Oh man did I screw up
 

I just recently finished rebuilding my basket case 1978 911sc. It’s now a 3.2ss with 964 cams. So, I try to start it yesterday for the fist time and it fires right up. It took me less than a minute to crank the idle up to 2000 rpm and get the mixture adjusted. Everything seemed to be going great. The motor sounded spectacular and had plenty of oil pressure. Just as I was starting to feel good until about four minutes in I noticed some oil leaking. The leak started to grow exponentially. The oil was coming from the joint between the cam housing and the chain housing on the drivers side. I distinctly remember struggling to get those big o-rings to seat in the chain housing. I must have damaged the o-ring or the paper gasket behind it during the struggle. I ended up loosing 2 qts in 20 minutes. There were some other minor leaks (like the oil pressure sender) but nothing that couldn’t easily be fixed.

So, I’m kind of boned. I currently carpool to work and the person I carpool with is going to start going to school on august 27. I will need to be able to drive to work two days a week and I have no other reasonable form of transportation. I am pretty sure that I can’t get the engine out and fix it in time (not that I am entirely confident that I could fix it right anyway).

I live in Thousand Oaks CA. What would be my best bet for a reputable shop to clean up the mess I’ve made. Would TRE be my best bet?

Sorry for the long post but I kind of need to vent a little. I’m pretty disappointed in myself. I would like to thank all of the contributors to this forum for the direct advice I have received and for taking the time to record their knowledge so I could benefit from the questions posted by others. I am positive without this forum this would have gone far worse than it did.

Thanks

It is unfortunate you do not have the time to fix the issue. Been there, done that..... so I could relate.

TRE and MobileWrks are both known here

MobileWrks now has someting new......http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=360283


Good luck!

Lower the engine as far as you can. Support the motor, remove the engine cross mount, open the chain cover and take a look inside. Assuming you are right that the o-ring and gasket are messed up they will need to be replaced. I had this same issue. I used a green paint pen to mark the chain, sprockets etc. in several places, along with a centerpunch, and then carefully removed the tensioner. The marking kept the timing in the same position. I was able to remove the cam nut, sprocket and shims and gain access to cam plate. I cleaned eveything up and replaced the o-ring and gasket, using some of the green sealant to make sure it would stay dry.
The entire job took about two hours. Have faith.

John

John,
Sounds like there may be hope for me yet. Did you raise the rearend of the car abit or did you do the work laying on the ground?

those damn green gaskets! i've had a couple of leaks with them. there used to be some thicker gray ones that i haven't been able to get for a while that were fool proof. the green ones can split around the bolt holes. also be sure to resurface the thrust plates. they're usually warped a bit. use a light amount of silicone paste on the rubber o-rings to get them to slide in a little easier. sometimes the o-rings need a little help going in, using the tip of a pocket screwdriver carefully as you tighten the bolts.

Did an engine w/Tim Walsh and we ended up with a pinched o-ring on the left cam - fixed in about 3-4 hours including cam timing and w/out engine removal. You can do it!

Think of this a a helping hand. Every rebuild needs a an extra push. It is just more time working on the car. If you have gone this far, can you be patient and invest more time in her to seal it dry.

Regards,

shop recommendation
 

I recommend Pete at Europa Motors in Moorpark: (805) 531-0049. He and his son Adrian are loyal Porsche Club members and regularly participate in Porsche Owners' Club events. They do good work for me and may be able to help you.

I live in Thousand Oaks, too- maybe we've seen each other? Make a post if you use Pete.

I ended up giving Jimmy a a call. It ended up being the paper gasket between the chain box and the cam-housing. You guys were right you can time the cam in the car. Jimmy really saved my A$$ and I am now very happily enjoying my old car and its fresh engine.:D