3.2 Engine Rebuild - COMPLETE !

Just wanted to give everyone the rundown on the rebuild of my '88 3.2 with 110 K miles.
The engine had the usual 'smoke cloud at startup' so I knew the guides were worn out. Once the engine was out I decided to go into the crankcase and be thorough about it since this car is a keeper.
I sent pistons cylinders and heads to EBS and they inspected all the parts for wear. The guides and ALL valves were worn out so they were replaced. The heads also had their premium level head job which includes some polishing on the intakes. The pistons and cylinders were found to be in very good shape so they fit a new set of rings on the pistons for me.
Locally, I had the crank magnafluxed and polished and it too was found to be in good shape.
I re-assembled everything with the best gaskets, bearings, and assembly lube. After much discussion I decided to use the standard Porsche rod bolts (Andial recommendation) torqued to 38 pounds and replace the lower Dilavar studs with standard Porsche steel studs torqued to 25 pounds.
I bought a new clutch package off Ebay and managed to save a few hundred dollars there. Seems I have been driving my car with a blown center on the disc for some time.

Anyway, I put the engine in last night, hooked everything up this morning. I thewn turned over the engine without the coil wire until I save oil pressure come up. I then reattached the coil wire and the engine started up and ran perfectly. I have run it now for about an hour and it runs like a dream. No leaks and no smoke.

The total cost so far, including some overnight freight for last minute items is right at $3700.00. I should not have to worry about this engine for years.

Thanks to all - Specifically John Walker who offered many direct emails of advice.

Here a a photo from above:
http://www.bromleycompanies.com/images/topview.jpg

From below:
http://www.bromleycompanies.com/images/underside.jpg

And one tool that had a few ROUGH hours:

http://www.bromleycompanies.com/images/dolly.jpg

Thanks to all for the advice!

Tom


[This message has been edited by towen (edited 04-18-2001).]

[This message has been edited by towen (edited 04-18-2001).]

[This message has been edited by towen (edited 04-18-2001).]

[This message has been edited by towen (edited 04-18-2001).]

Bravo!
Sounds like a job well done.
What were your biggest problems/challenges, and what would you do differently the next time?

I would say the biggest challenge was simply having the nerve to say 'I can do this'. You have in the back of your mind the cost of parts, so you know if something is not done correctly you could have a diaster on your hands.
Do differently? I am sure in terms of components and hardware I made the best decisions I could have made. I will probably wonder some about sticking with the POrsche rod bolts and studs, but the engine ran good wi them for 13 years to begin with.
I know I would have more help getting the engine out of the car, and back in. I did all that by myself.
Tom

Nice job Tom!
I wouldn't look back for a minute on anything you have done. Stock head studs and rod bolts are just fine for a N/A motor. The engine is nice and clean, hopefully it will stay that way for a long time to come. It does take guts to throw caution into the wind and just "do it". Now you know how everything works and will be even more confident while motoring.

Great Job... A nice feeling oc accomplishment!!

------------------

• Joe A.
• 84 911 Targa
• 75 914/6 3.0

your experience encourages me to tackle my SC engine!!!

Good job...now just right a step-bystpe guidline for all us newbies!!! haha

great pics!

MJ

I'm very envious. At 155k on my machine, it'll be time for a rebuilt before too long, if it isn't already.
It sure would be nice sitting on a freshly rebuilt 3.2.
Good luck towen, keep us posted as it gets broken in.

------------------
Kurt B
'84 Carrera Cab.
carrera_cabriolet@yahoo.com

good job!
how long did it take?

Great job, Tom! $ 3,700 seems a sweet deal for engine rebuild, although you've it done by yourself. But, isn't it half of the fun for a real Porsche enthusiast. Assuming you did it in your garage, did you have any difficulty to put the engine/tranny back on? What's the trick?
Andy

Great job!
Is such a great feeling when you fire it up doe the first time. I did the same with my 3.2 last year. How long are you gonna run it in for?

The entire job took about 5 weeks. In terms of hours in the shop I would say around 50-60. It took alot longer to take the engine out than it did to put it back in. I was very, very cautious taking it out, and as has been pointed out before, it really is not hard to remove the engine. I used a wooden furniture dolly from Ace and placed it over my floor jack. You raise this up under the area right between the engine/tranny junction and that is real close to the balance point. After that it is just a matter of unbolting, tieing things up out of the way, and lowering the jack.

Everything I did labor wise was by myself except for assembling the crankcase. I had my wife, who is a surgeon, come out, explained the locktite and the torque wrench to her and she helped with the mating of the case halves (this does help to have several hands holding rods and timing chains up). She liked the technical work and the click of the torque wrench but she wanted 'gloves'. I did not have any.....

The most aggravating thing on the whole project was mating the engine to the tranny just before putting everything back in. Seems the new G50 throwout bearing requires an upgraded slide tube on the transmission. The two would just not go together that last 2". I must have fought with it for about 4 hours. One email from John Walker cleared that up and I had the new tube overnighted in. (It is actually a smaller diameter that the original tube).

Something that has also been pointed out is the new appreciation you feel about the car and the engine once this has been done. You really look at the engine differently once you know what it looks like first hand inside.
Tom