I finally filled my project car will oil. I recently replaced the oil pan gasket. I decided to go with AMSOIL 20W 50. This oil has outstanding protection. One thing I like about it is that it is also designed to prevent corrosion for classic cars. The high Zinc levels help also help protect this engine. The Porsche 928 S4 is a 32 Valve V8. That is insane to think this engine was around in the 1980s.
The power brake booster I ordered arrived today. It feels like Christmas every time I get a new car part in the mail. ATE makes the power brake booster for the 1989 Porsche 928 S4. I felt I got a good deal on the price.
On an enthusiast forum for the 928 Porsche, someone recommended I coat the master cylinder with a clear epoxy to prevent corrosion long term. He also recommend a special lubricant for the rubber portions to prevent it from dry rotting. Before I install this component I am going to order that lubricant and a part called a brake proportioning valve or pressure regulator. My goal is to take care of the components within the engine bag before I start jumping all over the car. I will probably make sure the exhaust system is put back together then move onto the timing. I heard this brake booster is a pain to replace :(.
I will be using AMSOIL brake fluid for my 928. You can purchase it here:
I finally got the brake master cylinder back for my 1989 Porsche 928 S4. It looks better than new ones. The company I used was White Post Restoration out of White Post, VA. This brake master cylinder was sleeved and has a life time warranty. I highly recommend using White Post Restoration. The packaging they used was very professional.
I plan on now removing the power brake booster. During the troubleshooting process the brake booster displayed symptoms of being bad. It also is very rusted. Behind the brake booster area and nearby,, I will be adding more insulation to the firewall to reduce the amount of heat passing through the firewall.
Some times you don’t find out what you need until you need it. I made a list of items and explanations of the items that you should keep in your car or truck. If you are preparing this emergency kit for someone else, you need to explain to them what is in the kit and were the kit is located. You also should set cell phone reminders to inspect the items in the kit. Items such as food or requiring charged batteries need to be inspected more frequently. You don’t want to overspend on these items, at the same time when it comes to equipment like this you generally get what you pay for.
Item Group One: Cell Phone, Cellphone Battery Charger and Battery Powered Charger
Having your cell phone is important. You can use this to call emergency services, tow trucks, or a friend. Make sure your battery is charged so you can use it. I also recommend having a car charger so you can charge it while your car is idling and a battery powered charger. Battery Powered Chargers usually take AA batteries. In case your phone dies and your car can’t start, you will still be able to charge your battery.
Item Group Two: Insurance, Registration, License, AAA Membership (auto group or towing service membership), and car warranty (if it provided tow service).
If you get pulled over or in a wreck, in most states it is a legal requirement to have your insurance, license and registration on you or in a digital form. Paid for emergency tow services or warrantied tow services will save you a lot of money than calling a towing company yourself. I personally use AAA Premier. They can tow my car up to 200 miles. I believe I paid less than $100 a year for it. Within the first use of it, I get that money back in savings. They also can jump start your car or unlock your car if you locked yourself out. Some new cars have warranties that they will tow you to the dealer for free to get your car repaired. A lot of times if you have to get your car towed and you don’t have the money or the insurance to cover it, your car will sit in an impound lot or the towing companies’ lot until you can pay the fee. Some places will tack on daily charges and if you can’t pay, they might be able to keep your car.
Item Group Three: Battery Jumper Cables and or Charged Portable Battery Charger / Jumper
Jumping Cables can be used to get your car started if the battery dies. You can also use it to jump start another personals car. I recommend getting long battery jumper cables in case you are parked in an area another can cannot pull in front of you.
A portable battery charger or jumper can jump start your car without the need for a second car. The downfall is that it has to be charged and has to be powerful enough to jump start your car. Some of them can be charged through the power outlet port in the car. This item has to be inspected to make sure it is charged. My friend had a dying battery he would have to use this every time he started his car. He would drive long enough to make sure the charger would recharge.
Item Group Four: Car Jack, Inflated Spare Tire (or make sure you have a tire inflator), Jack Stand (optional but recommended), tire iron (that fits your car), tire inflator, tire gauge, tire hole repair kit.
