Who says transaxle Porsches don't rust?!?

Did I mention that I found a few rust spots? By far the worst is in the left rear wheel well. The body sealer didn't attach to the body and over the years the water had enough time to do this:

Here is some welding required!

In the right front fender the body sealer also didn't bond to the body and water ingressed. I removed all the sealer and lots of dirt:

The complete seam between fender and body was rusted, luckily only surface rust, no holes!

Currently FERTAN does it's magic, afterwards white Hammerite will follow, then body sealer. Finally, some alpine white will top everything - of course only after a good clean up.

The same already happened to the left fender, some rust on the lower edge had to be removed, here is the Hammerite already applied:

and this is the final state, before the fender liner will be mounted again:

 (Note the new KuNiFer brake line)

Timing belt: The finale!

As always, it took Porsche exactly 1 day to organize the spare part - It is amazing, no matter which bizarre spare part I order - 24 hours later it is waiting for me at the parts counter of Porsche - A big thank you to the Porsche Zentrum Essen for their excellent service!

Here is the woodruff key, old vs. new:

After I cleaned the groove in the crankshaft, the new woodruff key fits like a glove!
The timing belt gear wheel went on with no issues:

 The timing belt, roller and tensioner are installed, the tension is adjusted, the deflection plate is assembled:

A new distributor rotor and cap were installed, too:

Air filter housing (with the powder coated brackets) and the rest of the intake system is also present again:

I started the engine, it is running smooth. Now the suspension components are next on the list...

Changing the timing belt: What can go wrong?

I already found out that the balancer belt is missing on my motor, as there seems to be a problem with one of the balancer shafts bearings.

At least the timing belt should be changed, so - easy as that:
Remove the starter, fix the flywheel,  remove the balancer belt gearwheel, remove the guiding bracket, loose the timing belt tensioner, remove the belt - put on new belt and assemble in reverse order... check and adjust belt tension, done...

When I removed the balancer belt gear, this is what I found: The woodruff key (Passfeder) was totally knackered:

Apparently, somebody used a big hammer to install the wheel...

So, in order to replace the broken part, the timing belt gear wheel had to be removed, too.
The problem is: No 2 -arm or 3-arm extractor tool can be used, there is not enough room.

Some minutes of thinking lead me to the only solution: a special tool had to be made!

This is what I came up with: Start with a piece of 30x60 mm rectangular pipe and remove a half circle, same diameter as the gears:
1. small holes:

2. bigger holes:

3. Use a chisel and grinder to cut off the half circle:

Healthy teeth!

4. the power file will make it look neat:

5. cut a slot, so the outer diameter fits into this slot:

6. slide the tool over the gear and use a small crow bar to pull it off easily!

 Done!
Here is another picture of how the tool is engaged with the shoulder of the gear wheel;:

This is what I found in the gear wheel:

The woodruff key was sheared off!

 The top 0,5 - 1 mm are missing?!

A new one had to be ordered at Porsche, 1,04 € is a decent price.
To remove the old one was a different story, my friend Thomas gave me another self-made tool, and I was finally able to remove it!


Tomorrow I will get the new woodruff key and start to re-assemble everything...

rear brakes

The rear brakes were in need of a refurb as well, first step was to clean the hubs:

 (the dust shields were cleaned and painted as well)

New Zimmermann z-coat disc and refurbed caliper installed, new Pagid pads as well:

 New wear contact and all new hardware:

after installation I checked the brake line in more detail which was really rusted:

So, next step was to fabricate new "KuNiFer" brake lines. The Porsche has an interesting feature, there are 2 protective rubber sleeves on the brake line, so I copied those as well:

(later I added some heat shrink tube to the rubber sleeves)

All steps had to be repeated on the left side as well. The screws for the caliper have to be torqued to 85 Nm:

Ooops, I just realized that the spring to hold the contact wire down is installed in the wrong direction!

front brake discs

Yesterday I was able to media blast the front hubs, then I gave them a lick of aluminium/zinc paint to prevent corrosion in the near future.
New screws and nuts were used to fix the new Zimmermann discs - they are zinc coated as well:

Also, I installed new wheel bearings.
The dust shields I bought on the Maikäfertreffen in Hannover are a little different on the outer perimeter:

but they fit perfectly:

Before final assembly I also added a new seal:

front suspension: Struts and hubs

Currently I am dismantling the front struts for a rebuild - I picked up another set for cheap, so I can pick the best bits!

I found 2 top strut mounts which had no excessive play, so I put them in the parts washer and re-greased them for a 2nd life


The bolts and nuts will be cad-plated again - of course!

Just like on the VW bug, for whatever reason, Porsche used M7 screws to affix the dust shields to the spindle?! They are not easy to find, so I have to take extra care they don't get lost!

Those bits will be powder coated in black:

The rust and grime will be gone soon, new clips will be used to affix the brake lines and wear contact cables, again black powder coating is the plan here...

The rest of this stinky mess will not be used again - I am always amazed about how disgusting old oil from shock absorbers and gear boxes can smell!


 The hubs need a good clean,too. I already pulled the old wheel bearings out.

 I am excited to put this stuff back together, once it is all refurb'd, powder coated / cad plated / cleaned!