has anyone ever done their first valve adjustment or were you born with this knowledg

[Mike Kast]

Here are my questions.
1) I have a valve cover leak and was thinking about putting on turbo covers with silicon gaskets while I have them off. Can I get away with turbo valve covers on just the exhaust side? I found exhaust covers I can buy without buying intakes. I don't think the intake covers are leaking.
Do the intakes generally leak?
2) In the 101 projects book it says top dead center for cylinder 1. 120' clockwise for 6 and so on for all 6 cylinders 1-6-2-4-3-5. 120 degrees is 1/3rd. at cylinder 4 I'm back to top dead center if I keep turning 120 degrees. That isn't right is it? am I missing something?
Any other hints would be welcome. Maybe a 10 commandments of valve adjustment

[ruf-porsche]

Yes Mike you are missing the fact that these are 4 stroke engines so the engine must make two 360 drgree revolution to be come back to the starting point. 360 x 2 = 720 720/6 cylinder = 120 degrees.

[Mike Kast]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... Thank you sir!
I'm trying to learn I really am!
What about the top question?

[ruf-porsche]

If your valve covers are not the turbo covers than by all mean upgrade to the turbo cover. I think most leaks occurs in the lower valve covers because 1. the heat from the heat exchanger is murder on the valve cover and gasket and 2. the oil in the lower valve cover has nowhere to go so it just sits there until it leak.

[Mike Kast]

you da man!

[Bob's Flat-Six]

Mike
I do think good mechanics are born. I've know a couple of totally gifted friend mechanics that were always amazing me with their talents. And most of it came naturally to them.

[MotoSook]

When I was born, the doctor had to pry a funny looking tool out of my little baby hand. 20+ years later, I discovered it was not a pacifier, but rather it is a 911 valve adjustment-feeler tool! hehe...my teeth look kinda funny now..exactly 0.004" gaps!

....Some of the best mechanics I ever ran into had loads of experience. I'm sure some experiences were not so good, but they learned from the good as well as the bad ones! Do not be afraid!

[ruf-porsche]

It's an inherited trait. My father was a mechanic, but he didn't want any of his kids to become grease monkeys like himself. Instead he ended up with two doctors two architects and a license register nurse who is now the director of emergency medicine at Northwestern hospital.

It wasn't until after I graduated from college that my mechanic skill started to devlop. First with American muscle cars of the 70's
(my father was the only one who could get the three two barrel carbs on my 340 six pak Cuda to work properly) later with english sportcars and racer and now with German cars (the wife has an Audi). My father was always there to help my brother and me from dropping the engine to my brother Opel GT (which later became his car) to helping me rebuild the engines to many of my project cars.

Like my father I don't think that I will want my kids to become grease monkeys and now add architect to that list.

[Sonic dB]

Like my father I don't think that I will want my kids to become grease monkeys and now add architect to that list.

With the opportunity for them to charge $90-120 per hour, you may want to reconsider that.

[ruf-porsche]

Sonic DB

Glad to hear that your Porsche is running good again and that you are no longer Porscheless in CA.

[Mike Kast]

I can't think of anything I have any particular gift for. Except maybe stubborn persistence and a bit of luck... I think most of the luck had to do with stubborn persistence. Luck is not dependable at all!

[rick conrath]

Sonic dB ...You can charge $90-$120 all day long...try collecting it from the clients with little or no appreciation and understanding of what it takes to really put a building together. As an aside, I was shopping for garage space with a mechanic friend during the 91 building recession but decided to stick it out with "the profession".
My first word was "screwdriver", I spend too much money on parts and alas I am on the wrong coast .
Rick
'78 930

[Wil Ferch]

Just for record, Turbo valve covers imply the lower exhaust covers. I don't think there are Turbo ( specifically) covers for the top, intakes.
---Wil Ferch

[Mike Kast]

Thanks Wil,
I'm looking at the intake covers right now.
Valve Cover (911, 930 intake) '68-'89 $115 ea.
Valve Cover (911, 930 exhaust) '68-'89 $42 ea.

I didn't think I wanted anyone to say I needed intakes although they might look cool. I could put $230 worth of cool where they could see it while I'm passing them at red line!
Has anybody ever used the "Heetsheet"? It claims to keep some of the heat from the heat exchangers off of the valve covers. Is it just as much snake oil as the intake valve covers? It actually seems to make sense, but does it work?

[Mike Kast]

and another thing... Silicone valve cover gaskets, Beaded or unbeaded? What are they talking about?

[ChrisBennet]

I think you already have "Turbo" intake valve covers. Aren't they the same on the Turbo and SC? All the SC's I've seen have all had the lower covers replaced with Turbo ones by now so check yours before you buy any. The Turbo covers have deep ribs (for pleasure).

I think there are 3 basic flavors of valve cover gaskets:
- graphite: these are dark grey (OK)
- silicone bead: green with what looks like a bead of glue (silicone) around the edge. (Better)
- reusable silicone gaskets made by Real Gasket. (Best?)
The top covers don't tend to leak so gasket kits come with graphite gaskets for the intake. If you don't have a problem with leaks on the bottom you can use them on the bottom also. Both seem to work for my own car but the green gaskets are a safer bet and only a few bucks more. I haven't tried the reuasable silicone gaskets but they sound like a good idea.
-Chris

[Mike Kast]

No deep ribs for pleasure on my exhausts

[Mike Kast]

are these the ones? In the picture their red.
http://www.realgaskets.com/files/automobile.htm
edit...Oh, You said the beaded were green. So I guess these are the ones then, huh?

[speeder]

Wil is correct, I'm surprised that no one mentioned it sooner. Turbo valve covers are lower/exhaust side, intake covers are all the same, no such thing as "turbo intake covers". And the upper covers never leak, unless something is really wrong. The bottom side is where the heat is, and the leaks.

You might want to post a picture of the ones that you now have, I find it hard to believe that Leland spent something like $25k on parts/upgrades for his car and did not have turbo valve covers. Most every SC that I have ever seen has this upgrade.

Do they look like this? http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/shopcart/911M/por_911M_911REC_main.htm

[Noel]

The "Turbo" exhaust covers started appearing on the 1980 and later SCs.

Noel