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Porsche
Club of America
By Bruce
Hauben, Bruce993@PorscheNet.com
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you may remember from my July 2001 column, our track year 2001 was one
I hope to block from memory. (Let me know if you've misplaced your copy
and wish to re-read the column. I'll email it to you.) It was a rare event
that was not marred by one mechanical problem or another. As we enter the
2002 season, yes I've been revising the schedule for a month now; allow
me to bring you up to date.
The final mechanical problem of the season found Joyce and me at Le Circuit Mt. Tremblant enjoying some wonderful weather and good friends when various warning lights made themselves known on the dash. Some investigation and a phone call diagnosed the problem as a bad alternator. The good folks at European Performance Engineering ordered one from California (the time zone difference allowed this possibility) to be shipped that day and arrive at the hotel the next day. Naturally, it did not arrive until several days after we had gotten home. With trackside advise and assistance from Eurotech's Bill Pfister and Bill Chadwick's generator we were able to run most of the weekend, charging up between track runs. The battery finally quit on Sunday necessitating a tow off the track for Joyce. Once again we experienced the axiom "IT'S THE PEOPLE". NER friends are always there for you. The Mosport and Road Atlanta events were trouble free...save for an ongoing headache. When planning and executing the modifications to turn our RS America into a Club Racer from a Driver's Ed car we had a budget...sort of, not really. We all know that a Porsche budget by definition says add a minimum of 50% to what you've written down. The point is that not all of the mods that were discussed were done, but one that did not get cut was a fuel cell. My due diligence said that the extra safety factor outweighed some other things that were cut. As a result of my summer long fuel cell problems I met many people with differing, valid views that have now reversed my original ideas. Fuel Safe is a division of the Aircraft Rubber Mfg. Corp. in Bend, OR and has been manufacturing fuel cells for aircraft, armored vehicles and racecars (NHRA, NASCAR, FIA, Porsche, etc.) for twenty-five years. In addition to having the best reputation and most experience in the field they sell models to fit the space vacated by the OEM tank, so one was installed over the winter. Within a few runs on the track, the fuel cell began leaking...from the top of the aluminum housing, not through any of the exterior gaskets and connections. Not enough to leave puddles but gee whiz, a fuel cell that leaks is an oxymoron. I sealed the housing with an ample amount of silicon sealer which kept the leaking fuel inside between the bladder and housing, and didn't fill the cell more than 50% to minimize or eliminate future leaking. As nothing leaked from the bottom I had to assume I'd temporarily put the problem to rest, enough so to continue the event. Back home to EPE, Jerry had gotten new gaskets from Fuel Safe and we installed them, cleaning off the silicon in the process, figuring that other than a cracked bladder, that had to be the problem. You can imagine my chagrin at the next event when I smelled the gas again during the first run of the day. I'd brought an ample supply of silicon, repeated the process, and throughout the event checked under the hood after every run. A temporary fix but hell, fuel cells aren't supposed to leak. The next step was to return the cell to the manufacturer for their installation of a new bladder. Apparently they manufacture them to order, they're not sitting on a shelf waiting for an order. Naturally this took enough time that yet another event was missed. So the cell gets reinstalled, we get out on the track at our next event...and yes...the same leaking condition, same location, and same temporary fix. This time we demanded a brand new fuel cell, don't try and fix this one, send us a new one and then we'll return the old one. Well, that new cell was installed several weeks ago, problem solved. The day to leave for Sebring is creeping up and during some conversation at EPE it suddenly makes sense to take the car out on the city streets and "try out" the new cell. After attaching Jerry's "repair" plate to the racecar I filled up at the corner Sunoco and proceeded to corner and stop with as many Gs as I could to test out the cell. On city streets around Rte. 9 I got lots of stares and whistles with the car but not much in the way of Gs, it was the best I could do. Back at the garage, I hadn't smelled any fumes and was almost content, almost at ease with the situation, almost ready to leave the car and head home without opening the hood...almost. Couldn't do it, had to open the hood and yes, there were the tell tale drip marks down the side of the housing...exactly as had been happening all summer. We'd been dealing with Fuel Safe's customer service department but this time I called the CEO and was surprised that I actually got the man on the phone. I'd already written him a lengthy letter requesting reimbursement for all my added labor costs which Customer Service had been denying so he should have known the history, but had been 'out of town' for several weeks so I briefly brought him up to speed. I requested my original purchase price back, telling him that I was going back to my OEM tank that I still had. You know that the man's first thought was that he'd escaped (hopefully) a major liability suit and was more than agreeable to my request. So I told Jerry I'd bring all the OEM parts down the next morning. That afternoon he called me to relate a new offer/suggestion from Fuel Safe. The CEO and the owner would personally put together and QA check a new cell, ship it out within seven days (remember Sebring), and still refund my purchase price. I've been known to cut off my nose to spite my face, but not this time. I accepted the offer, as we'll still have time to go back to the OEM route if this last cell is not right. We're interested to see if they will re-engineer this cell to a design that seems more leak proof to us, even though many of my model's design have been installed with no problems. I'm also going to remain in touch with the CEO, as I want to know what went wrong; design, manufacturing or QA. I'll let you know what happens. You Know You're a Racer When
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