76 911 engine problem

2nevets · 03-24-2005, 01:49 AM

i bought my first 911 and committed a cardnial sin by taking this mans word that it ran fine.[i never heard it run]anyway i had to tear it down because the piston in #5 cylinder is not moving when i turn the crank.the motor was rebuild by motormeister 13,000 miles ago for a tune of $9000[i have the bills]i am waiting for the cam tools to remove the cam sprocket to see the extent of the damage .my question is do i try to salvage this engine or should i swap it for a later engine.if i decide to swap does anyone know a porsche dismantler? thanks in advance

Rich76_911s · Rich76_911s's Garage

You can find engines on this site from time to time, and I look at la porsche dismantlers web page a lot but have never used there services so I cannot comment on how good they are. Their web site is www.911pcar.com. It is good to get a look at it before hand, exspecially if it is running in a car. Do a leakdown and compression test, I would suggest draining some oil and making sure there are no little bits of metal. I bought a bad engine at a swap meet so I know what about the cardinal sin you speak of. Educate yourself read Waynes Dempsey's book "How to rebuild and modify 911 Engines" and learn the little pieces of information that make you an informed buyer before you make the purchase. Best of luck. Oh and the book can be found at; www.101projects.com

IROC · IROC's Garage

Economically speaking, you're going to come out better if you can find a good, verifiable engine to swap into this car rather than ressurecting the 2.7. I would rather pay top dollar for a nice rebuilt 3.0 or 3.2 than spend even more than that rebuilding the 2.7.

Motor Meister...well....'nuff said...

Mike

Paulporsche · 03-24-2005, 05:50 AM

I did more or less what Mike said, and have never regretted it. The extra power in the larger engine (230 vs 160hp) mated to the earlier, lighter weight chassis (2500 lb) is very nice.

Superman · 03-24-2005, 05:54 AM

Later, used engine. By far.

pookie · 03-24-2005, 08:54 AM

I went the later engine route when my 2.7 died on me. I found a 81 3.0 to put in my 76 and I love it. It's a blast to drive.

PorschePilot · 03-24-2005, 11:55 AM

Before you go out and buy a different engine, get yours apart and see what you are dealing with. You may have to just replace a piston and cylinder, cheaper than a whole new motor. When my 2.7 needed to be rebuilt I decided to do a high quality rebuild instead of going the 3.0 route. All the 3.0's I looked at need to be rebuilt, so I would have the $3K to $5K expense of the engine and then a rebuild on top of that. If you do the work yourself you'll know that things are done right, which can't be said for Motor Meisters.

Zeke · 03-24-2005, 12:48 PM

I don't know, Pilot, he is dealing with a MM motor. In every other case, I would do as you suggest. With the MM motor, there may not be anything but a bunch of supposedly in-spec used parts all cobbed together that make a motor. If the piston is not moving, something catastrophic has occurred and the whole shebang has to be checked out.