In many cars most of these items already exist. In case you need to change your tire, you will need a car jack and a tire iron. I also recommend using a jack stand in case the jack slips. The tire inflator can be used to fill a car tire you repaired with a tire hole repair kit or tire patch kit. Only use a tire repair kit if it is an emergency and you don’t have a spare. Many companies will not put a patch on your tire if you used a tire repair kit with a plug. The tire gauge is used to see the tire pressure. If you need to refill your tires at any time, it is always a good idea to use a gauge to make sure you don’t overfill or underfill the tire.
Item Group Five: First Aid Kit / Food
This can be used in case someone if physically hurt. I also recommend making sure it has an emergency blanket and a tourniquet. Have a couple bottles of water and emergency preserved food. Some of my friends even put a life straw in their car.
Item Group Six: Electrical / Tools
You should also keep spare fuses and a couple relays your car uses. If one of these goes bad in your car, you could have components such as the lights not work. In some cases, your car will not start at all.
A mechanics tool set that contains sockets, wrenches, screw drivers, pliers and Allen keys can help out a lot. Something as simple as removing a car battery can require multiple size wrenches and its best to have more tools than needed than not having any.
An LED flashlight with charged batteries. Any task mechanical can be an instant nightmare if you can’t see
Item Group Seven (barbaric): Have a metal hand shear, duct tape and zip ties. If you ran over a curb and damaged your mud flaps or bumper, you may need to cut part of it off. The shears will be able to cut rubber mud flaps and the duct tape and zip ties can help hold your car together until you can get it somewhere safe. I crashed into a mound of snow before and had to use shears to cut rubber off one of my mud flaps because it kept dragging on the ground.
You should also have a small foldable shovel. This can help dig your car out of the sand if it gets stuck.
Item Group: Miscellaneous items
I recommend having a tow rope in case you need to be pulled out of an area such as mud or a ditch. There are cheap LED safety triangles you can use to show cars that your vehicle is stalled and it will help others spot you. Flares are great too but go out after a few minutes. If you live in the middle of nowhere you can also bring a flare gun with you. If you have a diesel vehicle, I recommend having a bottle of AMSOIL emergency deicer. Diesel fuel can gel up in very cold weather and prevent you from starting you diesel car.
You can also have a window breaker and seat belt cutter on your keychain and in the center console. This can be used to free yourself and the passengers if you are trapped inside the car or your seatbelt is jammed.
Some waterproof matches, an empty large metal coffee can and emergency candles can be used to make a makeshift heater and flashlight. If you live in cold weather you should also have blankets to keep warm until help arrives.
oil for daily driving For a daily driver, I usually don’t recommend using racing oil unless you very frequently change your oil. For someone who may not be familiar with the mechanical workings of an engine, it sounds obvious. For someone who is a car enthusiast, this can seem questionable.
Racing oil like AMSOIL Dominator is designed to handle high heat levels. It provides an insane amount of wear protection under stress (both a great thing). Think about it, the RPMS during a race are very high. However, like most racing oil it was designed for racing and not daily driving. There is a saying, “You can’t have your cake and eat it too”. Racing oils are not designed for extended drain intervals. They are designed to protect your engine for the extreme demands of racing. Race car engines are generally broken down and inspected after a season and some cases after a couple races.
I can use my Toyota Tundra and Porsche 928 S4 as an example. My Toyota Tundra is my daily driver. The recommended oil change from Toyota is 10,000 miles. I use AMSOIL Signature Series 0W 20 Oil. This oil can be used up to 25,000 miles (depending on the driving conditions and engine type). I usually will take this oil to 15k miles because I drive at a slightly higher RPM than the average driver. This oil has excellent wear protection, corrosion prevention and great detergents. Now my Porsche 928 S4 is my project car / toy. I use Z-ROD 20W 50. The Z-ROD oil has a high zinc level to prevent engine wear especially on flat tappet engines. The Z-ROD also has very high corrosion prevention properties. This is awesome for a car that does not run every day. The oil itself is good for at least 2 years. From 2018 to 2020, I was unable to change my oil in my Porsche 928 S4 due to my work in the Military. When I removed the oil pan not to long ago, I noticed there was zero rust on the internals. I was actually surprised on how clean it was.
