Budget 3.2 head stud replacement project

[fred cook]

From this point on during reassembly, be certain to keep all of the openings in the block covered or plugged. It is remarkably easy to drop a small nut or washer into the block. Usually they will bounce around until they find the best hiding place! Sometimes the offending piece can be fished out but sometimes it will require splitting the block again! While doing the assembly work on the camshaft timing gears I turned the engine slightly in the stand to the side I was working on was a bit lower than the rest of the block "just in case" a small nut, bolt washer or woodruff key got loose! Paranoid? Maybe, but better safe than sorry!

[Mr Project]

Good tip, thanks. I've been using a large plastic bag and various fresh rags to keep any area I'm not actively working on covered. Even while installing the head studs I had all of the cylinder holes in the case covered in case I dropped one of the nuts that I was using to drive the studs in.

I hesitate to say this and jinx myself, but it's gone smoothly so far. Mating the case halves, piston circlip installation, etc. I haven't had any issues or real difficulties up to this point. The cam towers will be a lot of work, and I did buy the RSR rocker shaft seals, so that will be more opportunities to screw something up.

[cmcfaul]

Timing the cams is the last hurdle, then smooth sailing. Take lost of pics. If you have an issue it's reasuring to be able to look at the pics and know it was done right.

Lots of people told me my car would never go back together. Ye of little faith.

Enjoy the process

Chris

73 911 E

[Mr Project]

More progress. Had a lot of trouble getting repeatable measurements on the Cam sprocket alignment last night. Probably just going to stick with the 4 shims on each side that it had before.

[r-mm]

Can you tell us why you went with these instead of the $351 option from PP: Pelican Parts - Product Information: 930-110-595-05-M260

I'll be crossing this bridge soon...

Great work so far, look forward to seeing you button it up. It was entertaining for me to read this thread all the way thru, started out thinking "hey that sounds like my rebuild" then "oh boy he's going split case".

Originally Posted by Mr Project

Look what showed up today!


Risk vs. Reward example: I didn't mind spending a bit over $400 to replace fuel lines even though mine weren't leaking. Unknown age and a common failure point that I can address for $400 and not burn the car down? Sold. Whiz, Len is at lenDOTcummingsATverizonDOTnet

[Lapkritis]

Originally Posted by Mr Project

More progress. Had a lot of trouble getting repeatable measurements on the Cam sprocket alignment last night. Probably just going to stick with the 4 shims on each side that it had before.

Looks great. I had a similar experience and when I did get a repeatable measurement with my straight edge that was within spec, the chain would catch on the sprocket every 4-5 engine revolutions. I think it's a bit of a black art especially with the case seam not being flat between the halves. I would recommend the same - turn the engine by hand about 50 times and observe the chain action and pre-lube it at the same time. Observe if the sprocket is hitting the side of the chain link and adjust accordingly.

[Mr Project]

In my wildest dreams I had hoped to have the engine back in the car this weekend. That's not going to happen, but there has been good progress!

[Mr Project]

Originally Posted by r-mm

Can you tell us why you went with these instead of the $351 option

If memory serves, that's just the one line of the three piece set.
All three lines OEM were in the $700-800 range IIRC.

[Mr Project]

Every night, I think I will have things wrapped up and slide the engine back in. Not yet! Shooting for Thursday night now...

[Mr Project]

Well, I got distracted again because I had to put up a shed in the backyard before winter hits, but I've been squeezing in late-night time on the 911 wherever I could. And finally, last night, success!

This is after the 20-minute run-in and initial oil change.

video link: VID_20131006_215634_328.mp4 - YouTube



It's been so long that I don't really remember what it sounded like before, but it sounds OK to my ears at the moment, does it to yours?

The only real issue I had when trying to get it started up was that the CHT sensor connection came loose (I must not have had it fully clicked in). That caused flooding and very poor running initially, and since it sounded and felt like a big vacuum leak, I spent a fair amount of time looking for that, plus pulling plugs, doing some compression checking, triple-checking distributor installation, etc.

After the 20 minutes or so of run-in:

• No massive oil leaks
• No horrible noises
• Seems to be generating oil pressure
• No meaningful smoke out the tailpipe

I have a few things to tidy up in the engine compartment, and then I have a lot of work to do on the rest of the car (interior and HVAC are dismantled, suspension and brakes are only partially assembled), but this is a big step towards driving it again!

[Smoove1010]

Sounds good to me - congratulations! Great feeling, isn't it?

I hope your neighbor was listening...

