I just jacked and blocked, jacked and blocked, jacked and blocked....you get the idea.
Working alone, It worked just fine to get the engine up to engine stand height.

Regarding the chain, I think the tensioner rod location looks OK, other than that I'm not sure what a overly stretched chain might look like.
Others here would surely know better.
I think you should replace the chain ramps as a general rule though.

All,

Forgive a couple newbie questions:

Rob is Camden started his Odyssey with the follow fact (among others):

Compression numbers (warm) are: 1) 180 2) 190 3) 180 4) 190 5)190 6)180.

Aren't these numbers pretty good? (I realize his oil consumption justifies the project anyway, I'm just curious)

Another posted they were using 1 qt of oil per 750 miles. Isn't that ok too?

Thanks all.

Nathan Rowland

Compression numbers are OK, but a leakdown test is needed to tell the tale.
I don't have to add any oil between oil changes, so I can't attest to that kind of consumption being OK or not.

That's how I did it. I used two floor jacks, a motorcycle jack, a bunch of wood, and eventually my wife's help. But I don't recommend doing it that way. By the time I got the engine *just* high enough, everything was very precarious. I was afraid to lower it. I was afraid to leave it and go get a engine hoist. Luck was with me and it worked out. But you can bet I'll use a hoist when it comes down. I don't like making stupid a habit.

Well, I'll try to drive it more spiritedly. But I don't know how... ;)

FWIW, an ATV jack, which makes a good tool for dropping an engine, can get pretty close to the height needed. Then, 2 people can lift it onto the stand pretty easily, IMO.

I wasn't trying to insult. It just seemed like a bunch of crud in there. Other than the nut behind the wheel in my car that caused a missed shift, my 130,000 mile 3.2 was surprisingly clean inside.

Hey Guys, thanks for all the great suggestions for getting the engine on the stand. We can't be too careful since one mistake could take a foot off or cause more unnecessary damage to the engine once out.
If I do what Rob and wowzer911 did, I will have to be very careful and work slowly.
Agreed that the chain hoist is the best for safety.SmileWavy

Ed, don't do it...

Borrow an engine hoist, remember what goes up must come down so you might as well get it right now. Most garages have a folding engine hoist that can be transported pretty easily.

If you have a beam in the ceiling of your garage you could use a chain falls... Life is a risk anyway, you don't need to knowingly add to it...

HarborFreight chain hoist and leveling bar anchored to a 4X4 across 5 joists.
Made it a one man operation.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1202662000.jpg

No need to apologize Ed. I realized you weren't trying to be insulting, or even be disparaging. That's why I ended my response with the ";)"

subscribed............

Here's the cost in parts to date. Hope it's not too hard to read. I'm delivering the heads and flywheel to Protech Motorsports in Greenville Monday. They'll do the machine work.

Qty Price Cost Part
4 $1.50 $6.00 911 CV Joint Bolt
1 $81.75 $81.75 Reverse Light Switch
1 $72.00 $72.00 Cam Bar tool
1 $25.20 $25.20 Heat Exchanger Nut Removal Tool
1 $54.25 $54.25 Thermo valve
1 $163.19 $163.19 Fuel line
4 $4.00 $16.00 Ball Socket Retaining Clip
1 $1.20 $1.20 Cable Holder
2 $97.00 $194.00 Position Sensor, Motronic Ignition
1 $73.75 $73.75 Temperature Sensor
2 $7.50 $15.00 Chain Ramp
24 $4.50 $108.00 Rocker shaft RSR seals
1 $27.00 $27.00 Cam oil line RH
1 $46.00 $46.00 Cam oil line LH
6 $0.25 $1.50 Sealing rings for cam lines
1 $19.75 $19.75 Pulley Seal
4 $0.50 $2.00 Pressure switch ring 18 X 24mm
2 $0.50 $1.00 Sealing ring for ?
1 $218.00 $218.00 Cylinder gasket kit
12 $13.50 $162.00 Head studs
1 $3.75 $3.75 Oil cooler seal - large
2 $4.00 $8.00 Oil cooler seal - small
1 $2.00 $2.00 T-stat "o" ring
1 $4.25 $4.25 Breather gasket
4 $2.00 $8.00 Oil return tube seals - large
4 $2.00 $8.00 Oil return tube seals - small
4 $12.75 $51.00 Oil return tubes

TOTAL $1,372.59

Why did you only buy 12 head studs? Aren't there 24 that need to be replaced or am I overcounting?

Good question. Here’s the answer. On a normally aspirated 911 you only need to replace the lower studs. Only the lower studs are divlar. The uppers are plain steel.

Excellent point!

The 1978 3.0L engine I am rebuilding (with 122K on the clock) had all upper steel studs in and perfect condition too. The exhaust side, not that good with five total broken head studs.

I am replacing all bottom, 12 head studs, with Wayne's steel (coated Black) offerings here on Pelican.

The ironic thing about my 3.2, when I rebuilt it last year, is that the Dilivars "looked" in better shape than the steel at the top. I know aesthetics aren't much when it comes to what is going on in the cross-section of the studs, but I was pretty surprized. I ended up going with a set of Supertec's studs, it really wasn't that much more in the grand scheme of things.

How was the other tensioner? When the chain is really stretched the other tensioner can saw through the engine casing.