Now if I had used any racing oil for my Tundra, the wear protection would not be there for that many miles. No racing oil is really designed to prevent corrosion for cars sitting for over 2 years like my Porsche 928 S4 was. I have had friends who used racing oil in their vehicles but changed out the oil every one to two months.
If a vehicle’s recommended oil change interval was 10,000 miles and you wanted to use a racing oil. You would not get the wear protection near the 10,000 mile point. One way you could find out when you should change your oil is to do an oil analysis. You basically send in an oil sample to the lab and they would tell you if your engine wear amount is normal, below average or above average. They can even give you a good predication on how many miles the oil can handle.
Previously I purchased a Duracell Battery for my 2017 Toyota Tundra with the 5.7L V8. The battery was a Group Size 27 :-). The downfall for the first Duracell Battery was it had a crack on the top by the cap area and leaked some fluid.
I took it back into the store and they replaced it without any problems. I now highly recommend (still recommend small businesses as well) Batteries Plus Bulbs located at Camp Bowie 5825 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76107. I do recommend that you go online and put your e-mail in for their updates. Some times they have a flash sale to save 15%.
Anyways I found out you can still use that red terminal protectant on both the positive and negative. Your actually supposed to spray it on the post (to prevent corrosion in between the post and wire connection). So I sprayed it on the post. I sprayed it on the wires. I sprayed it in between the two wire connectors for the positive side. By the time this Duracell Battery dies, I should have the mechanical problems on my 1989 Porsche 928 S4 fixed. I plan the next battery go around to use a much larger AGM battery. That is going to require my to use longer wires.
The company that is going to rebuild my brake master cylinder said they received my part. For the power brake booster, I am going to buy a new one. Surprisingly that booster is on cars other than a Porsche 928 so the price is not ridiculous and the company makes a large amount of them.
New Duracell Car Battery that comes with a crack on top of it
During the recent abnormally cold snow storm in Texas my 2017 Toyota Tundra Battery died.
I was able to charge it and it would work throughout the cold days but would die again overnight. After the weather heated up it was able to hold a charge most of the days.
I spent two weeks researching batteries. I decided to go with a Duracell Group 27 battery that had 840 cold cranking amps. This battery was cheap and has a 36 month warranty. What persuaded me a lot was I could not find a Odessa or North Star group 27 battery. Their was smaller batteries but I did not want to have to buy any kind of spacer or risk the cables braking from the vibration.
When I went to the store I attempted to remove my old battery but the positive terminal had corroded to much so I figured I would just take the new battery home were I had more tools
After buying the new battery, I went to start my truck it died after a few second. I’m thinking great now I’m stranded at a battery store because I have a dead battery.
I looked at the stuck terminal and saw another bolt that I could unscrew to disconnect the wires. Luckily the battery store sold new terminals. I found some kind of Dekka terminal. It does not look as durable as some of the terminals I saw on Amazon but Dekka is a good company so I went with it. I also purchased a terminal cleaning and protection kit.
The good think about the protection kit is it has the tool to clean the terminals. It so had a hand cleaning towelette. I was not impressed by the post proctor. It seemed like it was only for the positive side due to the red paint. It also does not dry. I remember having a mechanic work on another car I had and he used a chemical for both post.
After I got back to work I double checked the battery. I noticed it had a crack on top by the fluid cover. Some fluid actually came out. I am going upgrade the battery tomorrow or exchange it for a non cracked one. Small amounts of fluid got on my hand and burned my skin a little but nothing severe.
the Porsche 928 S4 Brake Master Cylinder I took Apart
shipping box for Porsche 928 master cylinder
I previously tried to have a company rebuild my brake master cylinder. They sent it back saying they could not do it. I believe the problem is that it needs to be sleeved.
Today I sent the master cylinder off to another company that sleeves the master cylinder. This company offers a life time warranty. I am a little worried they will send it back because I took the unit part before sending it to them (they specifically asked not to do that) and I forgot how to put it back together. When I took the unit apart, I cracked one of the internal parts. I am assuming a rebuild kit would replace this component. This is the last rebuild attempt. I found another vendor that sells new units a little less than the previous vendors. I believe a rebuilt brake master cylinder is more reliable than the stock one. The company puts a more durable protective coating on the cylinder and the sleeve is more durable than the standard bore. When ever I do get a working brake master cylinder, I also plan on replacing the power booster, pressure adjuster and some vacuum lines. After I am done with the mechanical problems in the engine bay I will get the brakes rebuilt.
