2.2 rebuild dilemma

[true968]

I have a 2.2E mfi engine in my 1970 911. in 1991, shortly after I got the car I had the engine fully rebuilt. EVERYTHING. align bore, squirters, new S P's and C's - the works. And it ran great and it still runs great. 29 years later the car has 7900 miles on it (not a misprint) including many drivers ed miles and it has seen 8K rpm a few times. BUT IT LEAKS. it had a drip on the left side heat exchanger from the cam box to heads from very early on, but over the years it has gotten worse, and now the right side cam box to heads is also leaking onto the heat exchange. it now has 2 case leaks, one at the very front corner and one at the case at the front of the rear section by the strainer cover. the left side heads to cylinders have started to drip a bit, and on both sides the chain housings to case are now dripping.

yes, I know they all leak. but the smell is truly annoying (the wife will not drive in it). so advice on what to do? full rebuild and split the case? but change no parts? top end only? look at the heads while they are out? what should be replaced from an age standpoint? Or just leave it be? Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks, Tom

[eastbay]

Full tear down and split case to reseal with fresh sealants and gaskets. Inspect and replace anything else that needs it.
Sounds like nothing needs to be 'rebuilt'

[Cairo94507]

I agree with eastbay. Today the sealants are way better and you have this resource to identify the best sealing products from our own experts. I would pull the engine and disassemble and then reassemble with all new seals and gaskets after inspecting all of the parts.

I had the transaxle on my 914-6 rebuilt about 5 years ago and we just finished the restoration of the whole car. Sadly the transaxle leaks about 4 drops when parked. I know I have a transaxle reseal in the future. I really do not like oil leaks.

[Black 993]

Are you fully confident you've identified the sources of the leaks? There are some common and easy to fix oil leaks on these engines which can appear to be dripping from the places you've identified. True case seam leaks are pretty rare, as are cam housing to head leaks. More common are leaks from the bermuda triangle on the top/front of engine, valve cover leaks (really rocker shaft leaks) that look like cam housing leaks, oil return tubes, and the sump cover. All these are usually easy fixes.

[Tyson Schmidt]

When I build mag case engines I replace all the mag parts I can with aluminum.

Cam covers, chain boxes, intermediate shaft cover, breather housing, etc.

RSR rocker shaft seals help too.

The cam tower leaks are the worst because they drip right into the exhaust. The rocker shafts and cam covers are the usual culprits here. The oil return tubes too.
I bet you can make it tolerably dry by doing a reseal and replacing the removable mag parts with aluminum, and not having to do a full teardown.

[Richey]

A 50 year old magnesium engine case is warped and needs to be align bored back to standard by Ollie's . They have told me about 6 cases were not warped as long as they have been doing this . This may be all that really needs to be done .