Trakrat's 3.2 Engine Rebuild

[KTL]

The main bearings look pretty good? If you don't see any major streaks or marks on them, I would consider re-using them.

The inboard intermediate shaft bearing looks like it's showing base metal in two separate places. As alarming as that may appear, it's actually pretty common for the I-shaft to show wear on the bearings and thus it isn't a sign of a major problem. Just put new bearings in and you're good to go.

[proporsche]

i am with ktl..leave the bearings...it is a pain in a butt to get the right quality in these days....i heard a pretty bad stories even when purchased at the dealer...

Just replace the inter shaft as said above..

Ivan

[bpu699]

Another vote for leaving the main bearings alone...

If you want, see my thread on having them coated by HM ELLIOT. I did it, looks great, and makes me feel like I "did something" to them...

The coating adds very little to the clearance change. Supposed to add .0003 per bearing. Mine added way less than that...

I reused my main bearings, but broke down and bought new Porsche dealer rod bearings. The old ones looked fine, but it just seemed less risky to do that...

Keep in mind the glyco and clevite increase clearance by .001...

The Porsche dealer bearings do not, measured the same thickness as the old ones...

The porsche dealer bearings were only $36X6 or $240 for the set. Way cheaper than I would have thought...

You mentioned that on your case you felt that one side way a bit proud by the IMS shaft... Before you get too far, look at your IMS bearing thrust faces, and see if one side is down to copper, and the other side isn't... The glyco thrust bearing I bought wouldn't work without rubbing due to that miniscule case difference...

[Trakrat]

Originally Posted by KTL

The main bearings look pretty good? If you don't see any major streaks or marks on them, I would consider re-using them.

The inboard intermediate shaft bearing looks like it's showing base metal in two separate places. As alarming as that may appear, it's actually pretty common for the I-shaft to show wear on the bearings and thus it isn't a sign of a major problem. Just put new bearings in and you're good to go.

Actually... a couple of the main bearings weren't there. They were stuck on the crank. I just about $#!^ when I saw the bearing missing... only to find it stuck on the journal.


I just pushed it back in... it slides around and doesn't stay, as though the curve doesn't match the case.

[Trakrat]

ANYONE have a suggestion on the best way to ship this case???

Should I ship the case in separate halves? Or should I put them together and ship them in one piece?

(My concern is all the bolts sticking out could puncture a box or worse... break) *I don't trust UPS or Fed-Ex to handle with care*

[KTL]

You definitely want to remove all the protruding studs from the case halves. Those are just begging to get bent or break the case where they're threaded in. Don't risk it.......

One guy I know who used to sell a lot of used parts said he wrapped engine case halves in carpeting when shipping them. I would use something thick and robust like that and keep the halves separate in separate boxes. I know the last thing you want is to lose one half of the case in shipping. But in my opinion you're better off keeping them separate to keep the weight down and that keeps the box manageable. When you put the case together, it's a pretty heavy lump and that makes the box handler get careless with it because it's a big enough box and not excessively heavy. So it can be dealt with by hand (instead of needing a cart/dolly) but it's still a slight struggle since it's pretty heavy even for a dude who's job is to pick up and carry boxes all day long.

Pack your stuff like it's going to be dropped, because it will be. The people loading trucks are working fast and tossing boxes all the time. To be completely honest, I think this is the worst time of the year to be shipping stuff given the holiday activity. Might be better to do it after Christmas? Although there's the return shipping period after Christmas as well........

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by Trakrat

ANYONE have a suggestion on the best way to ship this case???

Should I ship the case in separate halves? Or should I put them together and ship them in one piece?

(My concern is all the bolts sticking out could puncture a box or worse... break) *I don't trust UPS or Fed-Ex to handle with care*

Consider a large box, preferably wood. Then go to home depot and buy the pink foam insulation sheets in 6 inch thickness. Line all sides of the box, put in the case, and fill with peanuts/newspaper.

6 inches of foam absorbs a lot of damage...

[Ken911]

Originally Posted by Trakrat

ANYONE have a suggestion on the best way to ship this case???

Should I ship the case in separate halves? Or should I put them together and ship them in one piece?

(My concern is all the bolts sticking out could puncture a box or worse... break) *I don't trust UPS or Fed-Ex to handle with care*

cheapest safest way to ship a case is a large plastic igloo cooler. They cost about 50 dollars. Cheaper than wood for a crate and lighter. remove the head studs and all the small suds sticking out the sides for chain boxes etc. Bolt the case halves back together, if shipping the crank leave it in the bearings. Then seal it shut with a banding tool. Sent mine to turbo Kraft like that and they have most customers ship them that same way. weight for an engine case, crank, rods and pistons is 135 pounds. Also as soon as you tell the shipper (ups or whoever) that it's an engine case a plastic cooler shows it will not leak oil during shipping. Make sure you tell them there is also absorbent in the bottom of the box.

[Ken911]

this is a pic as described above about how well it fit in a cooler

[KTL]

Nice ken!