I double check the Maintenance Manuals on a vehicle, forums and technical bullets from the vehicle manufacture before I dive into any type of maintenance on a vehicle. For my 2017 Toyota Tundra with the 5.7L V8, I immediately changed to oil and filter to AMSOIL Signature Series 0W 20 Synthetic Oil and the AMSOIL Oil Filter.
The two components that cost the most to replace are usually the engine and transmission. With less than 300 miles put on the truck I changed the oil and filter with AMSOIL products. I did it because I want the best protection for my vehicle as possible. The Signature Series keeps your engine a lot cleaner, and prevents a lot of engine wear.
Before changing your oil check the oil level. If it is within normal ranges you can warm up the vehicle before you drain the oil. Warming up the engine helps circulate particles that could be stuck into oil lines. I ran my truck for 15 minutes to get the oil warm. Then I used a basic socket set to remove the drain plug and empty the oil into a drain pan. This being my first truck I was unaware you need a special tool to take the metal canister off that contains the filter element. Since I drained the oil out, I had to take an Uber to the parts store to buy the tool and Uber back home.
On the Tundra Canisters there is a bottom metal plate you can unscrew. You then screw in a plastic tube that comes with the filter kit to drain the oil out of the filter section. The filter kit comes with two O-rings you want to use. The first one goes around the metal plate you unscrewed the second one goes around the top of the canister by the threads. I recommend lightly coating the new O-rings with oil so they don’t stretch or tear when you install it. After you remove the canister you have to swap out the filter element. I filled the canister half way up with oil to presoak the filter element before installing. I then put a new crush ring on the drain pan bolt and torqued it. You have to be careful with this bolt. I recommend replacing it after a couple oil changes. This bolt gets easily stripped out. I then filled the vehicle with oil and checked for leaks. Then I started the truck and monitored for a few minutes for leaks.
Depending on the application, the AMSOIL Signature Series can last 25,000 miles or a year for normal driving and 15,000 miles for severe driving. I have sent my used oil to Blackstone Laboratories for analysis. Each time they told me there is little engine wear and I could actually drive further. I only change my oil once a year.
When you think about it paying a little bit more for AMSOIL and the filter is well worth it. The Signature Series has extended drain intervals. This basically means the oil last longer. What does this mean? Instead of changing conventional non-synthetic oil 3,000 miles, with AMSOIL Signature Series you can replace it up to 25,000 miles or 1 year. Due to only replacing your oil and filter less often you save money and time.
Saving time is very important, it’s one thing you can’t buy back. If you depend on your vehicle for your business or to drive you to work you can basically consider yourself loosing money every time you take your vehicle to a mechanic. You don’t just loose money for what the mechanic does you also don’t make money because you are waiting for your transportation to get repaired. Personally, I also don’t want to waste my time driving to a mechanic and waiting for service to get complete. I rather be doing something I like doing.
Several automobile manufacturers are claiming their vehicles transmission fluid never has to be changed. I talked to both engineers and experienced mechanics, all of them said that is impossible.
What I did find out was many vehicles warranties typically are over after 3-5 years and around 100,000 miles. I have read several reports of owners of these vehicles that have never changed their transmission fluid going to the dealer after the warranty is over just to find out they need a major repair on their transmission. The majority of transmission repairs require the transmission to be removed from the vehicle. Several vehicles also require the engine to be removed so the transmission can then be removed. This is very expensive. Since the warranty is out, they have to pay the bill themselves.
My 2017 Toyota Tundra’s Maintenance Manual did not really give a specific interval on when to change the transmission fluid. I only found sections that said, “inspect for leaks”. Some Tundra Dealers seem to have gone against the maintenance manuals and advise getting the fluid changed around 50k-65k miles. I decided at 55,000 miles to change the transmission fluid. I used AMSOIL Signature Series Fuel-Efficient Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid. I had to watch several YouTube videos to find out how to change the fluid on the Toyota Tundra. Some things that make this hard is there are multiple transmission models for this year.
