Trakrat's 3.2 Engine Rebuild

[Trakrat]

Here's the engine with the intake runners off...



Interestingly, the intake valves look pretty good. I'm wondering if these were replaced at some point???

cylinder 1


cylinder 2


cylinder 3


cylinder 4


cylinder 5


cylinder 6

[Trakrat]

Finally... the engine shroud and fan/alternator came out as one piece...
Not sure how to get the wiring out of the shroud though...
I guess I'll have to disconnect it from within the alternator??


next step... removing the oil cooler

[Trakrat]

So I found a local media blaster...
I was going to take as much of my engine parts to him that I can have blasted and cleaned.

What type of media should I have them use on what? I want my fan assembly, valve covers, engine tin, pulley cover, intake runners, and anything else I can give them to be blasted clean.

Any specific media I should request on any specific parts?? (FYI... I've already searched here and learned to NOT use sand)
Some of the options they provide:
Aluminum Oxide
cornstarch
walnut shells
glass bead
plastic bead

[bpu699]

When you get to the point where you are taking off the pulley and the intermediate shaft cover, if you could take a pic of the parting line where the left and right hand case meet I would appreciate it...

When I was test fitting my case, I noted that the flywheel side machined face lined up perfectly, and that side is pinned. All the machining for the flywheel seal was perfectly lined up.

On the pulley side, one side of the case stuck forward enough that it was noticeable. .005 maybe? More? I.e., the face where the pulley seal insert was perfectly round, but both sides weren't flush. One side is proud. Thought that was odd, but didn't see any way to fix it.

If one were to slide the left hand case forward .005, then the flywheel side would be out .005. Moot point anyway, as the flywheel side is pinned and can't be slid forward. You definitely want the flywheel side perfect as it has a supply bearing.

Just seems odd Porsche would machine this face not perfectly flat. It's out enough that it's noticeable, but clearly didn't seem to effect anything for 60k miles.... almost as if they machined the pulley side, case moved .005, and then they machined the flywheel side and pinned it...

Anyone else notice that?

[Trakrat]

Other observations I noticed... the inside of the intake manifold/runners is very oily.
I'm not sure why it would be so black and oily??? any opinions??

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by Trakrat

So I found a local media blaster...
I was going to take as much of my engine parts to him that I can have blasted and cleaned.

What type of media should I have them use on what? I want my fan assembly, valve covers, engine tin, pulley cover, intake runners, and anything else I can give them to be blasted clean.

Any specific media I should request on any specific parts?? (FYI... I've already searched here and learned to NOT use sand)
Some of the options they provide:
Aluminum Oxide
cornstarch
walnut shells
glass bead
plastic bead

Honestly, I would leave it alone unless it's rusty. Clean it off with solvents, put it back. It's a low return area cost wise, no one sees it, and within 1000 miles you won't be able to tell you did it... I did it when I resealed my motor 5000 miles ago. Took off what I could at the time. Sand blasted, powder coated, etc. Several years later, looks the same...

[Trakrat]

Originally Posted by bpu699

When you get to the point where you are taking off the pulley and the intermediate shaft cover, if you could take a pic of the parting line where the left and right hand case meet I would appreciate it...

Anyone else notice that?

Not sure where you are talking about? Give me an idea and I'll take a pic as I get there.

[Trakrat]

Originally Posted by bpu699

Honestly, I would leave it alone unless it's rusty. Clean it off with solvents, put it back. It's a low return area cost wise, no one sees it, and within 1000 miles you won't be able to tell you did it... I did it when I resealed my motor 5000 miles ago. Took off what I could at the time. Sand blasted, powder coated, etc. Several years later, looks the same...

