3.3SS rebuild finally underway.......... - Page 7

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

I was having some problems getting the oil pressure to register on the dash gauge, so I removed the electric sender and plumbed in a mechanical oil pressure gauge in it's place. After doing the install yesterday, I did not have time to fire the engine up to see what was going on. I went out to the shop this morning, took care of a couple of other small items on the car and then connected the battery and fired it up. Using a 30 weight high detergent oil (for break in only), it now immediately turns off the dash oil light, idles at about 15 lbs of pressure and pulls a bit over 40 lbs at 3K rpms. So, now I have to determine if the sender is bad or if the problem is in the gauge! Who said projects are ever done? Considering the cost of the sender, I suppose that I will re-install it onto the engine and give it "one more chance" to work right or get replaced. Meanwhile, all that is left to do is to replace some of the CV bolts, torque them up properly and do a check on the timing using a digital VOM. If the timing check passes, the passenger seat goes back in and we go for a test drive! So far, I haven't seen any major oil leaks from the block or heads. There does seem to be a very small amount of oil oozing from the left timing cover. As long as it stays that small, I'll leave it alone. Otherwise, if it get bigger, I can do a partial drop and fix it in place.

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

Took the SC out for a short drive this morning. Just around the s/d and did not get much over 3,000 rpms. The engine feels very strong, lots of bottom end torque and seems to want to get up and go! Got back to the shop and cleaned up the floor where the car had been sitting for the last 2 months. While the car was outside in natural light, I gave the engine compartment and underside a good inspection looking for oil leaks. So far, all I see is a very slight bit of oily film at the bottom of the left timing cover. I used 30 wt oil for initial start up and running, but I don't think that the engine "likes" the light oil. So, ASAP, I am going to change out to either 40 wt. or 20W50 wt. oil. Also, it looks as though the oil gauge pressure sender is indeed not working properly so it will be replaced shortly.

A/C bracket and compressor not installed. Will do so after changing the oil pressure sender.

gsxrken · gsxrken's Garage

Nice work, Fred.
For the upside down images, try making sure you always have your iphone home button to the right when you use landscape. Volume buttons facing down.

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

The oil pressure sender unit arrived yesterday. I had some errands to run first thing this morning, but when I got home, I changed out the sender units and fired up the engine. Success! The old unit was indeed kaput! Now, I can finish assembling the a/c and feel better about taking the car out for an extended test drive. I still am planning on pulling the oil pressure relief valve (one on bottom of block) just to verify that it is working properly.

Flat6Heaven · Flat6Heaven's Garage

Congrats again!

Oh and the last picture made me think, for the first time, that a CIS engine can look very nice.

Looking forward to your post-break-in impressions.

Thanks,
Ben.

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flat6Heaven

Congrats again!

Oh and the last picture made me think, for the first time, that a CIS engine can look very nice.

Looking forward to your post-break-in impressions.

Thanks,
Ben.

Thanks for the nice comments and the positive remarks as I worked thru this project!

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flat6Heaven

Congrats again!

Oh and the last picture made me think, for the first time, that a CIS engine can look very nice.

Looking forward to your post-break-in impressions.

Thanks,
Ben.

Getting rid of the distributor, coil and heater blower/hoses really helped to clean up the engine compartment! That one piece of red hose is going to go away also!

andy_uranium · 07-13-2013, 12:31 PM

Is it just me or all the pics upside down?

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by andy_uranium

Is it just me or all the pics upside down?

Might be what you are looking at them on. I accidentally took some of the pictures upside down on my iPhone4S but thought that I had turned them over when I compressed the pictures.

andy_uranium · 07-13-2013, 10:19 PM

An IPad is what I Typically read on, no biggie just wondering.

Roslin · 07-15-2013, 08:56 PM

Nice Restoration Fred !
Saw earlier your problem by squishing the O-rings on the case trough bolts. I had the same problem when i did mine, and discovered that the stock Porsche washers where very unequal in the chamfer size. I then decided to make a complete new set of washers with two different chamfer sizes and a small radius to prevent the washer to 'cut' the O-rings. One size for the threaded side and another for the other side. The result was 100 % as i wanted it to be - nicely compressed O-rings, and no squished and damaged O-rings - This was made in 2006, and no leaks has been discovered since.

I look forward to see you dyno results when you get it rolled, as i'm interested in your upgrades whit raised C/R and twin plugs

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roslin

Nice Restoration Fred !
Saw earlier your problem by squishing the O-rings on the case trough bolts. I had the same problem when i did mine, and discovered that the stock Porsche washers where very unequal in the chamfer size. I then decided to make a complete new set of washers with two different chamfer sizes and a small radius to prevent the washer to 'cut' the O-rings. One size for the threaded side and another for the other side. The result was 100 % as i wanted it to be - nicely compressed O-rings, and no squished and damaged O-rings - This was made in 2006, and no leaks has been discovered since.