Has anyone ever done a video play-by-play of an engine rebuild? I would pay good money for that. I am a visual guy who can follow the instructions in "101 projects" with the help of the pics and would maybe attempt an engine drop, but a rebuild without a lot visuals is (currently) beyond me.

Ulrich

That would be pretty time consuming, and cumbersome for a non-pro to do, IMO. Get Wayne's ENGINE book, if you don't have it. It has a step by step with a lot of pics. That was my basis for reading and the order of the steps. It really is pretty intuitive, for the most part, and as you go, you'll find any questions can be answered on this forum.

Apologies in advance. No pics today; however, I did drop the heads off at Protech. The 4.5 hour round-trip was uneventful.

PS: I'm sick of washing parts. Tomorrow I'm going to try and find a shop that can tank aluminum.

Robert, That is by far the worst part of the overhaul. Problem is you can think it is squeaky clean and after a few days it glazes back over and looks dirty again. I used all of the suggestions you will find here on the board. It does give you something to do while the heads are away.
I too wish I would have looked for a tank to clean mine.
Oh, looking forward to the DE. My son is coming up with me by the way and we are staying in Camden. Maybe we can go out to dinner one night.

Find a shop with a rotating parts-washer so the case-halves can stand up.
It's important that you remove the 2 relieve valves in the case so that the oil passages are flushed during the cleaning. (Keep the parts/springs in separate marked bags)
The crank and cam towers also have oil passages; all of them have to be cleaned. :)

Sounds good. I know just the place.

I'm also in Charleston. Where are these DEs held?

Several places. The March PCA DE is at Carolina Motorsports Park (aka: CMP). CMP is about 18 miles north of Camden. There's usually one or more events a month at CMP you can attend. Another track close to Charleston is Roebling Road, outside Savannah, Ga. For a complete listing try Coco's trackschedule.com

Subscribed.
I live in Greenville and can easily get to Protech if you need anything. Outstanding post!

I suspect y'all think I've given up and sold the car. The truth is I've been washing parts, workin' the day job, and hangin' out at the track. (A true track junkie doesn’t need a car to run. Just bum rides off everyone else.) But now it's back to the project.

Protech called and said my heads can be picked up early next week. Today, in preperation, I replaced all the divlar studs. The original studs looked fantastic. But I figured the divlar studs had to go anyway. I got lucky and they all came out easy enough. No heat required.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1205009496.jpg


I also replaced the breather gasket and thermostat O-ring. And then I believe I made my first misstep in this project. When I went to remove the switch, I think I removed the wrong thing. I unscrewed the “stem” that the arrow is pointing to in the picture below. No big deal, except I can’t get the aluminum seal off of it. It’s glued on.

Now what?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1205009977.jpg

You sure it's glued? During my disassembly, several of the thin AL crush washers were really stuck on their fasterners/fittings or the case and I had to almost slice them off with a utility knife. Like I had to carefully work the blade between the fitting and the washer to to remove them.

The actual removal totally mutilated the washers, that's how hard it was to get them off.

I tried gently prying the washer off. I thought I'd post here before getting medieval on it. And yes, there's some kind of hard, shiny, green stuff around the inner rim of the fitting.

With the reassurance provided by Troy, I had a go at the washer again. I got it knocked off, removed all the brittle sealant, and reinstalled the sender base with a new washer.

Thanks!

Based on that, I'd pull all of the other fittings from the case, if you haven't, and replace all of the crush washers. Why people use sealant on this kind of stuff is beyond me.

I am interested in following this as i am about to embark on this on 3.0

Michael

Hoo-ray!

Repeat after me, "it's not an oil change pit, it's a tornado shelter."

Capt. Carrera:
I suggest you remove the air deflectors and repaint with High-heat Rust Paint.
In fact, repaint all the tin for the engine (Black) and the fiberglass shroud (Red).
It'll look great!
Getting Loctite on the new studs is more difficult this way; make sure about the correct height.
I think the right height is just about when they bottom out.
BTW: If those P/C's are Mahle, consider re-ringing.
It would be very easy: The cylinders will get a light ball-honing with very little cross-hatching. Then new rings and you're good for a long time.

I took the day off from work to pick up the heads. Luckily all valves were good. But I did need twelve new guides. It still added up pretty fats. The heads sure look prettier than when I dropped them off at Protech, and I suspect they'll go another 100,000 miles at least.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1205529629.jpg


I made it home from the 300+mile round trip around 12:00. By 5:00pm here's how things look. Now I need to tackle the left side, install a new clutch, address the rear rotors...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1205529820.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1205529889.jpg

As an aside...

At the last PCA event, one of my students had an unusual car, a car I'd never seen before. He had a '94 Nissan Skyline GT. Yes, it was pretty much stock. Yes, it was LHD. Yes, it was imported from Japan. No, it's not street legal in the U.S.

I can attest that Skylines are one sweet ride. I understand why the auto mages raved about the car. It was modern. It was civilized. It hauled a$$.

And sorry, no pics available. :(

Hi Robert, Looks great. I can already see the smile on your face, oh and the wife's too.
Dont forget the dreaded cam timing... Kidding of course. It will take you longer to get everything ready than it does to set them. Take your time and enjoy. Pretty cool when it all comes together.

Kevin

Kevin,

You're right about it going together faster than it came apart. I have to place the clutch order this weekend, or I'm going to miss my laid-back deadline.

Did you register for the Parade? I did not. But I fully intend to make the associated DE at Lowes.