Basically, I drain the transmission pan. I removed the transmission plan to clean it and replace the transmission filter. I then re-installed the transmission plan. I then added the amount of fluid I took out. I then had to disconnect a transmission line that goes from the cooler to the pan. I made this line go into a drain bucket. I then had to put a pin in some kind of thermostat to make sure all the fluid drains from the transmission cooler. I would start the tundra for a few seconds until 3 quarts was removed. Then I would add 3 quarts of new fluid. I kept doing this until all the old fluid was out. One of the hardest parts was adding the correct amount of fluid. You basically have to make sure the transmission fluid is in a certain temperature window then look at the flow of fluid coming from one of the plugs you took out. I burned my hands doing this. I also got bit by fire ants because I had to do this in the street (level-surface). You would think there would be a simple dipstick but Toyota decided to make changing the fluid difficult. I really did not trust anyone to change the fluid that’s why I did it myself. A lot of people will just drain what is in the pan and not the entire transmission system. I put 10,000 miles on my Tundra since changing the fluid, there is no problems. It shifts a little more smoothly than the stock fluid. I wish I would have changed the fluid when I first bought the vehicle. This synthetic fluid has outstanding wear protection.
Here are some of the specifications the transmission fluid meets or exceeds (AMSOIL also sells CVT and dual-clutch transmission fluid).
AMSOIL Signature Series Fuel-Efficient Synthetic ATF is recommended for transmissions and other applications that require any of the following specifications:
Aisin-Warner AW-1; BMW 83 22 0 142 516, 83 22 2 152 426; Chrysler MOPAR* 68157995AA, SP-IV, 68218925AB; DSIH 6p805; Ford MERCON* LV, SP, ULV; GM DEXRON* HP, DEXRON* VI, ULV; Honda/Acura DW-1*, Type 3.0; Hyundai/Kia SP-IV, SPH-IV, SP-IVRR, NWS-9638, SP4-M; JASO 1A-LV; JWS 3324; Mercedes Benz 236.12, 236.14, 236.15, 236.41; Mitsubishi SP-IV, ATF J3, ATF-PA, ATF-MA1; Nissan Matic-S, Matic-W; Saab 93 165 147; Shell M-1375.4, M-1375.5, M-1375.6, M-L 12108; Toyota WS; Volvo 31256774; VW/Audi G 055 005, G 055 162, G 060 162; ZF S671 090 255.
AMSOIL Signature Series Multi-Vehicle Synthetic ATF is recommended for transmissions, hydraulics, power steering systems and other applications that require any of the following specifications:
Allison C-4, TES-389; BMW 7045E, 8072B, LA 2634, LT 71141; Chrysler ATF+4*, MOPAR* ASRC, 68089195AA, 68049954AA; Ford MERCON*, MERCON* V, ESP-M2C166-H, FNR5, M2C924-A, XL-12; GM DEXRON* II, DEXRON* III, AutoTrak II; Honda/Acura ATF-Z1; Hyundai/Kia SP-II, SP-III, Red-1; IDEMITSU K17; JASO 1A; JWS 3309,3314, 3317; MAN 339 Type V-1, 339 Type V-2, 339 Type Z-1, 339 Type Z-2, 339 Type Z-3, 339F; Mazda ATF-M III, ATF-MV, F-1; Mercedes Benz 236.1,236.2,236.3,236.5,236.6,236.7,236.9,236.1,236.11,236.81, 236.91; Mitsubishi SP-II, SP-III, ATF-J2; Nissan Matic-D, Matic-J, Matic-K, 402; SAAB 3309; Shell 3403, LA 2634; Subaru ATF, ATF-HP; Suzuki 3314, 3317; Texaco ETL-7045E, ETL-8072B, N402; Toyota Type T, T-II, T-III, T-IV; Voith 55.6335, 55.6336; Volvo 97340, 97341; VW/Audi G 052 162, G 052 990, G 055 025; ZF TE-ML 03D, 04D, 05L,9, 11A, 11B, 14A, 14B, 14C, 16L, 16M, 17C, 20B, 20C, 21L.
