911 SC Running: Lesson's Learned

[mtelliott]

Lesson’s Learned
The car is running so I thought I would post some observations and lesson’s learned from my experience.

1. Yes, it is as hard as it looks. Rebuilding an engine takes a lot of skill. Wayne’s book and the Bentley manual will get you through a large percentage of what you need to do however there are so many more things to know that couldn’t possibly be captured in a book. They come from experience.
2. The better the engine before repair, the easier the rebuild will be. It sound obvious however if you are rebuilding an engine from a bunch of boxes, be prepared to find all kinds of problems with the parts as you proceed. In my case, I found that I had so many vacuum leaks that I never knew about previously, that I had to have the engine pulled to fix all the ones that were found. If you are starting with an engine that you know everything about, then it’s easier to concentrate on just rebuilding.
3. Rebuilding is a marathon, not a sprint. Plan on it taking months, not weeks. I tried the week’s route, ended up with months. Of course, once you have the experience of rebuilding one, it takes significantly less time for the second one but the first time will take much longer than you anticipate.
4. Document, document, document. Take lots of pictures and notes from every angle as you proceed in the disassembly. This serves two purposes. One, it provides a reference for assembly. Two, it provides excellent knowledge of how your engine works while it’s still assembled. It’s like doing your homework before taking a test.
5. Make friends with every Porsche repair shop you can. Find the one you like best and develop a relationship with them. I worked with a number of shops in Denver but finally settled on STORZ garage. For me, these guys are excellent. They always answered my questions, took time to explain things to me, and helped me with my Porsche education. My engine and car would still be in my garage had it not been for their expertise.
6. Learn the search key on Pelican Board. Yes, sometimes you have to wade through a lot of misinformation but you’ll learn more than you were searching for in the end.
7. Ask for help locally from fellow PCA and Pelicans. I’ve made some great friends and been given a lot of assistance through both the PCA and Pelicans.
8. Wiring harnesses are hard to find and expensive to buy. I had to wait over 4 weeks for one to come from Germany (Pelican couldn’t get me one). Treat all parts of the engine gently because you can’t run down to NAPA to pick up a replacement easily.
9. Set expectations with your significant other. I have the greatest wife in the world, but sometimes she got a little frustrated with the amount of time I was working on my car.
10. Sleep on it. Sometimes, you just need to walk away from problems you’ll encounter. Many nights I would lay awake unable to shut the mind down but I usually found the answer the next day. Continuously working on a problem will not help. A fresh start and a clear head will.

[starlifter1]

true very true and when you start to screw up STOP the more you procede the more costly it is to have it fixed

[eskimo]

7. Ask for help locally from fellow PCA and Pelicans. I’ve made some great friends and been given a lot of assistance through both the PCA and Pelicans.

I'm a couple of weeks out from making the big commitment.. I may have to buy you some beers and pick your brain a bit..

-
I need to run a compression and leakdown to verify, but I think my engine is darn near done.

[Grady Clay]

Eskimo,

Find a time and place and perhaps there can be a Pelican diagnostic some weekend.

Yes, connect with mtelliott and discuss what he is doing. He is a smart go-getter and you will learn a lot from his recent experience.

Where do you live? What is your garage/workshop situation? How is your tool supply? What constraints do you have? (Michael had a little girl in the midst of the rebuilding – well, his wife did most of the work.)
Do you have all the books?

What is your plan?

Best,
Grady

[mtelliott]

I would love to help. As frustrating as it was, I loved rebuilding it. It's a great winter project and I'll lend a hand whenever possible. I'm not as familiar with the 3.2 like I am the 3.0. Some of the electronics will be different. Documenting the disassembly will be one of the most important steps. Everything else will be essentially the same.

To Grady's point, before you start, have a plan. We can sit down and talk when you're ready. As well, have a disassembly party.
There is a lot of people who are interested in seeing one torn down. Great way to meet new people. If you haven't joined the RMR Porsche Club, you should. That's how I met a lot of the folks. Pelican is the other way.

I look forward to helping. I've had a lot of help. Couldn't have done it without it.

Michael

[eskimo]

Like I said, I'm few weeks out from the commitment stage.. After that, then I'll start to get the ball rolling as, "I'm going to rebuild my engine."
Right now, I'm at a standstill even I wanted to, I'm getting a garage built enclosing a large carport.
-The books I know I need are Wayne's rebuild book and a Bentley. I already have 101 projects.
-My tool collection is well versed, but I know that I will need a few specialty items.
-I'm like Michael, I have a 13 m/o son.. he's getting easier, but I can't devote hours on end a day to a pcar, sadly.

I'm actually REALLY slow and methodical in my work.. it's a good thing when it comes to me doing pcar repair. After the garage is finished, the L+C tests done, the debate about 3.6, hot 3.2, stock 3.2.. AND what is actually wrong with the car is all decided, then I will pull the trigger.
My wife tells me to just take it to a shop, she doesn't think I have the time. Personally, I'm quite offended.

Anyway, the symptoms were large bouts of stoplight smoke at random intervals sometimes days and months in between.it's been like that for YEARS. lately, she started smoking lightly 100%, except at stoplights were it would tail off, till you would gas it under load, and then it would smoke out the car behind. Power remains good, and I never saw the tel-tale decelleration smoke plume of worn valve guides.
oil consumption has been great! (1 qt, 3k miles) but has gone in the *shttr* as of this summer, (1qt, 700 miles)
At last valve adjust/oil change, I did the plugs, and they looked (OK) for 15k.. I replaced, and I haven't looked at them, but it will be interesting to see what 2000miles have done to them.
I'm thinking rings.

my post count doesn't represent the amount of time I spend on here. I just never have anything worth saying.

[mtelliott]

Let me know when you want to start. Disassembly will be fun. I'll help you pull it when you are ready. Problem could be any number of the issues you identified.

I'm with you on the wife just not understanding why I wanted to do it myself.

I as well have learned a lot from this board just reading what everyone else posts. You don't have to comment to learn.

Where in Denver are you located?

Michael

[eskimo]

down in littleton.
I'm thinking that I will probably start throwing wrenches in December. I need to get a nice slush fund going before doing much of anything.. and this summer has been a VERY bad time for making slush. SPENDING? YES!, MAKING? NO!