GK

[Mr Project]

OK, here's a breakdown of what I spent on this project and where the money went on this 'Budget' build. Hopefully this is helpful to others in a similar situation.

First up are the items related to splitting the case:

.	Case split items
.	Machine shop - Recondition rods (big end only, small ends were in good shape)	90
.	Machine shop - measure and polish crankshaft	35
.	ARP rod bolts	225
.	Wrightwood case gasket set	100
.	Case sealant - Loctite 574	25
.	Curil-T sealant	14
.	Threadlocker - Loctite 571	8
.	Machine shop - wash case	35
.	Case-saver insert for bell housing stud	11
.	Chamfer tool from McMaster-Carr	20
.	Kimwipes clean room wipes	9
.	Brake cleaner and other cleaning solvents	50
.	piston oil squirter	33
.	Main bearings (std) 1-7	210
.	Rod bearings (std)	152
.	IMS bearings (inner and outer)	32
.	Assembly lube	5
.	Chain ramps	37.5
.	Piston retaining circlips	15
.
.		1106.5
.

DTO Garage Plus vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.

[Mr Project]

Next are the items that were specifically related to the head stud replacement, and then some of my "Scope Creep" items:

.	Head stud items
.	Machine shop - drill and helicoil exhaust studs on 5 heads	130
.	Machine shop - EDM exhaust stud & EZOut removal on one head	118
.	New steel powdercoated head studs	386
.	New head washers and bolts	186
.	6 sets of rocker retaining hardware (bolt/cup/nut) to replace questionable ones	84
.	Helicoil kit for 6mm x 1.0 engine shroud bolts that snapped	30
.	6 new intake barrel nuts to replace questionable ones	42
.	Extra 6mm engine shroud bolts	5
.	VR head set - gaskets	209
.	Exhaust studs and nuts	75
.
.	Total	1265
.
.	Optional things I replaced as additional scope creep:
.	New fuel lines (all 3 from Len)	420
.	New oil S hose	23
.	RSR rocker seals	84
.	New oil pressure switch at triangle of death	5
.	Cylinder Head Temp Sensor	95.5
.	Used 3.2 crossover pipe (old one broke on removal)	99
.	Summit racing water-based hi-temp engine paint	20
.	Cam oil return line restrictors - turbo	31.5
.
.	Sport engine mounts	48
.
.	Total	826

[Mr Project]

Next are the duplicates I ended up with as I either over-ordered due to not knowing what was in the VR gasket kits, or when I changed course to the wrightwood case gasket kit. I bought a Bentley but found it totally superfluous for the engine rebuild. I've used it for other things, so it's not useless, just not needed for this job IMO if you have Wayne's book.

Lastly are the tools I needed to add to the collection. YMMV on these, depend on what you already have!

.	Parts I bought but didn't use/didn't need:
.	Small end rod bushings (machine shop said old ones were too good to replace)	33
.	VR case gasket set	55
.	Extra set of valve stem seals (came with VR head set)	24
.	Extra set of cylinder base gaskets (came with VR head set)	34.5
.	Oil pump lock tabs (included with wrightwood kit)	13
.	Rear main seal (included with wrightwood kit)	21
.	Bentley manual	103
.
.
.	Tools I added:
.	Sandblasted engine shrouding/air guides/valve covers (bought sandblast cabinet)	180
.	Cam holding tool	78
.	Engine stand yoke	45
.	How to rebuild a Porsche 911 engine book	25
.	Clutch alignment tool	9

[zelrik911]

Thanks for fully documenting this thread and continuing right through to the end.
This is the sort of information which makes this site invaluable to 911 owners.

For example, your SNAFU with the big-end caps is a clear lesson to me to be careful there with my own rebuild. The listing of up-to-date costings is also extremely helpful for reference & comparison - I have already made some decisions using this info.

Peter in Melb.

[r-mm]

Great project, well done.

I'm doing the "inverse" (top end and piston rings, no case splitting) and I have a little tiny question for you - what triggered you buying new rocker arm hardware and where did you buy your Wrightwood kits from?

[Mr Project]

I bought the rocker arm hardware because several of my old sets were rusty and the Allen heads were slightly rounded...I was concerned about being able to torque them down.

I don't want to be disrespectful to our host, I'll PM you on the kits

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Great thread, very timely for me. With the help of a fellow Pelican who has rebuilt a few 3.2s, I'm tackling an 86 with 7 broken head studs this winter. Since it has 150K on it, we are almost certainly splitting the case and going all out.