Think of this way-

The job's halfway done.:D


I don't envy you.

Putting it back together should be a bit easier provided I take my time and I have no deadline to meet.

I always find that they go back together faster than they came apart. You are right, that is just about the same amount of misery as a 951 clutch. Good work, did you have a puller for the ps pump pulley already?

Remind me never to buy a 951 w/ a weak clutch. Jeez...

No I did not have the PS pulley puller.... I was able to swing it out of the way while leaving it attached to it's bracket once I got the AC comp off. The hoses were "just" long enough to wrap it around the steering shaft.

I did end up pulling both the upper and lower intake manifolds while still in the van to insure I would be able to hook my cherry picker up. I ended up making a custom end for my cherry picker to be able to chain it up as short as possible.

I also unbolted the lower engine mount pedestals from the frame cradle and really did not have much trouble clearance wise lifting and pulling out the engine. I went slowly as I had no helper.

:D Several years ago my 951 clutch started slipping.... Getting the exhaust system disconnected was dicey... sticking a torch way up in there to heat the nuts was probably the scariest part. The rest of the job was just tedious. IIRC, it took me about two weekends and a few week nights to get the job done being careful not to cob anything in the process.

What extras are there in the way of doing a 951 clutch vs. a 924S/944 one? Is it the exhaust that makes the job worse? I'm being lured by the siren song of a low mile 951 at the moment...
edit: oh wow... just pulled it up on Clark's Garage. That's a heap of extra work to get in there!

nice job on the engine pull its like a big jigsaw puzzle.

If you can RnR a 951 clutch then you can fix anything

Other than mounting/balancing tires and some head machining work, I have not paid anyone to do any non warranty repairs (engines, clutches, body/paint work, suspension, exhaust etc) in all my 30+ years of car ownership. I have rebuilt a 911SC engine, painted several cars, replaced many clutches (including a 951), rebuilt aircraft engines and built airplanes from plans.

I indeed feel like I can fix/build nearly anything, but as I age, these kinds of projects are wearing on me. :)

The big question here is about the "race car." Tim, you're gonna build a SBC race car? Sounds like it could be a dirt tracker.

Well, you've got the room for a test track. ;) :D

You better really hide the Euro cars from that!

How's this repair vs getting to the Turbo in your All-Road?

Thankfully I never had to replace the twin turbos in my POS A6 before dumping it on Craigslist. ;)

I will likely build the "bad" engine from the van into a race engine to put in a dirt track car. Just need to find a cast iron intake that will fit the Vortec heads... supposedly there is a marine intake that will work and still be legal for the racing class rules. With a cam change, slightly higher compression pistons and a little bit of machine work on the valve seats/guides these engines easily make 400+ hp.

If I can figure out a way to do this and yet avoid a divorce, I will be buying an old race car roller to spruce up and will be building the engine this winter.

I don't think I will be tearing up my grass runway to use for a dirt oval practice track any time soon. :D

any update?

Got a junk yard replacement engine out of a wrecked Chevy 3500 truck Monday and after transferring parts and tidying it up, I got it bolted in yesterday with the help of a friend. So far today I have installed the intake manifolds and am busy hooking up all the rest of the crap..... Hopefully it will be on the road again within a couple of days.

Got it running tonight...... Runs perfect, but when the auto trans is in gear, it makes a ticking noise. It seems to be coming fom the trans. I can't hear it when cruising down the road, but when I accelerate I can hear it. I am hoping maybe it is just air in the lines running to the trans cooler? The level is fine. Oh well, I will drive it to work in the morning to test it out.

Wow..very cool Tim. Congrats. Impressive. So did I miss how you addressed the A\C condensor as I see it is definitely out of the way when you took the engine out though the front.
Yasin

I removed all the condensor to pull the engine. The system was empty due to a leak somewhere.

I started to drive it to work today, but the ticking trans noise,non working right turn signals and non-working front heater controls made me decide to turn around.... I will have to do some more checks tonight on it even though the engine runs perfect and has zero leaks.

Tim - If the AC was still charged, would you have vacuumed out the freon and still pulled through the front? Hopefully the signals and the heater controls are a simple and accessible connection(s). Good luck.
Yasin

Yeah, out the front was the only way that made any sense to me. FWIW, I am keeping track of my hours and I have 38 hours from start to finish. This included hauling the junkyard engine home and cleaning/swapping parts. I could cut my time considerably if I were to do it again.... I am confident i could pull it in one full day and re-install in one full day.