Just about everything has layer of surface rust on it... even the cooling fins on the heads are rusty.
I'd rather have them blasted than replaced. expensive parts for just some sheet metal.
I'm also going to replace the fan shroud with a raw fiberglass (I noticed my fan shroud is cracked on one side)

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by Trakrat

Just about everything has layer of surface rust on it... even the cooling fins on the heads are rusty.
I'd rather have them blasted than replaced. expensive parts for just some sheet metal.
I'm also going to replace the fan shroud with a raw fiberglass (I noticed my fan shroud is cracked on one side)

You can sandblast any area that isn't inside the motor, that's cheapest. Brackets, etc.

And area that had any potential to be exposed to the inside like valve covers you can use walnuts. They only clean, don't take off rust.

Fan you may wish to leave and just clean, polish. Unless powdercoating it, it will rapidly oxidize. Powdercoating screws up clearance and grounding...

I have a sand blaster in my garage, with soda, glass, sand, black beauty, etc... for external surfaces you won't be painting, glass bead leaves a nice surface... for painted surfaces or coated, sand is fine, especially with rust.

Just don't get any of this stuff near the inside of your motor...

Bo

[trond]

I would advise to NOT use sandblasting on any engine. Only on parts that have been taken off. There is always a risk that media ends up inside the engine, maybe through damaged masking tape or blanking plugs. Take off any parts you absolutely can not live with as they are before blasting. I learned this the hard way myself

[Trakrat]

Does anyone know what tool to use to remove the oil pressure sensor by the timing chain cover?
The crescent wrench I have is too wide to fit... and I'm not sure what skinny size tool I need to fit on there and wrench it off.

Thanks!

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by Trakrat

Does anyone know what tool to use to remove the oil pressure sensor by the timing chain cover?
The crescent wrench I have is too wide to fit... and I'm not sure what skinny size tool I need to fit on there and wrench it off.

Thanks!

Crescent wrenches come in different thicknesses... Super cheap ones are super thin.

[Trakrat]

Originally Posted by bpu699

Crescent wrenches come in different thicknesses... Super cheap ones are super thin.

Thanks... do you know the size needed? I'd rather just get a 22mm wrench (or whatever size it is)

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by Trakrat

Thanks... do you know the size needed? I'd rather just get a 22mm wrench (or whatever size it is)

Don't know off hand. You may have to grab a pair of calipers and measure, they will be handy.

[Trakrat]

Originally Posted by bpu699

When you get to the point where you are taking off the pulley and the intermediate shaft cover, if you could take a pic of the parting line where the left and right hand case meet I would appreciate it...

When I was test fitting my case, I noted that the flywheel side machined face lined up perfectly, and that side is pinned. All the machining for the flywheel seal was perfectly lined up.

On the pulley side, one side of the case stuck forward enough that it was noticeable. .005 maybe? More? I.e., the face where the pulley seal insert was perfectly round, but both sides weren't flush. One side is proud. Thought that was odd, but didn't see any way to fix it.

If one were to slide the left hand case forward .005, then the flywheel side would be out .005. Moot point anyway, as the flywheel side is pinned and can't be slid forward. You definitely want the flywheel side perfect as it has a supply bearing.

Just seems odd Porsche would machine this face not perfectly flat. It's out enough that it's noticeable, but clearly didn't seem to effect anything for 60k miles.... almost as if they machined the pulley side, case moved .005, and then they machined the flywheel side and pinned it...

Anyone else notice that?

Just an fyi... I took off the shaft cover below the pulley... I think I see what you mean, it's not perfectly smooth between the creases of the two halves?
I'd take a pic, but it's really really REALLY dirty and grimy below the pulley and would have to clean it first.

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by Trakrat

Just an fyi... I took off the shaft cover below the pulley... I think I see what you mean, it's not perfectly smooth between the creases of the two halves?
I'd take a pic, but it's really really REALLY dirty and grimy below the pulley and would have to clean it first.

Exactly!!! I thought it was just my case. The machining isn't "flush" between the two sides.

When you eventually take out the seals, you may also find that its not flushly machined inside that area either.

Its not out by much on this side, but it IS flush wheras the flywheel side is...

