#2 Lime Rock Club Race - May 2000 - Car Prep is Key
Car Prep is Key
Here's my plan: Be prepared early, don't want any last minute surprises. I don't want to be worried about the car. I will have enough things to worry about during the race weekend.
I did a 2 day Driver's Ed at Summit Point in April with Schattenbaum region. Once again, like most of this year, it rained during the track event. So much, that they cancelled the event at noon on the second day. Luckily all this rain driving would pay off later. So I knew the car was happy; the only preparation I needed to do to the car was to change my front brake rotors and weigh the car to see if I met the minimum weight.
About 3 weekends before, I set out to change the rotors. It should have been a simple task, about right for my mechanical skills. I've done it on the M3 and the 944 turbo, but never on the 911. It was a good move. The micro-cracks had become big cracks. I put the new rotors on. The first one took me 2 hours, second only 40 minutes. I'm thinking to myself: "you're starting to get this mechanical thing down". I bled the brakes, and off for a test drive.
Oh-oh, the car is diving severely to the right, it won't even track straight. What the heck is going on? Its back to the garage, back up on the blocks and pull the wheels. I can't move the rotor on right side, the pads are solid up against the rotor. Retract the pads, replace and pump the brakes. The caliper pistons are frozen on right side again. A little dark cloud of anxiety starts hovering in the distance. A couple of calls to my more mechanically inclined friends result in indeterminate answers. Maybe it's time to rebuild the calipers, maybe I can buy new. Start checking around with various vendors. New calipers are what? $2500 each! Yikes! That's right, I have the fancy "S" alloy calipers. Ok, how about rebuilding them? Turn around time in 4 to 6 weeks? That's not going to work ..
Off I travel to the local Porsche dealer. Of course, the rebuild kit is not in stock. But they'll be happy to order the kit. They'll even ask for Overnight shipping. But the way it works in (local) Porsche dealer-land, they don't get confirmation of whether it is even in-stock until the next day, when they look into the shipping container and it is either in the box or a piece of paper saying sorry not available, but on back-order. Not my idea of an efficient system.
So for another 24 hours I can't do anything. The car still up on blocks in my garage, mocking my attempts to be prepared early. That dark cloud is starting to look ominous. Finally, the rebuild kit is in. Off to the dealer, and back to garage. The calipers are already out and waiting on the bench. Seems I can't get the pistons out with my air gun. Put the calipers back on car and use brake pedal to force them out along with about a quart of brake fluid all over the garage floor.
Remove calipers and take back to the bench. Hmmm, the pistons on the right caliper don't look too good. In fact they're really pitted. Lets try to clean them up with a little emery cloth polishing. Add new seals from the rebuild kit, put pistons back in, and the calipers back on car (starting to get real good at this). Add the brake pads, pins. springs, bleed the brakes and try the pedal.
Arghh! it still sticks! Okay, it's Wednesday, 2 weeks to go, time for plan B. Gregg Wilson, our club tech advisor and chief mechanic at the local Porsche dealer, says I can replace the S" calipers with cheap late model "A" calipers that came with the 911 SC's. They are heavier, but a lot cheaper and some say that they won't flex as much as the alloy ones. I find out later that the hot setup is to replace with the later Carerra calipers which can run thicker rotors. Not Gregg's fault but mine for not knowing the right questions to ask. Besides, I haven't warped a rotor yet. At this point I'm starting to worry just a little. I call around and find a set of new A calipers from Automotive Atlanta for a reasonable price. It's late Wed afternoon and I have them shipped 2nd day air, meaning I can get them Fri and have the weekend to get my act together. Little did I know, but the parts shop took my order and went home and didn't actually submit it until the next day. So my delivery date became Saturday, but oh yeah, the company didn't bother to check "Sat delivery OK" on the shipping form. So delivery is really Monday. That little cloud of anxiety? getting bigger and darker ...
