Rebuilding an engine - easy?

I've been to a Porsche repair shop, very nice place and the guy seemed to be very honest. A perfect place to fix your Porsche, but as you know good places are very costly. I asked them about engine rebuilds, and told him I have a 911T with a 2.0. He gave me a high quote and told me I should just buy a used 2.0 engine because it isn't worth rebuilding those at that cost. He also told me people try rebuilding their engines with engine rebuild kits, and end up coming to him after they get lost. How hard is it to rebuild a 911 engine? The early car I have looks simple on the outside, but what about the inside? Will a rebuild stop the oil leaking? My car doesn't NEED a rebuild now, but it does leak little oil (or I just put too much in), and It's at 94,500 miles. Being 33 years old doesn't help much either, and probably needs new gaskets.

[Shawzy]

I'm afraid I can't comment on rebuilding a 911 engine. "Easy" is a relative word however. If one is mechanically inclined, has access to the proper resources and tools (i.e. manuals, friends in the know, PELICAN etc.), lots of patience and beer, I would think a 2.0L rebuild would be a very exciting project!! As far as your 2.0L goes, I think one isn't necessary for atleast 200+km depending on how she's sounding. If it were a 2.7L that would be a different story.

I'm not sure what background you have mechanically speaking, but I would like to share with you some of my experience. Just recently I dropped out my 3.0L on my own for the first time in order to take the transmission to be rebuilt (79 911SC). At first I was hessitant dropping it out - did some research and got confident enough to do it. Success! After a valve adjustment and oil seal replacements (i.e. oil cooler etc) the pride just kept flowing. When my tranny wrench would not return my calls, I spent a lot of time on this board and in my Bentley manual looking at a 915 rebuild. Finally, I decided to tackle it myself. I'm in the middle of it now, so far so good (thanks Pelican)!

My point is, GO FOR IT. I have recently confirmed that part of the fun of owning an engineering marvel like a 911 is working on it yourself. It is a great toy.

In regard to your oil leaking, a rebuild does allow replacements of guilty gaskets that otherwise are not accessable, but a little oil leaking is no reason to do a rebuild. I am convinced they leaked oil right out of the showroom, heehee . Other leaks can be addressed with the engine out. Things like valve cover gaskets, breather cover gaskets, oil gauge/switch seals, breather hoses, oil cooler seals, oil lines, oil return tube seals, etc. etc. can help a whole lot.

Go get your hands dirty.

[Superman]

Shawzy's post could hardly be more on point. Working on these machines is indeed half the fun. At nearly 100K you engine probably could use a freshening, but you'll want to hear from folks who know more than I. A used 2-liter in better condition than yours will not be easy to find. A 3.6 liter would be an exciting choice. It would probably be my choice.

Rebuilding the earlier magnesium case engines is more costly because of the machining. So, it will cost you a few thousand, anyway. And yes, if you decide to rebuild, you can remove and disassemble the thing. They are beautiful engines and I would not hesitate to do the R&R myself, as long as I were a bit mechanically inclinced. I'd say that anyone who thinks maybe they can do it, CAN AND SHOULD.

But again, the cost may be nearly the same as finding a good, used 3.6L. Stock, those engines make around 260 hp if I recall correctly.

[targa80]

There are many things to consider when it comes to working on your car. If you have a purist streak in you then you would want to keep the car original as much as possible. Swapping out the motor would be a no no. Keeping the vin/engine/ tranny serial numbers together adds to the value of the car for historical reasons. But then again if you feel that's a load of crap and want more power and acceleration you can upgrade the car to what ever you want and I would say go for it. I myself prefer a vehicle that is as original as possible. I am not a total finatic about total originality but when it comes to the major components I like to match the Kardex. If you have done work on your car and can follow an instruction manual then I would say do the rebuild yourself. Use a good machine shop for the precision work like crank/flywheel balancing/valve guides/etc. I know from my own experience doing my 3.0L engine that I learned a lot about my car. I had a pretty oil leaking engine before I started and kept a pan under it all the time. Well, now it does't leak a drop and I did the rebuild 2 1/2 years ago. Someday, just like the 356's the 911 will be a sought after collectors car. I'm just glad I have mine now.

[roGERK]

Few people would describe any engine rebuild as easy.

However, if you "invest" in the right tools, a nice engine stand, and have a secure well lit garage or workshop, then the job is fairly straightforward.

