniature version, controls the flow to the turbocharger and my car was missing this one. The requisite thermostats, made by Wahler, were obtained via Porsche Centre Cardiff. I also ordered an oil filter heat shield, as the one on the car – which actually hadn't been on for all that long – had fractured. Again I had excellent service from this dealer, and excellent work by APS in replacing the heat shield, which is not an easy task. I also bought some undertray attachment screws as some of mine were missing, and new coolant.

I'm pleased to report that the engine is now running more smoothly, and it is quieter too. The only change I've noticed is that it is running a tad hotter, probably due to the addition of the turbocharger thermostat. Mind you, the engine warms up much more quickly, which is a bonus. Next on my Porsche 'to do' list is to fit a subwoofer to the audio system, and to get the front wheels balanced as there's the slightest shimmy at cruising speeds.

ABOVE: APS replaced the heat shield, belts, rollers, water pump and thermostats on Martyn's Porsche and performed excellent work, as usual.

ABOVE: The heat shield had been broken for quite some time. The new one, supplied by Porsche, was fitted by APS. Not an easy job, but the rattles have disappeared.

ABOVE: Until very recently, Martyn didn't realise that the 944 Turbo should be fitted with two thermostats. The larger one controls the main cooling circuit, while its smaller sibling sends coolant to the turbocharger. The engine now runs a little hotter, but the warm-up time has been reduced.

ABOVE: Removing the Davrian master cylinders and refitting the replacements is far from easy. In fact it's quite a struggle, and the brake fluid gets everywhere. Martyn hopes he won't have to do this job again for a long time.

ABOVE: Replacing the leaking fuel tank is a job Martyn has been putting off for quite some time. Talk about squeezing a quart into a pint pot! Tape is not quite in the right place, it's just to give an idea of where the tank will sit when it's fitted. Martyn has since spoken with Tim Duffee of Darrian and Davrian fame who's pointed him in the right direction.

ABOVE: A small piece of fibreglass blocked the Davrian's four-way junction, hence no brake fluid flow. The cause of the blockage took some finding!