Top end rebuild

[Nick]

deleted

 

[Guest]

Nick - From posts on other sites I bet they look like new!

Roy

 

[Guest]

What actually is Nicasil

Well, and here I stand to be corrected, but I believe it to be an alloy of Nickel and Silica.
I know that silica is not a metal, so can' t be part of an alloy, but the end result is a very hard bore surface coating.
As to when it should wear out, I don' t think it does, unless damaged.

 

[Guest]

Nick, what made you decide to rebuild?

Oil leaks, smoke etc... or were you just feeling flush? []

Cheers

Andy

 

[oilyrag]

Nickasil is an aluminium alloy with a nickel content (can' t remember how much but don' t think it is a lot) which when cast is given a silica surface treatment, leading to a very hard surface ...something akin to chrome.
Other types of cylinder barrels on earlier engines are Alusil (no nickel content but same surface treatment) & Byral.....steel sleeve with alloy fins.

As Nickasil is so hard there probably is no good guide to long term life yet ........any of you engine re-builders out there know anything more? Rings wear due to them being softer than the bore and generally have a flat opposite to the spark plug.....a good reason to have twin spark plugs on later engines.
At 100,000 miles my rings were worn but still serviceable.....just slight smoke on start-up and output 183BHP against 190BHP stock (2.4S) what caused me to do top-end overhaul was valve guides wearing out.....the' re made of a high copper content alloy so pretty soft.....this is the achilles heel of this engine design.......anyone know why Porsche put these into an engine that appears to be otherwise good for 100K > 200K? [8|]

 

[Nick Moss]

Nick

Did you strip the motor or is someone else doing the work for you? If they are Porsche specialists they should be able to answer all the questions. How come it has the wrong clutch parts fitted? Who did that work, maybe there is some recourse there?

 

[Alan_Armstrong]

I have in the back of my mind a figure of £3000.00 for top end rebuild with new clutch
and Vat......undertaken by specialists not main dealer.

I have 112,000 on the clock now and still original, healthy enough although I havent had it dyno' d....crossing fingures, touching wood etc..but am starting a ' rebuild my engine fund' for the future.....not as much maybe as a new church roof but maybe I should take a stall at the PCGB autojumble and sell cakes to help raise the dosh[][]

 

[Gary C]

If it pulls ok, compression fairly consistent and no knocks or bangs, I would go for just the bolts.

 

[Beaky]

I know of cars that have had top ends with mileage as low as 75k but also as high as 175k, all depends how they were driven and maintained in their youth (Yuppie owned cars lots of short drives in town, oil not warmed through, etc).

£4-5k is about right but before you spend get a second opinion to see if it's really required, depending on how much mileage you put on ypur car, it may go for another 2-4 years before the top end needs rebuilding that should provide ample time to save

Regards

 

[PORKA]

Hi,
Had my SC done about 3 years ago at Carrera Engineering (01992 892333) at reasonable cost might be worth contacting Tony and get an alternative quote, had all my head studs replaced, new rings, oil pipes, tensioners, valve guides done etc replaced did a first class job[]

 

[carrerageorge]

Thanks, there was no separate quote for just doing the studs but the 3.2 register secretary also has said to me just doing the studs would be a waste as there is so much labour involved.

 

[chas3.2]

Hi George

So what are you haveing done just the studs or a top end rebuild it would be good to have some photos

Charles

 

[Pete917]

With that many miles, there must be more needing a re-fresh. Personally if its going to be taken apart then I'd consider doing other things. Valve guides, re-seated valves, Seat all the heads, rings, and if you are feeling very adventurous a twin spark conversion........

 

[CLIFFWILKINS]

When I owned my 87 3.2 Carrera it had a top end rebuild at 80k
rings & valve guides, it was using 1 litre of oil to 400 hundred miles max
despite have a AFN service history every 6k.
No blue smoke at all from exhaust at any speed puffing up through
the oil tank.
Think mid 80s 3.2s had a ring problem as many seemed to have had the rings and valve giudes done.

 

[Graemel]

My 1989 3.2 SSE had 68K on the clock with full service history and it needed a top end rebuild. In truth when it was stripped we found the rings had worn to 1.7mm (1.0mm max) and a few other issues. So the whole motor was rebuilt including new barrels and pistons, balanced, heads cc'd, new oil pump yet the motor had never been thrashed as the bearings still had their factory coating on them All in al it cost me about £5500 but the rebuild was not carried out in the UK. These engines are a simple design and not rocket science. The figure should be £2500 max. But top end at £6K and at least £10K for a total seems the norm.

 

[Richard Dawson]

I have a 3.0 SC with a 3.2 engine.

That figure seems steep; I can't imagine Mike Bainbridge (who is one of the best) charging that much.

My car has 964 cams/ssis/ M and K back box putting out 270 bhp on Wayne Scofields rollers (on which my 993 RS gave 300bhp before he started work) and didn't cost much more all in !

I'd shop around.

 

[Pete917]

ORIGINAL: Richard Dawson

I have a 3.0 SC with a 3.2 engine.

That figure seems steep; I can't imagine Mike Bainbridge (who is one of the best) charging that much.

My car has 964 cams/ssis/ M and K back box putting out 270 bhp on Wayne Scofields rollers (on which my 993 RS gave 300bhp before he started work) and didn't cost much more all in !

I'd shop around.

Shopping around is very important. You'll also learn alot about potential engine builders reputation along the way.