[KTL]

You're going to find that the exhaust valves are the ugly ones. I think the fuel injectors and oil keep the intake valves clean. Whereas on the exhaust side the burned air-fuel-oil mix gums up the valves really well. Especially if you have leaky valve guides and the engine consumes a large amount of oil.

You have oil in the intake manifold because the oil tank is vented to the intake boot- notice the rubber hose connected to it. So there's always air with oil vapor in it being consumed by the engine right at the throttle body. Then consider that people occasionally overfill the tank and the tank can burp/puke oil into the throttle body. If overfilled enough, it can be a huge amount of oil drunk by the engine and it creates a James Bond 007 smoke screen. I'm ashamed to admit i've been there, done that.

I STRONGLY suggest you remove the oil pressure sender on the workbench in a vise. So what that means is you only need to remove the "banjo" tube that passes through and connects the steel adapter block to the engine case. But why do you need to remove the sender from the steel block?

Leaving it on the steel block means you don't need as much force to counterhold that steel block. That's because the banjo tube is not all that tight on account of it being a low torque fastening. It's low torque because the sealing is done by the aluminum crush rings, which don't require a large amount of torque to seal, and the hollow tube is actually not all that strong. As a side note, on a number of occasions there have been some people on the forum who used a suitable wrench that fits the under the sender and tried to loosen it in place, unfortunately breaking the engine case. So just don't do that and put the thing in the vise like I suggest.

How easy to replace oil pressure sender on my 3.2??

[Trakrat]

Originally Posted by KTL

You're going to find that the exhaust valves are the ugly ones. I think the fuel injectors and oil keep the intake valves clean. Whereas on the exhaust side the burned air-fuel-oil mix gums up the valves really well. Especially if you have leaky valve guides and the engine consumes a large amount of oil.

You have oil in the intake manifold because the oil tank is vented to the intake boot- notice the rubber hose connected to it. So there's always air with oil vapor in it being consumed by the engine right at the throttle body. Then consider that people occasionally overfill the tank and the tank can burp/puke oil into the throttle body. If overfilled enough, it can be a huge amount of oil drunk by the engine and it creates a James Bond 007 smoke screen. I'm ashamed to admit i've been there, done that.

I STRONGLY suggest you remove the oil pressure sender on the workbench in a vise. So what that means is you only need to remove the "banjo" tube that passes through and connects the steel adapter block to the engine case. But why do you need to remove the sender from the steel block?

Leaving it on the steel block means you don't need as much force to counterhold that steel block. That's because the banjo tube is not all that tight on account of it being a low torque fastening. It's low torque because the sealing is done by the aluminum crush rings, which don't require a large amount of torque to seal, and the hollow tube is actually not all that strong. As a side note, on a number of occasions there have been some people on the forum who used a suitable wrench that fits the under the sender and tried to loosen it in place, unfortunately breaking the engine case. So just don't do that and put the thing in the vise like I suggest.

How easy to replace oil pressure sender on my 3.2??

OK... so following those links, I didn't realize the oil sensor wasn't attached to the case. I figured it was screwed INTO the block.

Just to verify then... it looks like if I loosen the metal line nut, the inside will pull out sideways of the mount and then I can just lift it off????

[KTL]

The oil pressure sender cannister thing is indeed screwed into the steel block. But if you try to remove it from the block without properly supporting the block, you can crack/break the case. So that's why I say you're better off taking the whole block & cannister assembly and putting it in your vise.

Yes if you loosen the metal line nut, the oil line will be released from the hollow bolt. Then you can remove the hollow bolt and you're left with the block free of the engine case but the sender still attached. Buy a cheap open-end China wrench at your local Menard's and grind it thinner with a bench grinder or an angle grinder. But I still question why you need to remove the sender? Do you want to re-plate the block and sender?

[Trakrat]

Originally Posted by KTL

But I still question why you need to remove the sender? Do you want to re-plate the block and sender?

I just need to take it off the engine is all. I'll just leave the 2 pieces that I circled attached to each other.