Butzi Porsche, Great Air-Cooled shop in Milford, CT!

[piscator]

Great Air-Cooled shop in Milford, CT!

BUTZI GEAR - Porsche performance, tuning, styling & detailing

Yesterday I made a visit to David Esposito’s (absolutely spotless) shop in Milford, CT – which he’s named “Butzi Porsche.” I was impressed! Reading their Facebook page, it was no surprise to see the tally of their 43 reviews rating a solid 5 outta 5!

The Butzi website puts a slight emphasis on performance mods on later cars, but everything I saw was air-cooled. They had 4 911s on lifts and 8 or more air-cooled Porsche’s on the floor. Steve’s word of mouth reputation (which is how I found him) is that he’s the best air-cooled guy in our area. I’m sure that’s right.

Steve and his partner did a thorough examination of my 1979 SC and identified an engine noise that has stumped several excellent mechanics and a professional engine re-builder. I have to confirm their diagnosis, but I’m pretty sure it’s right.

It was really great to meet two talented young guys (who I suspect were born in the years our cars were built) who have such a passion for air-cooled Porsche’s. To me it seemed that Steve’s shop is not just a business, but a love affair with these cars.

Also, these guys are VERY conveniently located near the railroad station in Milford, CT Porsche owners from New York to Boston can drive to Steve’s shop and easily ride home on the train.

Lastly, this is a completely unsolicited review. I’ve only just met these guys, but they made a very favorable impression.

[911SauCy]

Dave.

His name, is Dave.

[piscator]

Eva,

Thank you for catching that, you are, of course, correct. I wrote a long email to a friend named Steve this morning and it got stuck in my head. I've corrected it!

[sugarwood]

Can you describe the engine noise?
What did the others think it was?
What did David conclude?

[piscator]

Good Morning Sugarwood,

Thanks for asking!

My engine is making a heavy, clacking noise (like a rod knock) that is loudest when placing a stethoscope wand under or on the inboard end of #5 intake runner. And it creates a subtle but definite vibration that can be felt touching those areas. It’s second loudest at the inboard end of #4 intake runner. The noise is LOUD at idle, but disappears when engine speed rises above 2,000 RPM

There is no stethoscope evidence of noise anywhere on the underside of the engine or on the exhausts. Strangely, the clacking is not manifest at any of the valve covers.

The engine runs very well, stronger than it ever has, so the noise is not (yet) affecting performance.

Dave and his partner (a great guy who's name just escaped me) seem confident that this clacking noise is a rocker or something in the valve train at the #5 and/or #4 cylinder. They posited that the sound is loudest at the inboard end of these intake runners because it's being projected and amplified in the runner.

In addition to David and his partner, I’ve shown the car to two foreign car mechanics, a machinist/engine builder who’s been in the trade for 30 years – and a new friend who once owned and retired from his European car repair shop after 40 years in business. He’s a BMW guy, but also serviced Porsche’s and at one time rebuilt a 911s for his own use.

It’s been fascinating to watch these guys look, touch, open the throttle, and talk, as much to themselves, as to me; while running down the list, “rod knock? No. Doesn’t increase with speed. Piston slap? No. Wrist pin? No. Etc, etc...”

What they’ve said stumps them is that “this is a “a pretty heavy knock” – loud, like a rod knock. But it goes away above 2,000 RPM and it’s not doing any damage. They agree that it could be a rocker, but to these guys, it seems too loud for that.

My new friend who owned a service garage agrees with David and his partner. He thinks this noise is coming from a rocker and attributes the loudness to the weird, clanky nature of Porsche engines.

One opposing theory is that it's something in the #5 cylinder, like a piece of head gasket hanging out into the cylinder.

My next step is to see if I can pull the #4 and #5 rockers with the engine in the car. I’ve never done it, but hopefully, I’ll figure it out. I need to read up on rockers in the archive. Maybe I should have replaced all the rocker shafts when the engine was out, I don’t know. I don’t recall seeing that as standard procedure on any of the refresh threads I read.

I believe this noise has been evident for a number of years, but it’s gotten much worse. No one thinks it’s cause for alarm, but boy is annoying! If I knew for certain that replacing ALL of the rocker shafts would eliminate the current noise and prevent it ocurring at other cylinders – I would drop the engine and do that!

Sorry for the dissertation, but I needed to vent!

Lastly, I can’t conclude without repeating that David Esposito is a really cool guy who loves and cares about these cars. His partner does as well. They made a confident diagnosis of my noise problem that’s eluded several very experienced guys. We’ll find out how right they are, but whatever the outcome, I have no hesitation in recommending these talented gentlemen!