So after work Monday, rip open that box and admire those clean, bright and brand new calipers. Feeling good baby! Finally, my luck is starting to change. Bolt them on (did I tell you how good I'm getting at this?) and spin the wheel to check clearances. What's that sound???? Sounds like grinding metal and its coming from the wheel bearings. Remove the caliper, the rotor, the bearings, clean them up and grease them liberally and replace. Spin the rotor, still grinding noises. I need to replace the wheel bearings. I'm starting to feel like I'm in a submarine that's been depth charged and water is running into the compartment and rising fast. Time for help!
I drop my rotors off at Dr. Timmins, my mechanic, and then proceeded to call him it seemed like every 1/2 hour to see if he had finished replacing the bearings yet. Thanks to Steve for putting up with my anxiety-driven pestering with good grace and also Lydia Timmins, who found out when she came home Friday evening that her oven had been "volunteered" to heat the bearings.
So it's Saturday afternoon. I leave for Lime Rock the coming Wednesday afternoon. No need to panic yet, still plenty of time. I have all the parts, just need to assemble them.
Back to the garage. Install the rotors, bolt on the new calipers (did I tell you .. never mind), adding new brake lines while I'm at it, pop the brake pads in, and go to install the guide pins and retaining spring from the original calipers. "Uh Houston, there seems to be a problem here".
It doesn't look like the guide pins and spring fit. Looks like the A calipers use the same rotor and pads as the S calipers, but not the same guide pins or springs. I guess I should have thought of that, but I didn't know and just 3 days before leaving wasn't the opportune time to teach me the lesson.
Now it's Sunday morning and time to visit Dr. Timmins again. A little rooting around in the back and we find some old SC calipers and we steal the pins from it. Find some retaining springs in a parts box and it's off back to the garage. Pins fit, springs are just a little too short, stick them in anyway. Re-install the calipers. Re-plum the brake lines. Bleed the brakes (again!). Can't get a firm pedal. Left side clean, what's this? Brake fluid on the right side wheel liner. Arghh!, it's leaking out the right hand brake line fitting. What more can go wrong?
Inspection reveals the right angle line connector is scored and I can't get a good fit. In one of my few intelligent acts I bought extra brake lines from the local auto store. I'll have to really bend the brake line to get it to fit without the 90 degree connector. Carefully bend the line, bleed the brakes again (well into my 3rd can of Super Blue brake fluid) No leaks yeah! but wait, the brake pads aren't moving. Oh no, I put a crimp in the brake line with my bending. Pull the line, throw it deeply into the woods in my back yard and calmly pick the extra brake line, once again bend carefully, install and bleed the brakes (again!) Scrub down the lines and calipers with brake cleaner. Hey I got some brake pedal! Bleed some more... Cool, lets go for a ride.
Around the block a couple of times. Boy this stops like my friend's old Dodge truck. Not real awe inspiring. Well, this could be a couple of things. I'm running race pads which need to be warm to work well, plus these are brand new rotors that need to be seasoned. Okay, after dragging the brakes to get some heat into the pads, I'm starting to get some bite, lets try some back roads.
Up to a blistering 50 MPH! Hit the brakes... and "Ping! Ping! ka-thump! ka-thump!" Whoops, remember those retaining clips that were just a "little bit" short? They just popped, and I ran over them. Wonder if they'll fit better now that they are a "little bit" flatter? I gingerly made it back home, and only lost one of the retaining pins out of the caliper. That's enough for a Sunday, time to go watch the Simpsons.
Bright and early Monday (remember I'm leaving on Wednesday, anybody got an Xanax?), I call our local dealer. Sure he can get the pins and clips. Have them here by Friday. Time for the Internet to the rescue! Find Stoddard Porsche on the web, give them a call, "In stock, will FedEx them to you. You'll have them Tuesday". True to his word, I had the parts in my hands by lunch Tuesday. Jack the car, wheels off and for once didn't have to take off the calipers or bleed the brakes. Pop the new parts in. Off for a spin and "Mon Dieu, the brakes, they work!".
Finally good to go. My car works, and with over 18 hours to go. No sweat, piece of cake, never was worried, just practicing some crisis management skills. Oh yeah, my car was under-weight so I added some ballast weight. Am I legal now? Who knows, the scales are closed and I'm out of time. I'll just leave it in the hands of the gods. Off to Lime Rock. The adventure continues.
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