I have a couple of questions at this point:

1) Waynes book says to lock the flywheel and then remove the main pulley nut. I have already removed the flywheel before mounting the engine on the stand. Is there a way around this?

2) I want to paint the engine bay before the engine goes back in. What is the best way to remove the harness/wires/tubes out of the way to get this done?

I washed the car today, scrubbed the engine bay and removed the remainder of the AC stuff and the oil tank. Will take the oil tank to get properly cleaned soon.

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I did this same project four years ago, here is my thread.

You can lock the flywheel by installing a pressure plate bolt on the flywheel, then put a box end wrench over one of the transmission studs and the pressure plate bolt - hope that makes sense. The question will be whether or not you can squeeze the flywheel out of the limited space available.

If I can make a suggestion, I would defer the painting until the end of the project. Everything takes longer than forecasted, especially the first time. See if you still have the energy to paint when you are anxious to get the engine back in. I was going to paint (anal retentive), but then decided that there is little that can be viewed and cleaning was adequate. There really is no easy way to remove stuff that is in the way.

How is your engine mounted to the stand? You obviously don't have a yoke (P201). Are you using just two of the universal arms or are you using one of these?

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I completely removed the flywheel and pressure plate. Do I have to put them back on to lock in place then remove the nut? The way I read your instructions is that the flywheel needs to be in-place
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I'm using universal arms at the moment. 3 arms are connected, and before splitting the case I will remove one. I am not sure whether it is worth ordering and waiting for the yoke at this point. I've read many threads where people were happy with the universal arms.

and about the painting - I am trying to multitask :) since my cam holder tool isn't here yet, I thought I'd do something else. I plan on removing the oil lines and upgrading the oil cooler, draining the fuel and cleaning the tank and replacing the lines, rebuilding the brake calipers, etc.. all this in my down time between getting parts

Anybody have any input on the pulley issue?

Newbie engine teardown/rebuild - advice always welcome!
 

Put some long bolts back in the crank, then insert a long square bar between them parallel to the back of the motor, wedged against the threads of the bolts and an engine stand mount location, to hold the crank in place as you remove the front pulley nut.

Same technique I have used to remove stubborn cv joint nuts on front wheel drive vehicles. Leverage is your friend.

I'm still waiting for my cam holder tool, so I decided to try cleaning my transmission and other parts. I couldn't get my alternator and fan out of the housing, and I also noticed that my housing has cracked :(

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I'm going to do some research on way that I can get the alternator out!

Meanwhile, my transmission came out nicely after some engine cleaner and pressure cleaning
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I used Jim Walkers method for removing the alternator and fan and it worked perfectly - http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/60368-fan-hsng-alternator-removal.html

The housing will go in the trash, however do these "imperfections" on the fan mean I have to replace it?

2 blades have cracks
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The fan is fine to keep using Don't throw away the housing. It's magnesium & worth some $ in scrap!!!

I've scrubbed the fan and will give it a quick DIY paint job with high-heat spray paint. I have a virtual garbage heap currently, nothing is going in the trash yet :D

The shopping list keeps growing, so I should re-use as much stuff as possible

Pelican says it'll take a month for me to get the p9191 tool. I met with a very respected Porsche mechanic today and he said I don't need it when removing the cams. Anyone concur?

You can zip the cam bolts off with an impact gun when you have the flywheel/crankshaft locked. So yep the cam holding tool is critical for tightening, not necessarily loosening

Took the advice of the members here and as per the instructions from timmy2, I was able to get the cam gears, chain housing, cylinder heads, cylinders and half of the pistons so far. It's pretty straight forward taking things apart, I hope its the same putting things together!

I was reading through Wayne's book and it says for the later model SCs there is generally no need to replace the head studs. I'm thinking since I'm here I might as well replace the head studs.

Also, any advice on what cylinders and pistons I should be looking at? any advice on what my shopping list should include? I contacted John Dougherty about regriding my cams to 964 and got a reasonable quote.

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Some cylinders were filthier than others
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PM sent

Great progress! Sorry to be a nanny, but do cover any openings into the engine case while it's in this state of disassembly. It's amazing what can find it's way in through those many openings that might later clog some tiny oil passage or squirt-hole somewhere.

GK

Honestly? Not really since I am tearing the whole thing apart and cleaning it from scratch. Is that dumb? I cover it at the end of the day with a clean BBQ cover, but when I work on it all the openings are there..

Today was the most rewarding day so far! I got the headstuds off with no major problems, thanks to the SnapOn tools. Had to hit one with the propane, but otherwise all of them went smoothly.. some went too smoothly and it made me worry that they were not properly torqued.. All I needed was this
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Also removed the main pulley, and all the case bolts.. was so close to splitting the case but I promised my wife I'd have dinner with her so it'll have to wait until tomorrow :)

Case ready to be split
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So much dirty.. I'm going to enjoy cleaning everything later
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Got a quote for the basic rebuild kit from EBS and considering the 964 cams from Dougherty... Should I be considering a short stroke 3.2 kit as well? I'd like to get my heads rebuilt in Europe since its closer proximity to me, but my research hasn't brought up any shops there yet.. open to recommendations.. in the beginning I said I'd be sticking to stock, but then read an article where the owner was unhappy with the rebuild because the car drove the exact same and I don't want to have regrets.. might as well squeeze a few more HP :D

Right you are - I should've noted that you're doing a rebuild and not just a top end... My point is therefore moot. Good luck!
GK

Thanks SmileWavy

On a different topic, here is a friends mint 1973 2.7 RS
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and my other Porsche with its big brother, also owned by the same person
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Have you been able to find out what caused the original problem noise that started you off on this project? :confused:

Also, curious if all the headstuds are the same - instead of 12 steel (magnetic) & 12 dilivar (non-magnetic); then perhaps your engine has already been upgraded at some stage before you got it.

Peter 78 SC 3.0

I haven't found the source of the noise.. I've been focused on the disassembly, and now that everything is apart I will start inspecting and cleaning each part and hopefully there will be an obvious reason.. so far everything has looked fine, although I did find some oil on the top of a couple of pistons..

My studs are all the original steel.. and there is no evidence that my engine has ever been opened before.. Everything seems to be original.. I'm not an expert by any measure, in fact quite the opposite, but nothing leads me to believe anyone gave this engine any love in the past..

Finally, I am done and the case is split and everything is out! Now I will read the next chapter in Wayne's book, start cleaning and inspecting all the parts and finding good machine shops to do the dirty work.. we don't have any local porsche shops so any recommendations of shops you guys are happy with will be helpful..

Are there any notorious problems areas I should be looking at first?
Should I start taking the camshaft housing and heads apart at this point?

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I just noticed these scratches on the inside of the case, what could have caused them?

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