Many many problems you encounter working on cars comes from lack of access, and lack of the right tools. Provided you buy or beg or borrow the right tools, much of the engine rebuild process is straight forward and quite easy since you have excellent access to areas that are normally difficult/impossible to get to.

Personally, I'd much rather do an engine rebuild than work on the pedal cluster, or do any kind of work in the tunnel between the seats that carries the throttle linkage, transmission linkage etc. The reason is not that the jobs themselves are difficult - its just that the access is so alkward/painful and you have to work by touch much of the time!

So... my advice is, do your research, ensure you have an adequate work area, spend $$$ on tools and replacement parts, and go for it! The chances are you'll be surprised how easy much of the work is, and if you get into trouble, there is a huge amount of practical experience available on this board.

Good luck!

- roGER

[Bobboloo]

First off, I would suggest picking up Waynes "101 Projects" for the 911. This is a great starter book for maintaining your car.

Your mileage is not high at all. In fact it's quite low. If the car was maintained properly then it probably doesn't need a rebuild.

Do a compression check of the motor. This will give you a general idea of the condition of the motor and whether or not if it needs a rebuild.

Most oil leaks can be fixed without tearing apart the motor. So start out addressing the oil leaks. Fixing the oil leaks will help you get familiar with the car.

The most common leak area is the valve covers. So here's an opportunity to learn how to adjust the valves and address the gaskets that will be replaced when doing a valve adjustment.

Other common areas for leaks are o-rings for the sensors. These you just unhook, unscrew, and replace the o-ring.

So you get the idea just take it a step at a time and enjoy.

Bobby

Easy wasn't the right word.

What are vacumes on carburators? Does anyone have a picture? I tryed searching the net but only got hotrod websites. How can they be repaired/fixed?

[Wayne 962]

Ask the Weber questions in a new topic - they will get lost here...

Easy? It depends. The problem with the 911 engine is that there isn't a lot of information available on the rebuild process. Fortunately, that will all change very soon:

http://www.101projects.com/rebuild.htm

If you pick up a copy of 101 Projects, then you should be able to fix most of the oil leaks in your engine...

-Wayne

[cary]

For peace of mind, have a leak down done on the car. If the numbers are good. Leave the enerds (?) alone.

As for the leaks. It's time to jump in head first.

Drop the engine yourself and fix the leaks.
I did mine after never doing it before.

Results : Switched to Mobil 1 during the process and NO LEAKS. Dry as a bone

[Wayne 962]

Uhh, I disagree completely! Mobil One has a nasty reputation for creating more leaks on older engines. I don't recommend using it on older motors (10+ years) with older seals. The synthetic has a tendency to flow a lot easier and smoother, which means it can escape past small gaps in seals that the dino-oil can't. Once you use the synthetic and get the leaks, they will continue even if you switch back to the old oil...

-Wayne

[epbrown]

But I thought if you changed seals and then switched to synthetic this wasn't a problem - that the leak issue only happens with old seals conditioned with dino oil. Is that a misconception?

Emanuel

[cary]

I think Wayne's comments are the general rule of thumb when it comes to switching to Mobil One midstream.
I probably should have left that comment off. Sorry ......

But for a guy that has absolutely 0 luck. Except for bad. It worked for me. I followed Steve Weiners guidelines. Fresh Mobil One. Change it at 500 miles. Then again in 1500 miles. Then regular intervals.

Worked for me.

Changed : Flywheel Seal
Crank Seal
Temp Sensor
Oil Cooler Seals
Temp Sensor
Breather Gasket
Thermo Stat O-Ring

I was looking for every once of engine protection I could find. I knew up front, it was a gamble. HEAT is your enemy.

[speeder]

Heat is definitely the enemy, but your engine will suffer horrible damage from overheating that has absolutely nothing to do with oil failure. Put another way, damage will occur from overheating long before dino oil fails, temperature-wise. I constantly hear this specious argument, (usually in synthetic oil commercials), implying that it will protect you in an overheating situation. This is crap.

There are other (debatable) reasons for switching to synthetic, but this one is not valid. Aluminum warps and moving parts expand and sieze regardless of what oil you use. BTW, today's top dino oils, (SL grade), are about 5 grade levels higher than the best available(and recomended) when SCs were new.