Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hi Folks,

I wanted to let you all know that I've had a success story with Terraclean!

If you don't know what it is, take a look at this clip of Wheeler Dealers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKTp2DjugOA

I've also had some continued great help via email from Jon Mitchell of JMG fame, as well as spannering services from Mike & James @ Zentrum in Calverton (Notts).

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My story starts with a dodgy fuel gauge.

I've tested to see if it's the level sender in the tank and according to the testing process on Clark's Garage, my sender is fine.
http://www.clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/elect-13.htm

So, I'm pretty sure I've simply got too much resistance on my 28 year old wiring loom. If I ever take the clocks out, I'll mess about with the pot' on the back for the fuel guage.

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Eventually my assumption that "I always have more fuel than the gauge says" bit me on the arse last July! I ran dry on the way home one night...

After that night I started to get a weird symptom of jerking and lack of power, especially when I really wanted it. The car would cruise up to high speed, it would even boost OK right up to the point I wanted to drop a cog and over take, but then nothing or worse. The noise was a horrible breathy "phut phut" like something under pressure was very unhappy.

This happened a few times including an upsetting "spirited drive" to the NEC Classic Car show last November, when the car actually cut out at high speed. I killed the ignition while still rolling at over 60mph and it restarted. More on this later...

I decided that I had probably mis-adjusted my Lindsey Boost Enhancer, damaging the wastegate or the turbo. I was convinced I was over boosting due to the boost enhancer causing a spike (by not opening the wastegate quickly enough). http://www.allpar.com/mopar/boost-creep.html

I took out the Boost Enhancer and it seemed to make a difference, I put it back in and the car seemed to be a bit better, but it still wasn't right. You know that moment when you realise that you might be going bananas?! That! ...I spend ages driving around the ring road, winding my boost enhancer right back, half a turn at a time, and eventually removing it again, and still seeing the same symptom to one degree or another.

In the mean time I had been exchanging emails with Jon @ JMG. By this time I was ready to take the car all the way to the South coast for an expert examination. Jon said he can examine the KLR data, while most garages can only read the DME. Based on my descriptions, Jon suggested I either had massive metered air leak (ie a leak after the AFM) or I was under fueling. The symptom sounded like it was probably due to the KLR (Knock regulator) retarding the timing 3 degrees, up to 4 times (12 degrees total), after which it apparently cuts the engine (judging by my story).

Cheered by the guidance, and having inspected my air pipework, I recalled my running dry incident so I picked on the fuel system. I started with a new fuel filter for some £15 from Euro Car parts. Kindly my local garage (Zentrum in Calverton) swapped the filter for me free of charge, which saved me a messy job.

The filter alone sadly didn't do the trick, so next up I splashed out on a "GT / Motorsport" fuel pump from JMG (a 928 S4 part?). I never intended to modify this car but slowly but surely, with it being so easy to buy an uprated part here and there, I seem to be! So the nice guys at Zentrum wrestled the over sized fuel pump into the space my original pump had been and I took the car back. This helped quite a bit, but it wasn't perfect. It certainly helped the car burn more fuel(!) but I still wasn't getting a smooth delivery at max boost, at high revs, in fifth gear. You know, right when you want your retro turbo powered beast to give you all of the smiles in the world! Sad times :'(

By this point I was losing my mind thinking about my car budget for the year. I'd already had a head gasket, a clutch and a brake refurb! I wanted to buy a set of new injectors like a hole in the head. It would have been so tempting to buy a set of 55lb or even 72lb injectors from JMG but I *really* need to save for the torque tube bearings and one day some new paint.... Here are the injectors: http://www.jmgshop.com/fuel-system-upgrades-60-c.asp

Then Mike @ Zentrum said to me, "you know you don't have to have your injectors removed, you can just Terraclean your fuel system".

And there you have it. £100 + VAT and 1 Terracleaned 944 Turbo later, and now my car delivers power and boost the way I would hope.

Now, I don't know if a Terraclean earlier might have spared me the fuel pump. I also don't know for sure if running my fuel tank dry was 100% definitely the cause of the problem. I do know that I use Redex a few times a year to hopefully keep the injectors clean-ish, and I do use Sainsbury's Super which may not be quite as good as other branded high RON fuel. What I can say, is Terraclean made a massive difference to my car's performance.

She has been driving beautifully since April.

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Next jobs:

- why does my car use so much oil? (500mls every 500-750 miles...)
- why do the brakes squeal despite a full caliper refurb 4000 miles ago? (suspect an old reused brake flex needs replacing)
- how much is it going to cost to get my rattly torque tube bearings replaced? (Oh dear god, please tell me it isn't too much!)
- I had better start saving for the belt service due in 2016.
- What is that ungodly noise from the bottom end? (gulp - I guess I drive it until it dies?!)
- Can I have new paint now please?

I've heard good things about Terraclean, and it's always nice to hear a good result - Jon really is a top bloke...

Yes, his free advice was invaluable!