"Halftime" for engine?

[efhughes3]

I guess this is a double entendre. After a DE in late Feb., I'm going to drop my motor. I need a new clutch, and I've got a couple of oil leaks I don't like. I was pretty much resigned to rebuild my motor and trick it out a bit. Now, I'm having second thoughts.

I've got 120K on the car, and it really is running sweet, not using much oil at all. So now, I'm planning on a good inspection of head studs and everything I can look at without disassembly. Kind of a "halftime" beather. Of course, if needed, I may have to "halve" my engine and go through it. Assuming all is well, here is my list. Any thoughts?:

Clutch, flywheel, have injectors cleaned, replace oil senders , bore and re-bush throttle body(?), VALVE ADJUSTMENT, new plug wires, powder coat tin and valve covers, replace fuel lines, new finned oil lines. Oh, and have Steve W reprogram my chip for my headers and 93 octane.

While I'm at it, I'm thinking why not change alternator and starter, as a pre-emptive fix? By the way, has anyone had theirs refurbed? Can local alternator and starter rebuilders handle this?

Have I missed anything?

[kqw]

Don't forget the fuel pump, Coil, fuses and relays and pick up a spare DME relay.

As far as the Alt. Yes, locals should be able to handle your alt rebuild. Same with the starter. No prob.

[Carrera3.5L]

Hi Ed,

With the motor out, and if you are planning to increase the throttle body bore, it may also be the time to Extrude Hone the intake plenums. Will only give 5-7 horsepower on a stock motor and may not be worth doing with the motor in the car, but with the motor out...

Change your fan belt as well, especially if you are taking apart the fan for powdercoating and rebuilding the alternator.

Ralph

P.S. - Sorry, I love spending other people's money. Any chance of doing cams also???

[ChrisBennet]

Check you flywheel sensor wires for cracks. If the wires are cracked, the sensors are probably the originals and should be replaced IMO.


Check that you have the new style head temp sensor. It's the white connector in the gang of three on the left side of the motor. The new style have 2 wires, the old style had one. This is a picture of the old style's connector. Note that it only has one pin:


Check the rubber part of the mostly metal vacuum line just to the left of the throttel body elbow for cracking. You can cut off the crimp and replace that section with a piece of rubber hose and hose clamps. Pictures is the hose with the repair already done.


-Chris

[efhughes3]

Thanks guys, that's exactly what I was/am looking for!

The funny thing is, this definitely won't be a cheap project, but will keep my original block intact. At this point, using generous budgets for everythng, I'm at about $3K. This is also stuff like CV joints and the like.

Ralph-you know, I was actually thinking about the extrude on the manifold-you're right, not a big deal when the motor is out. Cams....???

Of course, this is my mindset today, who knows how I'll feel in a month and a half? Maybe a top end job?

[Carrera3.5L]

Originally posted by efhughes3
Thanks guys, that's exactly what I was/am looking for!

The funny thing is, this definitely won't be a cheap project, but will keep my original block intact. At this point, using generous budgets for everythng, I'm at about $3K. This is also stuff like CV joints and the like.

Ralph-you know, I was actually thinking about the extrude on the manifold-you're right, not a big deal when the motor is out. Cams....???

Of course, this is my mindset today, who knows how I'll feel in a month and a half? Maybe a top end job?

Hi Ed,

I should also say that installing cams will further increase your expenditure. Now you have valve springs and new or reconditioned rocker arms to deal with also. Maybe you should wait for the top end job...Since you're doing a top end job and the heads are off, you may as well change to 98's for 3.4L...Since the pistons/cylinders are off and you have 120K, maybe you should split the case and recondition the crank and rods, change bearings, clean the oil pump...Oh Oh, now you have a complete rebuild.

Chris is right on the money. The 3 sensors should be looked at and replaced if necessary. Mine looked just like the images he posted, not pretty.

This is after:



Ralph

[efhughes3]

Ralph that's exactly the kind of logic that led me to think rebuild in the first place! You're right, I'll wait on the top end job, unless of course I end up going all of the way...

[SC-targa]

Ed,

I'd want to change the o-rings for the engine mounted oil cooler and it's thermostat and the oil pressure light sender. They're all easy to get to when the engine's out. I didn't know to change mine out a few years back when I rebuilt the tranny, and now I've got to drop the motor to get to them.

I wouldn't bother with rebuilding the alternator if it's not giving you any trouble. It's not a big deal to pull out anyway. If you want to rebuild it, I had mine rebuilt in Lewisville and a little shop (Autostart?) at Main & Mill streets.

If you install headers, how are you going to get your car inspected?

Regards,

Jerry Kroeger

[chrisp]

Repalce all of the tranny and engine seals you can get to. Especially the main when the flywheel is off.

Resurface flywheel too.

Do a search on "while I am in there" and you'll find a lot. I went through this same thing. I spent $2k myself on clutch, seals, return tubes, plugs, wires, etc. That was before I decided to rebuild it due to a broken head stud.

I have a list of what I did on my 3.0. PM me if you want it.

[Superman]

All good suggestions. It sounds like you're wanting to inspect the engine, but not do a rebuild. Valve guides will probably be the first internal engine parts to wear past spec, so it might make sense to check these. Turn the engine so that a valve is depressed about 10mm. Then, try to wiggle the valve stem back and forth. The more they rock, the more the guides are worn. Before you remove the engine, go for a drive. Go down a long steep hill that allows you to leave the throttle closed, but the engine is spinning because gravity is turning the wheels. At the bottom of the hill, look in your drivers' side mirror and open the throttle. If you see a puff of smoke, that would be oil that has seeped past one or more valve guides. The smoke will be white or blue. We like to think of Porsche engines as bullet proof, but in reality it's not unusual for them to start needing a top end rebuild between 100k and 200k miles. And some Carreras had poor guides. When you do rebuild the top end, there are superior guides you can use now.

[aigel]

Originally posted by Carrera3.5L
Hi Ed,

I should also say that installing cams will further increase your expenditure. Now you have valve springs and new or reconditioned rocker arms to deal with also.

Ralph

You can put a mild cam upgrade like the 964 cams without changing the springs. That makes the cam upgrade about a $500 expense, including regrinding your existing cams and refurbishing the rocker arms with new bushings and surfaces.

The cams will by far be your best bang for the buck and all the other things like honing, exhaust and chip will help it to work in a package.

Finally, I wanted to encourage you to leave it together. No need to pull the engine apart if it runs great. Pulling and putting back the engine is very easy on these cars (compared to others). Do the engine when it needs it.

One more reason to do the cams are the cam end plate gaskets and the cam end plate O rings. If you have any leaks in that area, you likely need to change those seals. Same goes for the rocker arm shafts! Then the labor to put cams is practically zero.

George

[efhughes3]

You gotta' love this board-thanks for the info everyone!

[MJHanna]

Look at your oil tensioner lines and replace, take all your hardware and re-plate it.