stranded in Cambria CA, overrev on Santa Rosa Creek Road Options

[davesprinkle]

Driving Santa Rosa Creek Road today. I banged a 3-2 downshift. Couple of pops in the exhaust, then no torque. I coast to a stop. Engine cranks fast but doesn't light.

I put a finger on the air flap and hear the fuel pump run. Good.

Voltage to the coil? 10.8V. (Low, but I've been cranking on this damn thing for a bit. So, OK.)

I pull the distribulator cap and look at the points. OK.

I'm out of easy options, so I start walking. Seven miles back to town. No cell service.

I'm thinking I bent some valves on an over-rev. Here's a pic:

[davesprinkle]

I walk back to Cambria. It's dark. Can't extract the car tonight.

I go to the Creekside Inn. The guy behind the counter says they've got a room. I say I'll take it. He offers me some weed. You know, for medicinal purposes. I say thanks, but I'm not sick. Got any mescal?

I wait 30 minutes for the one guy in town who drives a taxi. He doesn't show. Hotel counter guy says for 20 bux I'll drive you. So when we're getting in his Corolla, I see he's got a tracker beacon strapped to his ankle. Great.

We drive back to the 914. It's dark. On the way there, we hit an owl. The 914 is still where I left it. It still won't start. I get my bag.

Now I'm back in the room. Thankfully, they provide wine glasses here. Finest hotel I've ever been in.

[ConeDodger]

Well, damn. But there are worse places to stranded. Elliot isn’t too far off...

[Krieger]

Damn! Maybe your coil took a crap. Check for spark. Hard to crank and look for sparking plug wire alone. Don't drink too much vino tonight. You have a busy day ahead. Good luck bro!

[EdwardBlume]

Was Mr Anklebracelet's name Norman? Was he complaining about his Mom?

Sorry for your misfortune, but glad to see things are getting better. There a P shop in SLO if you can't get it going...

[McMark]

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['73-914kid]

If I remember correctly, there's a NAPA in Cambria, or at least there used to be, as well as a number of hot rod shops all in a small industrial park on the south part of the town.

Does the car sound the same as it usually does when it cranks? If you smacked/bent valves, you would hear one or more cylinders lacking compression when cranking, as the motor speeds up on the compression stroke of the bad cylinder.

I would check for spark. I know it happened on a rough downshift, but a couple of pops, then nothing, sounds like a bad ignition coil. I've had a couple of coils fail and cough a similar death..

Man, if only this happened to you a week later.. Ill be up there next weekend..

[jim_hoyland]

Oh My ! Been on Santa Rosa Creek Road many times, what a terrible place to break down. Been to Creekside inn too, that guy is great. There is a Napa just off Burton Road and IIRC they know a VW mechanic.

Good luck Dave (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[drifter914]

Also... check to see if coil is loose in bracket. If it rotates around, can sometimes ground itself on engine tin. Same result !
Hope it's something simple.

[timothy_nd28]

Sounds like your air flow meter got blown during that back fire. This happened to me while on a road trip.

A very temporary fix would be removing the cover, and positioning the airflow meter flap in a neutral position. A neutral position is where the car runs like shit at idle and runs like shit at 50mph, nonetheless it's running. I drove my car 30 miles in this condition, enough to get me home.

This will only work if the AFM flap is sticking.

[davesprinkle]

Does the car sound the same as it usually does when it cranks? If you smacked/bent valves, you would hear one or more cylinders lacking compression when cranking, as the motor speeds up on the compression stroke of the bad cylinder.

The car definitely sounds different during cranking. Spins very fast. I'm thinking I tapped valves in all four.

[RickS]

Breaking down is never easy no matter how beautiful the countryside. At least you could drown your sorrows with a good cab after getting your exercise in. Not many would have such a good attitude (relatively speaking) about such an event.

Wish I could give you an easy solution but what you described sounded expensive as missed shifts usually are. Hope you can get that gorgeous car back on the backroads soon.

Great writing style btw.

[davesprinkle]

Sounds like your air flow meter got blown during that back fire. This happened to me while on a road trip.

A very temporary fix would be removing the cover, and positioning the airflow meter flap in a neutral position. A neutral position is where the car runs like shit at idle and runs like shit at 50mph, nonetheless it's running. I drove my car 30 miles in this condition, enough to get me home.

This will only work if the AFM flap is sticking.

Yeah. I did check for AFM movement when I was running the fuel pump. Moves freely.

[Larmo63]

Sorry about your predicament. Your car LOOKS great, even in a tenuous situation. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

[GregAmy]

Does the car sound the same as it usually does when it cranks? If you smacked/bent valves, you would hear one or more cylinders lacking compression when cranking, as the motor speeds up on the compression stroke of the bad cylinder.

The car definitely sounds different during cranking. Spins very fast. I'm thinking I tapped valves in all four.

That's the same symptom when I grabbed 3rd instead of 5th on the front straight at the LRP Historics. Spins fast, no compression. All four exhaust valves bent.

[914-300Hemi]

It is never fun to break down while taking a fun drive. Good luck and hope it is an easy fix like the coil.
Keep us posted.

[Elliot Cannon]

I'm about 45 miles away in Paso Robles. I have a tow bar and hitch that I can unbolt from my car and bolt on to your suspension (if you don't have the same tow bar connection on yours) and I can tow you to a good Porsche shop that has done work for me in the past in San Luis Obispo. Here's the address if you want to use AAA or some other towing service. You can call me at 805 975 6616

Guys Porsche
1144 Higera st
San Luis Obispo 805 545 9323

[ValcoOscar]

I'm about 45 miles away in Paso Robles. I have a tow bar and hitch that I can unbolt from my car and bolt on to your suspension (if you don't have the same tow bar connection on yours) and I can tow you to a good Porsche shop that has done work for me in the past in San Luis Obispo. Here's the address if you want to use AAA or some other towing service. You can call me at 805 975 6616

Guys Porsche
1144 Higera st
San Luis Obispo 805 545 9323

Elliot to the rescue....D'man of the day

Oscar

[davesprinkle]

Sorry about your predicament. Your car LOOKS great, even in a tenuous situation. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

Thanks for the kind words. The car was running well, at least until the driver ruined it all. That road suits a 100hp car. It was fun.

[davesprinkle]

I'm about 45 miles away in Paso Robles. I have a tow bar and hitch that I can unbolt from my car and bolt on to your suspension (if you don't have the same tow bar connection on yours) and I can tow you to a good Porsche shop that has done work for me in the past in San Luis Obispo. Here's the address if you want to use AAA or some other towing service. You can call me at 805 975 6616

Guys Porsche
1144 Higera st
San Luis Obispo 805 545 9323

Elliott, thanks! What a generous offer. Funny you mention Guys Porsche. I just dropped the car there and spoke with Guy himself. He was in the shop working the weekend. They'll do a compression check and diagnosis tomorrow. Meanwhile, I've got a rental Veloster, the ugliest car on the planet.