I sure did. At 113K I had 3 broken studs with good oil pressure, compression and leakdown numbers. The engine needed to be repaired not rebuilt . Replaced all the lower studs, never looked at the rings, just slid the cylinders off just enough to slip the wrist pin out. Took the heads apart, cleaned and lapped the valves and replaced the valve seals. Cleaned, painted and resealed things as necessary, spent around 60 hours spread over two winter months and $300. I'll rebuild it when it's worn out.

Yeah Ed, you tell him.

Well, my plan was to do the fix that Ed did, but when i tore the engine down, i found that one stud was broken by the case. I had to split the block and send it away to remove the stud by EDM.

You never now, what will show up when you start, but hopefully you can do it the easy way, keep us updated.

Thanks for all of the feed back from the group! All crew on the Pelican site has always been a great source of information for me ever since I got this car over a year and a half ago.

I apologize for not replying but as you can see from the photos I've been a bit busy today. I already had Wayne’s 101 book and followed right along with the motor drop. I did have to come to the forum to check out a few different styles of carts to drop the motor onto. Since my budget didn’t allow me to buy one of those cool motorcycle jacks I ended up making my own cart from 2x4's with some caster wheels. I made it in the shape of a "U" so that the jack could fit right in between the cart and dropped the motor right onto it. It worked flawless except that I wish I used caster wheels that were a bit larger since the ones I used are already getting flat spotted from the shear weight. As for what will I do with the repair of the broken stud or how far will I go I’m still not sure. I’m still trying to digest all the post in my head. I did order Wayne’s motor rebuild book last night so I'll wait to read all of that before I decide.

What kind of motor stands are you guys using to work on these and can I use one of the regular deals from Sears or Pep Boys? Do I really need to buy the special 911 motor mount to use with this new stand? I was also stunned by the shear weight of the beast once it was removed and was wondering how you guys go about getting the motor lifted to the stand?

I'll keep you all posted on the progress and I intend to make a few web pages with lots of photos to document the process. I wish I took a few of the motor drop but once I got started and covered in oil I was a man on a mission.

So far the rebuil total is at 64.06 - Which was 44.06 (including shipping) for Waynes book and 20.00 for 2x4's and caster wheels. I already had the required tools for the motor drop and 2 jack stands.

Once again THANK YOU for all of your replies. I think that without this forum I’d be selling my baby and down sizing to who knows what.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/motordrop1.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/motordrop2.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/motordrop3.jpg

Are you considering doing the chain tensioner upgrade too? You can also remove and plug the air injectors to. Good luck on your project.

John,

Yes I am planing on updating my chain tensioners while I have the motor out. Like Tyson mentioned above my "while we're in there" disease is already starting to creep in. I was contemplating pluging my air injectors but what kind of effect do you think it will have on me passing smog check? Right now I have most of my emmisions gear removed but was planing on re installing it for my bi-annual smog check. Also can anyone comment on my question regarding the motor stand and special motor stand adapter.

Thanks!

From 1 broken head stud to a full engine rebuild in a flash. Wow, the 'while you're in there' syndrome is going strong here.

Just for the record, I would have rebuilt the whole thing, but I am not cash-strapped, and I like to finish the job. On the other hand, replacing the broken stud and go on until the next major mishap would have been OK by me.

I asked the same question before I removed my entire air injection system. The feedback I got was that I could pass without it. I am up for an inspection in November this year. I'll let you know how I make out.

I hope I dont have to put all that crap back on. The engine bay looks much better with it gone.

I think the engine stand topic has been addressed here before. Try a search on "engine stand" or "engine yolk".