[Scott at Team Harco]

Progress has been slow but steady. NSXguy has been a big help. There have been so many things that I just don't have the strength to tackle. Together, we're closing-in on making some noise. I was able to get the rack installed, fully, a couple of days ago. We tied off a lot of loose ends today by completing the steering system and the charging system. Next up will be all the coolant hoses, radiator and then the air metering system.

Probably only a couple of days worth of work left before thinking about firing it up...

[amdavid]

Excellent!...nice to get a little "help from a friend". I'll extend a thank you to nsxguy as well.

[Scott at Team Harco]

Excellent!...nice to get a little "help from a friend". I'll extend a thank you to nsxguy as well.

I poured some ATF in the P/S reservoir earlier today. Figured it would find places to fill in. Discovered later in the day that there were two leaks. One was easy to fix. A hose clamp just needed a little tightening. The other leak is possibly more difficult to resolve. Better to find this now, than later.

[amdavid]

A never ending battle with these cars....

[Scott at Team Harco]

So true.

[NSXguy]

My wife and I have known Scott for decades, and have always enjoyed his perspective on life/playing with cars.

The fact that he and his wife moved close to us out in the country several years ago has been a nice bonus

It's been my pleasure to help get STU up and (hopefully soon) running, my only gripe so far is that if you turn your back Scott will put your tool away into its custom foam-outlined spot in the toolbox.....engineers, AMIRIGHT?

[amdavid]

Again, excellent. We know it takes a village and it helps if we actually enjoy the company and perspectives of thy neighbor.

Scott, wait until end of work session before putting tools back in their snuggly home.....they can’t grow legs and get too far...

[Scott at Team Harco]

NSXguy came by again yesterday. We got pretty much everything we needed to do in preparation to try and start the car.

First we fixed the P/S leak. Turned out to be damaged crush washers. Easy fix.

Then we installed the air metering system, then the radiator and coolant hoses. I dumped in some fresh fuel and we took the plugs out so we could crank over and build oil pressure.



Here's the guy doing most of the work. Hope you don't mind me posting the photo...



We tried to crank it over with the intent of making it bark. It didn't crank. Things look right, and we get the right warning lights, just no crank. It's as if the clutch switch is not working right - even though it has been defeated (and we tried both with and without the pedal depressed). Got some troubleshooting ahead, but it's close to being ready.

[XR4Tim]

So close! Check starter wiring and ignition switch, but it should be simple to figure out!

[Scott at Team Harco]

So close! Check starter wiring and ignition switch, but it should be simple to figure out!

We jumped the terminals on the starter. It works. The big wires to the starter have to be right. There has to be something smaller. Ignition switch is one of the suspects.

[NSXguy]

I don't mind you posting the photo, as long as you think the world can handle my red & white paisley shorts

I hope we can get the car running after tomorrow's garage session, that would be sweet!

[amdavid]

Fantastic. Sounds like you’re not far from the actual fire. Nsx, no harm, no foul with the shorts.....you can wear whatever you want, you’re a volunteer. Cheers to progress....

[Scott at Team Harco]

Fantastic. Sounds like you’re not far from the actual fire. Nsx, no harm, no foul with the shorts.....you can wear whatever you want, you’re a volunteer. Cheers to progress....

We had a victory today!

The starter solenoid was not functioning properly. It was not spinning the flywheel! We (thanks again, NSXguy) went through a bunch of parts boxes in the garage and didn't find a starter. We then went to the barn, on a mission. Had we looked in the first box that we nearly tripped over, when entering the 944 parts stall, we would have found another starter. As it was, we looked through a bunch of other boxes and bins that turned up different prizes. And by 'prizes', I mean minimally valuable junk.

We did a bench test on the starter and found that the solenoid did indeed function. We installed that, and got the engine to crank over. Yay!

We tried to build oil pressure by cranking the engine (plugs removed and fuel pump defeated). It didn't seem to work as hoped. I suggested we go with the counter-intuitive idea of starting the engine and switching off immediately after it fires. Do this several times; until we see pressure register on the gauge. This brought a fair amount of skepticism from the other guy and he indicated he would not want to be the one turning the key for this experiment. This is actually the recommended method for building oil pressure in the M9x engine, and had been my go-to method when my 996 sits for more than a day of two. Turns out the engine fired up right away and we did see pressure after about the third or fourth firing. Yes!

There is a lot of lifter noise. Not sure if the VW lifters that I cheaped-out on are the reason. We had good oil pressure, so that's important. We also did not get coolant to circulate. I think we need a new thermostat.

But the engine fired right up. That's a big deal!

No photos. I could have captured one with all the oil burning off the headers, but it's now too late for that.

[NSXguy]

I didn't grab a photo, but this is pretty much how I remember things when it fired up and the oil pressure went to a solid 4.5 bar...

[amdavid]

@Scott at Team Harco @NSXguy EXCELLENT!

[amdavid]

@Scott at Team Harco you flogging that thing yet...??

[Scott at Team Harco]

@Scott at Team Harco you flogging that thing yet...??

Not exactly. We were working to finish things up with new bushings for the front anti-roll bar. In the meantime, each time we started the engine, more noises became evident.

The lifters are making more noise than I would like. And it's not the typical clatter of oil pressure building. So I made a mental note to swap them out with the originals.

Worse than that, is the scraping sound that has now become evident. The starter drags the engine to life and then the loud scraping sound is heard. I did a lot of reflection on this and have concluded that it is the front crank bearing. It was initially installed incorrectly when I did the bottom end. I discovered the mistake and attempted to make it right. I must have failed (damaged bearing). We are now considering pulling everything apart - all the way down to the crankshaft.

We may decide to get Stu off the lift so I can fix the brakes on the Audi S4 that I will be giving to my son. That should be a slightly time consuming project, at which point we can then return to Stu. Sucks - but that's where we are.

[amdavid]

@Scott at Team Harco Bummer. Oh well, onward for now.

[Scott at Team Harco]

@Scott at Team Harco Bummer. Oh well, onward for now.

Possible good news on the worry of the crank bearing issue. We started the car today to clear the primary lift. No major squeal heard. There is still plenty of lifter noise - but replacing those won't involve complete engine disassembly.

In the back of my mind, I knew the front bearing was compromised. I somehow tried to rationalize to myself that the tight spots would wear away and 'self-clearance'. Maybe I got lucky, after all.

We'll be messing with it again in a few weeks. I want to get the (Audi) S4 I am giving to my son in good shape, next.

[NSXguy]

Yes, a bit of luck today I think

[Scott at Team Harco]

More than a year on, we finished up a few loose ends. Thanks again to NSXguy - we finished the front stabilizer bar end links and installed the hood. Stu starts and runs well. Needs some break-in time. I think there are possible volunteers...