3.2 Rebuild

[Guest]

Bad news - my car is making a banging sound under antyhing but easy accelleration that "sounded" like the silencer krocking. It went to a specialist who advises that the knocking is actually one of the heads coming away form the block!!! An expensive issue obviously that will need an engine drop, and may as well have a rebuild at the same time. (£2500+). For obvious reasons I am keen to pull in some help and drop the engine and pull of the heads myself, and probably change the rings at the same time, hopefully getting away with some new studs etc. Has anyone come across the same issue and can offer any pointers?

 

[bones]

Sorry to hear that, I'm taking the engine out of my SC sometime this week and borrowing an engine stand, (this is why the club should own basic equipment like this) If you live near North London you are welcome to come round and see the engine out and having external parts replaced and detailed. Although I'm not taking the engine apart unless I break a stud taking the HE s off you should get an idea of what's involved. Anyone else who fancies a look is welcomee too.

 

[Guest]

Hugepeice,

Where about are you, it might be that we can raise some enthusiasm to help you out a bit. Bones, I quite fancy taking a look if I can fit some time in, keep us posted on your progress.

Good to see people on this board getting stuck into their cars!

regards

Hugh

 

[bones]

Hugh I'm going to photograph as much as possible and include it in my gallery below. I'm thinking we should have a 'running reports' part of the site as in 911&Porsche World it would ne a valuable resource for future buyers to look at in terms of owning a Porsche and a bit of fun too. I'll let the forum know when the lump is out and on a stand. I'm sweating already.

 

[Guest]

Guys,
Great stuff... finally some hands on tihs (backwards)!
And here I was thinking pelican was the only place to hear of others who actually work on their own cars.
Top tihs!!!
If I lived near-by I be there now... with spanners and a tonnes of enthusiasim.
Peter

 

[bones]

Will I for one am hoping that some of the people who set up DDK don't desert this place altogether and then the technical aspect of the forum can become more sharply focused.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your comments/offers guys. I am based in NE London/Essex in Woodford Green and would love to have a look and someone elses first. I have looked at some info on Pelican and the removal looks easy enough with some extra hands. I have also ordered the rebuild book which looks like it will be vital. I am now sure whether to just replace the studs for now and do the rest of the actual rebuild later, or tackel the whole lot in one go? I would probably stop at replacing the rings as the bottom end/box can wait for more time (and cash). Basically the 911 is my only car and I am hoping to squeeze the work into a weekend working at my parents garage in Malden (as long as nothing goes wrong). Has anyone found cheaper sources of parts other than type911? Pelican are much cheaper but you have the delay and cost of postage to consider??

 

[bones]

HP drop me an email and I'll give you my phone number if you are so close I can help you out and you me no doubt. I might have the engine out by this coming weekend.
Try here for parts.
http://www.berlyn-services.co.uk/parts.htm

 

[Guest]

I might have the engine out by this coming weekend.

All on your lonesome ? Or with help ?

Why am I asking ? Pure noseness !

 

[bones]

I had to give in to commosense eventually John and realise that it would take for ever to get enough people assembled at the right times to help remove the engine. Chris Turner has very kindly lnt me an engine stand and cradle and Melvin Spear , top man, trailered my car there today (06/04/04). I'm putting the engine in the back of my estate and bringing it back here for work to gat under way. Chris is also removing the HEs so no broken studs. If you fancy a nosey at anytime drop me a line or call , you're more than welcome to come over here.

 

[Guest]

Due to the bank holiday the "better" half is shipping me off somewhere so the car will have to remain in one piece for now. Let me know how you get on, any pointers from your experience will be useful. I have pretty much resigned myself to get the heads off and replace studs, then put it all back together again for now. I will probably start early May. Hope all goes well with your engine drop!

 

[zwhitea]

Out of interest how many studs have gone... I broke a head stud, which was the only reason for getting the top end redone on my car.....

Be warned.. if the stud has broken you are going to need to weld a nut or something to the remaining part of the stud still in the case, so that you can get it out... If the stud has broken off at the base not leaving any of it showing, you could be left with trying to drill the old one out... some I would not like to do...

Depending on how far you want to go you....

Head Gasket Set - A must
Rear Crank Seal - (expect it to be leaking a little by now.)
CAM Chains
Piston Rings
Value Guides - These would require specialist fitting...
Dilavar Studs - replace all exhaust studs (Lower) check condition of upper but these don't get as hot.