I look forward to see you dyno results when you get it rolled, as i'm interested in your upgrades whit raised C/R and twin plugs

Very nice work! And once again, proof that the factory doesn't always get it right the first time! I used a small amount of silicone sealer on the underside of each washer along with the small o ring seal. No leaks so far!

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

I am still having some issues with the oil pressure. Starting from a cold engine, the oil pressure is good, a bit over 1 bar / 1000 rpms. However within about a minute or so, the pressure will drop to less than a bar / 1000. I have replaced the above mentioned oil gauge sender, so I am certain that the gauge is reading correctly now. The sump scavenge side of the pump seems to be working well. Maybe even better than before the rebuild! I have removed the sump cover to make certain that it was installed correctly (it was) and have removed the bottom oil pressure relief valve to make certain that it was operating smoothly which it was/is. Next step will be to pull the left side heat exchanger and take a look at the oil pressure safety valve (side/bottom of block). The safety valve is just upstream from the pressure side of the oil pump and could very well be what is causing the problem. I guess that I will know shortly. If the safety valve is not causing the oil pressure drop, I may have to pull the engine and tear it back down! At least this time I will be working with new/clean parts!

On the other hand, the engine starts easily and idles well. In the two short drives that I have taken, it feels like it has good bottom and midrange torque. Just what I wanted! I have not run it enough to even think about doing the final tuning of the CIS or checking the WUR pressures. All that will come later.

Roslin · 07-17-2013, 12:22 AM

Thanks Fred !

Maybe it's overkill with the washers when using silicone as i did too. Actually i used the Green Curil T
on the head side, as they where laying a bit long on the table before they where all installed. I used the Black Permatex Silicone on the Nut side.

On the other hand i like to make improvements on what Porsche did, if i find issues like this :-)

Whith regards to your "low" oil pressure .. i just think - maybe the 30w oil is a little thin when it heats up compared with 20/50 or what you decide to use later on ? I'm using the Valvoline VR1 20/50 which a lot of people here recommends, incl. Charles Navaro (LN Engineering )
Good luck with your project ! :-)

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roslin

Thanks Fred !

Maybe it's overkill with the washers when using silicone as i did too. Actually i used the Green Curil T
on the head side, as they where laying a bit long on the table before they where all installed. I used the Black Permatex Silicone on the Nut side.

On the other hand i like to make improvements on what Porsche did, if i find issues like this :-)

Whith regards to your "low" oil pressure .. i just think - maybe the 30w oil is a little thin when it heats up compared with 20/50 or what you decide to use later on ? I'm using the Valvoline VR1 20/50 which a lot of people here recommends, incl. Charles Navaro (LN Engineering )
Good luck with your project ! :-)

Actually, I have already switched to 20W50 weight oil. It is behaving just like the lighter 30 wt. oil did. I just finished putting the left exhaust header back on the engine and will give it a try after lunch. Still have to put oil back into the engine. I'm also using both LN Engineering cylinders and Valvoline VR1 20W50 oil.

lovely · 07-18-2013, 10:21 PM

Interesting share you know what this type of post very informative who work in this field.

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

Looks like the engine will have to come apart again! After checking just about everything possible, the dropping oil pressure remains. The good news is that I found a deal on a shop crane (1 ton capacity for $99) which I have ordered. This will allow the engine to be picked up and put on the engine stand without having to go rent a crane. Compared to $229 or so, a half day rental for $30 made sense, but at $99 it makes more sense to buy one! Anyway, it looks like the oil pump or block oil seals may be not doing their job. So, as soon as the new seals and shop crane arrive, the engine will come back out and be disassembled to get the new seals. At least everything is new and clean this time!

304065 · 07-25-2013, 03:57 AM

Fred,

The hot ticket these days is the Harbor Freight Hydraulic Lift Table with 1000 pound capacity.

You can drop the engine with this and then use it to put the engine on the P201 stand, or put it into the back of a pickup truck.

As always, use caution.

fred cook · fred cook's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by 304065

Fred,

The hot ticket these days is the Harbor Freight Hydraulic Lift Table with 1000 pound capacity.

You can drop the engine with this and then use it to put the engine on the P201 stand, or put it into the back of a pickup truck.

As always, use caution.

But I had already ordered the shop crane. And, I already have a Sears ATV jack that works quite well at supporting and lowering the engine and tranny.

Roslin · 07:13 AM

I used the Isopropanol for final cleaning of all surfaces before sealing anything. All the paper gaskets was kept dry, and no leaks has shown up since i turned the key first time in Feb. 2007 ( used Locktite 574 as case sealant, Curil T for cylinder base , and some black Permatex silicone for the nut side of the trough bolts)