here's a story of a problem my car picked up last summer that in solving the problem myself should give everyone a laugh.

June of last year I pulled my car out of the garage and had it out in the yard just idling away. it had always run fine. All of a sudden, it started idling poorly. it would speed up then slow down. it kept doing this until if felt like it was ready to stall out.
As it was running poorly, I noticed the fuel pressure gauge swinging wildly from 50psi down to 25-30psi, and then back up again. over & over.
My first thought was a fault code in the Bosch controller but since my scan tool didn't read Porsche codes as I wanted, I looked to the basic fuel system for my fault.
First I replaced the FP regulator, $85 bucks, problem still there.
Then I decided to buy the Durametric software for doing full running diagnostics on Porsche vehicles only. $750.00 However, there is a problem. I don't have a laptop to install it on. Off to BestBuy. $650.00 there. The software says every system is running within normal parameters.
Next up I put a meter on my fuel pump to measure running voltage. The voltage is swinging up and down like the fuel pressure. 13v down to 9v and back up again.
Ah ha! alternator must have a problem. Now I remove the alternator to get it check.
$40.00 to check it but OH! OH! now I notice that the dreaded 1995 993 engine wiring harness problem has made a home in my car . $900.00 later I have a new harness.
I install it but the problem is still there. Now I'm guessing a better fuel pump.
I get an Aeromotive unit and a 10 micron Aeromotive filter from Jegs $450.00 to replumb and relocate my current pump to the front trunk.

I get it all replumbed. the last thing left to do is pull the hose from the old pump an reinstall on the new one. I know I have about 1 gallon of gas left in the tank, and have the catch pan ready. I pull the hose off and barely nothing comes out. I have a cheap ($6-8.00)Autozone clear inline filter between the pump and the tank, I decide to now pull the hose from the tank, an as soon as I do, gas pours out of the tank.
As I reconnect the fuel hose to the new fuel pump, pour clean gas in the tank.
fire it up, and last Saturday, I'm finally back on the road.
Since the economy took a dump last fall, I've been hoarding my money and scare to spend to much on anything for fear of losing my job. That is the reason this problem has side lined my car for a year now.
Expensive lesson learned here.

Hope everyone gets a good laugh at my expense.


Ron

Great story, thanks!

I guess it is a reminder to check the obvious things first.

I remember when I was a kid, my friend's dad towed up my friends baja bug to my farm and his Early bronco just suddenly died...

We spent about 2 hrs trying to figure out what was the problem until he flipped the tank selector switch and it started right up. The front tank was dry and he didn't tell us that the gauge was broken.

Finally, a chance to laugh at someone else instead of being laughed at!

Oh well, it was just a brief moment ....

It's good to share stuff like this to remind us we're all human and next time, it could be us! After reading your story, I figured out the car was a late 911?

The moment is over Ron, I am laughing at you again!

That filter cost you $2,883.00 !!!
Andy

I think everyone at some time has spent money needlessly while missing a simple fix (maybe not to that dollar level ) but most won't admit it. . .

Just look on the bright side,. . . The bad economy isn't your fault; you were spending money like a screemin' banshee!! Think of all the jobs you "saved or created"

One small airburst over Grand Junction; One giant leap for humanity!

My friend with a '73 911 spent most of one summer trying to trouble shoot a similar problem. Car would miss and miss and stall so he wouldn't drive it out of the yard. I went over, listened to his fuel pump and told his son to go get a 5 gallon gas can. Put in the gas and it has run great ever since.........

My 1.7 with the original oil bath filter needed to come out so I plugged the inlet with a rag so oil wouldnt spill out while removing it.

when i put it back in, the rag got pushed in too far and i couldnt see it. well the car ran worse and worse until it wouldnt start....3 weeks later, I finally found an old red rag sucked into the oil bath, blocking the air...DUH!

Dropped the engine out of my six to make sure under the shroud was clean and install an RJ mount. It had spent 20 years in storage and had three identifiable rats and their abodes. Sorry, I digress.

Anyway, engine came out, etc, etc. and went back in. I poured the requisite 8 quarts in the tank for startup.

Engine fired eventually (Always watch friends when they do something for you, but that's another story). Next thing I know copius amounts of oil are comming out the CIS oil tank vent inlet to the airbox.

It continued to run everytime I ran the engine and had no idea why. The it dawned on me that I never drained the case .. it holds about 3-4 quarts when idle.

8+4= 12 ..... I think I figured it out. Really messy.

Wow! Math has hit Riverside finally!

I forgot to mention that I have thrown away the Autozone filter.

Also, the wife knows the story, but I've kept silent on the cost. Along with all the other costs over the years added up into my 914/6.

Ron

Great story Ron.... When I began reading your post, the first thing that came to my mind was the fuel sock in the gas tank was plugged, then the in-line fuel filter.... Glad you got it figured out and shared your experience with this group...

-- Rob

I feel your pain. Between my dogs and my kids I feel like I'm single handedly propping up the local economy.

At a shop I worked at we got a 911 from Iffy Lube that they had not drined the tank just the engine case and then add 10 qts of oil. After we corrected the oil level the and got it running it smoked so bad the Fire Department showed up thinking the building was on fire.

Jim

And I didn't run out of fingers, toes or thumbs ......

My 1.8 died on the road one day and I called a friend to help. He asked me three times if I had gas in the car and I showed him the gauge the third time (1/2 tank). Then he disconnected the fuel line and blew into the empty tank (no bubbles).

Sometimes it is easy to overlook the obvious.

Yeh I forgot to mention the laying down a fog of oil smoke to hide the fleet. cough, cough

I got another entry now...

When you use the motive bleeder, you MUST block off the overflow line under the car or you WILL have half a can of brake fluid all over the floor.

Good story!

Would you and your wallet stop by to help me with my car?

I just chased my tail with a "carb problem" after assuring every parts person and supplier that my timing was dead on. I swore I set it. It was off Ah to be human

While back I was driving the Teener with the wife in the car and it just died. wouldn't re-start so I started to push it to a VW / Porsche shop that was luckily a few hundred yards away. A old man decided to help me push (on a hot day) he landed up being driven away in a ambulance, Different story at another time. Anyways, the car sat at the shop for 4 days till the mechanic could get to it. I had already started going through in my head all the different reasons why the car wouldn't start. Of course the wife was pissed cause I had just installed a new alternator and regulator. After figuring I was probably going to spend alot of money, the shop called me and asked me if my gas gauge worked? I told him it should cause I just replaced the sending unit. he tells me I ran out of gas and the gauge still reads 1/4 tank. he didn't charge me anything, not even for the 5 gallons of gas he put in the car. He laughed and told me to next time look in the gas tank or shake the car to hear the gas sloshing.

It was at that point I remembered that the Teener was a VW at heart and when diagnosing, you always start cheap and work your way to expensive!

Don't feel bad. I chased an idle problem for month's. Then Ron (slits) showed me how badly my MPS was leaking down. I had misread B Landers info and had been testing the MPS at -.5 not -5. Duuuuuhhhhhhhh.