longest time between decision to rebuild and the engine actually on the ground

[Rick B]

Decided to rebuild my 1970 911E engine just about the same time that my son was born. You can guess which project was delayed.

Following several posts on this forum, and the 911 technical forum, and help from Wayne's books, I am now glad to report that the engine is on the garage floor and I still have all my fingers attached. Tear-down starts tomorrow!



BTW, my son turns 30 this summer...

Rick

[nilknarf]

Whew- I thought the guy in the photo was your son until I kept reading!

I feel better about my 5-year delay!

_curt

[DUK]

Congrats. Now when we get our motors back in we'll have to meet up for a drive.

[pete3799]

I hope he's not 60 when you're ready to put it back in.

[304065]

Been waiting to time the cams for about 2 years. Found rust on one of my cast-iron rockers the other day, that's easy enough to pull and detail. Fortunately I used Aeroshell Fluid 2F, which is an aviation corrosion-preventive oil, on all the internal parts, and LPS IV corrosion inhibitor on the big stuff like the flywheel. Easily comes off with citrus-based cleaner when the time comes to mate the clutch.

Persevere!

[The Dude]

So your son was old enough to help!

[LeakProof]

Boy this subjects corresponds perfectly to my next question....

How long is assembly lube generally good for, once applied?

My project is moving slower then i had initially anticipated.


Leakproof.

[peppy]

Rick I think you won that contest....the rebuild should be all down hill from here on.

Like a ball rolling down a hill that is.

I'm 2 years in on mine and am still collecting parts.

[LeakProof]

My biggest problem is fighting this sluggish economy, it's not really cooperating with my rebuild budget.

Priorities blow.

Leakproof.

[LM3929]

My 83 has been off the road for 8 years this month, boy time flies.

Lorne m.

[Rick B]

Update on the engine rebuild:

Validated the advice in several books about mounting the engine on the engine stand. Most advised three strong friends and a six-pack. Did it by myself, but couldn't walk for most of the next week.

Here is a picture of my son working on the engine:




Now comes the part about getting the 40 year old exhaust manifold barrel nuts to part company with the head studs. So far, we have rounded off the 8 mm Pelican Parts special tool as well as rounding off the inside of the nut. This is after soaking in PB Blaster and WD-40. Using the impact wrench was satisfying, but ineffective.

Any suggestions? Chisel? Drill out / off? Use a cut-off wheel to cut the heat exchanger and header off?

Thanks

Rick

[304065]

Originally Posted by Rick B

Update on the engine rebuild:

Validated the advice in several books about mounting the engine on the engine stand. Most advised three strong friends and a six-pack. Did it by myself, but couldn't walk for most of the next week.

Here is a picture of my son working on the engine:




Now comes the part about getting the 40 year old exhaust manifold barrel nuts to part company with the head studs. So far, we have rounded off the 8 mm Pelican Parts special tool as well as rounding off the inside of the nut. This is after soaking in PB Blaster and WD-40. Using the impact wrench was satisfying, but ineffective.

Any suggestions? Chisel? Drill out / off? Use a cut-off wheel to cut the heat exchanger and header off?

Thanks

Rick

Rick, this is a job for the blue wrench. No substitute.

[gregwils]

Originally Posted by Rick B

Any suggestions? Chisel? Drill out / off? Use a cut-off wheel to cut the heat exchanger and header off?

Thanks

Rick

I just removed a set that were 23 years old so your mileage may vary. I would start with the least invasive approach and then proceed as necessary. Start with a can of MAPP gas, it's about 3x hotter than propane. You should be able to get it at HD or Lowes. Heat the nut/stud until it is brilliant cherry red, it will take at 3-5 min, then crank on it with a set of vice grips. If you can get it to turn even a little, pull the vice grips off it and give it more heat. You have to keep it hot. Hopefully the stud will come out with the nut.

If that doesn't work, I would dremel the nut on the stud, not the stud. You don't need it to come off, just weaken the nut. Then heat as above. You can heat the stud latter to get it to come out. Keep it cherry, heat is your friend.