Depending on the gearbox etc you may also want to look at ..
New Clutch..?
Clutch Fork and Guide tube (later versions may require Bell House reaming)
Shaft seals


Have fun.. Becareful at the weekend as well, as it is your main car, if something goes wrong or parts are required, will you be able to source them... I have a eurcarparts on my doorstep, not the cheapest but have stock on the shelf, but then again they are only open til 2 on a Saturday.

Good luck and keep us informed.

 

[bones]

John if you fancy popping over for a nosey you are more than welcome , might even find you a polishing job....lol....The car went to Chris Turner's today to get the engine out, it proved too difficult to get enough members together to remove the engine here. Depending on Chris' workload I will retrieve it from him by the end of the week or early next week. Drop me a line or phone if you want to come over.

 

[bones]

Just one point is with the choice of studs. Received engine builder opinion seems to be don't use Dilavar head studs these studs are causing problems in many cars of this age, (the way to tell if you have them is that they are non-magnetic and if they are there they will only be on the exhaust side of the engine.) People usually rebuild with early studs or race studs.

 

[Guest]

Dudes,
Things are hotting up.
Wayne Dempsey's engine rebuild book would be a must; also Bruce Anderson's Performance handbook has a good section on Engine rebuild.( has a good check list for tools and jobs to check)
If your donk has a broken stud and the stud is a Dilavar you will have proplems welding to it. A perfect alternative is EDM.
Electrical Discharge Machine; is a bit like an arc welder except it erodes the iron stud away; leaving the aluminium alone. I know there is a shop in cheltenham that does this and sure there must be one in London.
Direct heat (LPG torch) onto the crankcase is another good idea.
Remember- kerosene (heating oil) is the best engine parts wash; and cheap.
The crankshaft and bearings should be good for many a 100k miles - bottom end is almost indistructable.
Remember to clean and flush all oil galleries and oil cooler ( with kero) and blow with comp air. (low pressure in the cooler or you'll blow it to pieces!)
Keep a dozen or so zip plastic bags handy with labels on em for small parts and nuts and washers.
Make sure you put the barrels back on the right way up, fins facing down.
The list goes on; if it where me I wouldn't rush it.. you need to assemble then strip and re-assemble until your sure.
Peter

 

[Guest]

I Take it that Dilaval studs are non-magnetic,does that mean there Stainless steel then if so they can still be welded on to remove them,been in the engineering trade you get a bit of a knack for removing broken studs out of aluminium castings,Beware! drilling them out unless you have got it firmly fastend down on a drill or jigborer because drilling it by hand, the drill never seems to want to stay in the middle and veers of into the aluminium.EDM is the best way to remove a broken stud but get a price first for its a slow process on some machines and all the companys who I know who have them charge between £35 to £50 an hour for this and thats in Doncaster, south yorkshire does tha noor!!,but on a good note I own an Agie spark eroder machine and would be quite happy to help any of you pcgb guys out with this problem.[]



Neil fox 84 3.2 Carrera

 

[bones]

Foxy the bad news is Dilavar studs don't respond well to welding. If I had a broken stud or wanted to replace Dilavar studs whilst rebuilding my engine I would buy myself (I already have) a copy of Wayne Dempsey's book 'How to rebuild and modify Porsche 911 engines' (buy it for less at Amazon.co.uk) There are 2-3 pages on removing studs. A propane torch provides the right temperature to heat the crankcases sufficiently without damaging them.
The funny thing about theses Dilavar studs is that there is no rule of thimb measurement for just how long they will last. The heat exchangers have just been removed from my SC afterr 144,000 miles (not for the first time) and the studs are all fine, the HEs came of easily. Give me a call if you want to chat about this thorny issue.

 

[Guest]

After much deliberation I have decided to start my rebuild next weekend (armed with a copy of the 911 rebuild and 101 projects books), I have decided to stick with normal steel studs and will replace all 24 along with rings, oil return tubes, clutch and as little else as possible. Does anyone know whether I need the 46mm crowfoot wrench to get the cams off? I have read somewhere that you only need this for pre '82 cars but can't find any info anywhere - I'm keen to find out before I spend £75 on one, if I do need it does anyone know a cheap source?

 

[bones]

Good Luck HP can't advise about the spanner but I'm sure someone will chip in , try a search on ebay under tools. Here's a pic of my project , it's now stripped down to the long block, drop me a line if you need a second head. I can't wait to post a pic with it looking restored.