[Trakrat]

Originally Posted by Ken911

this is a pic as described above about how well it fit in a cooler

That's a pretty good idea... I may just do that.

However, I was told to leave all the studs in the case... as removing them would mean I'd have to buy new ones.

[Trackrash]

Originally Posted by Trakrat

However, I was told to leave all the studs in the case... as removing them would mean I'd have to buy new ones.

????

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by Trakrat

That's a pretty good idea... I may just do that.

However, I was told to leave all the studs in the case... as removing them would mean I'd have to buy new ones.

Not an expert by a long shot, but I believe if you are machining your case you need to pull all the studs out...

[Trakrat]

Originally Posted by bpu699

Not an expert by a long shot, but I believe if you are machining your case you need to pull all the studs out...

Correct... that's what I was told... but its uncertain if my case needs to be machined. It may just be fine with it being hot tanked/cleaned once checked over.

All I know is I asked Ollie's and they said to just leave them all in and if they find they need to remove them, then they'll do that.

[Trakrat]

Originally Posted by Trackrash

????

apparently there is a consensus that dilavar studs shouldn't be reused, as they have a tendency to break.

Also... if I'm going to take them out... then I will end up buying ARP or Raceware studs so that I know EXACTLY what I'm using. Which is expensive.

[KTL]

You just can't leave the head studs in the case if you're going to ship it. They stick out too far and are at too much risk for being bent. Just take them out and install new ones. I'd suggest going with all steel. If you really feel compelled to go with something more than plain steel, i'd recommend the Supertec studs.

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by Trakrat

Correct... that's what I was told... but its uncertain if my case needs to be machined. It may just be fine with it being hot tanked/cleaned once checked over.

All I know is I asked Ollie's and they said to just leave them all in and if they find they need to remove them, then they'll do that.

If there is not anything obviously wrong with your case, and you are machining it only if an inspection shows issues, then why risk shipping it and paying for that?

My understanding is that mag cases may need to be line bored. Other than that, what issues are you anticipating? You have an aluminum case, correct?

I only risked shipping things that I could replace if FedEx lost them. Not sure of the benefit of shipping a case and risking damage to it and the studs just to have it cleaned...

[Trakrat]

Originally Posted by bpu699

If there is not anything obviously wrong with your case, and you are machining it only if an inspection shows issues, then why risk shipping it and paying for that?

My understanding is that mag cases may need to be line bored. Other than that, what issues are you anticipating? You have an aluminum case, correct?

I only risked shipping things that I could replace if FedEx lost them. Not sure of the benefit of shipping a case and risking damage to it and the studs just to have it cleaned...

If it gets 'lost'... then that's what insurance is for. I'm estimating $15,000 declared value for everything.

I have enough bubble wrap (from a recent house move)... to wrap a complete engine in bubble wrap about 6 inches deep. Soo...I'm thinking I just may wrap the heck out of the case halves and ship them in some crazy big box.

Believe me... I would rather NOT have to ship anything to Ollies. But I can't find anyone local to even do a simply cleaning on my engine parts. I found 1 shop local who will do bead blasting, but I'm only giving them my tin parts... none of my engine parts (like the chain housing, etc...). as they seem a little sketchy.

Nonetheless, I'm going to hold off on shipping anything out right now. As the holiday shipping time tends to bring the worst out in the delivery companies because they are so over worked.

Best to wait it out.

[LarsM]

Hi there, just stumbled over this thread here. I'm doing exactly the same job as you and I'm at the same stage as you aswell. I have a Instagram profile where I post some of pictures (LarsMK). Maybe I should start my own thread here...

That said, I've just shipped of my engine to one of the three Posche Classic Centres in the world for them the evaluate the engine longblock parts. I'll probably ask them to finish of the longblock as I will get some good papers on the job. The rest of the job I do entirely by myself. They charge 25 hours to build the longblock since I've already have it in parts. I'd probably spent 2 months doing the same job over the weekends I've got.

I'd love to share some experience. The biggest challenge I've had this far is a rounded off head stud barrel nut.... that was a real PITA!

Looking forward to follow your progress.

[Trakrat]

Originally Posted by LarsM

Hi there, just stumbled over this thread here. I'm doing exactly the same job as you and I'm at the same stage as you aswell. I have a Instagram profile where I post some of pictures (LarsMK). Maybe I should start my own thread here...

That said, I've just shipped of my engine to one of the three Posche Classic Centres in the world for them the evaluate the engine longblock parts. I'll probably ask them to finish of the longblock as I will get some good papers on the job. The rest of the job I do entirely by myself. They charge 25 hours to build the longblock since I've already have it in parts. I'd probably spent 2 months doing the same job over the weekends I've got.

I'd love to share some experience. The biggest challenge I've had this far is a rounded off head stud barrel nut.... that was a real PITA!

Looking forward to follow your progress.

Definitely start your own thread and post up pics.
I had thought about sending mine to the classic center in Atlanta, as I've been there and was impressed with their facility. But I imagine their cost is much higher than anywhere else.