If neither of those work, cut off the nut at the flange, then heat the stud to remove.

Drilling would be the last resort. It's definitely the biggest hassle, most work and highest risk approach. You may want to pay a shop if you get to this point.

[Rick B]

Tuesday Update:

Thanks for the guidance!

Went to Lowe's, bought MAPP gas cylinder and torch and a thing that the tool guy called an easy-out (drill a hole, then insert the tool with the threads reversed so that the nut/stud turns out). Used the adjustable BFW (normally used on the tractor) to turn the easy-out as the tool square end did not fit my socket wrench.

The first three studs came right out, so one heat exchanger has bit the dust. The other side remains recalcitrant. We quit for the day as I was getting to the 'get a bigger hammer' stage. Soaked the nuts again with PB, and called it a day.

Rick

[VFR750]

I used lots of heat (MAPP Gas is a must) and got most of them. Get them orange hot!

But some wouldn't budge, so I used a 1/8" diameter carbide burr, to cut a slot in the nut. With a cold chisel and hammer. you should be able to turn the nut. Helps if the nut is cut almost all the way through. You'll be sucessful, if the nut starts to split, and the threads become loose.

Ultimately, one broke. I used a set of increasingly larger carbide drills to drill out the center of the stud, and when I got close, I used the 1/8" carbide burr to carve the inside of the stud, until I could just see the imprint of the thread bottom. At that point you can pull the remaining portion of the thread out like a heli-coil.

There are also tools out there that can be used to drill out the stud. The tool guides the drill, instead of my freehand cutting.

[VFR750]

SSI Install went great with help from all

Here is my story on HEX nut removal

[Rick B]

New Year's Day Update:

Thanks for the advice on the header barrel nuts! I was able to finally remove the second header using the drill / easy-out tool (not really easy) without resorting to the MAPP gas torch that I bought at Lowe's. This is good as the engine reeks of old oil and PB blaster.

Got the valve covers off, chain covers off, all other ancillary bits and pieces off, removed the flywheel then re-installed the flywheel when I realized that I needed it to hold the crank in place when the cam nut is removed. Loosened the valve adjustment.

Tried to remove the cam nut. I have the right crowfoot and the P202 tool to remove the nut. Wayne's book says to slowly apply pressure counterclockwise to remove the nut while holding the crowfoot steady. I did this without results.

Is it OK to use the impact wrench on the nut with the P202 tool? It looks like an impact socket. Will this damage the cam in any way? Or, should I just get a bigger breaker bar on the P202?

Thanks again for the advice on this thread. The tear-down has gone faster than I anticipated.

Rick

[RichHawk]

Originally Posted by Rick B

Is it OK to use the impact wrench on the nut with the P202 tool? It looks like an impact socket. Will this damage the cam in any way? Or, should I just get a bigger breaker bar on the P202?

Thanks again for the advice on this thread. The tear-down has gone faster than I anticipated.

Rick

From the experienced builders I've spoken with, using an air impact to get the 46mm nut off the cam shafts is just fine. Don't use it to re-install (Obviously) But to get them off, yep zip them off.

Richard

[Rick B]

The adventure continues. Today was a good day after I finally got the crow foot / P202 tool trick working.

ready to take the pistons off the rods tomorrow. Finished all the top end removal today. This picture shows pistons and cylinders that have not been fired since 1980 or so. The rust in the one cylinder is from the header removal as the exhaust valve was open on this one. Some show carbon build-up, others have what looks like white sand on the piston face. After removing the cylinders, the cross-hatching is still visible on the piston walls. The sides of the pistons are clean.

Most of the driving was high speed in Europe. Probably less than 1,000 miles at US highway speeds.





Still not sure whether to clean and re-use or get new cylinders and pistons (87.5mm / 10.3 CR). I will keep the MFI and the E cam.

Thanks again to all who helped me on the tricky parts. I will start a new thread following the report from the machine shop on the condition of the case, crank, and heads.

Rick