82 911 broken head studs what to do ???

[cesco]

Hello everyone I am new to these forums so let me know what to do I have a 82 911sc with a 3.0 and I bought it with motor problem it was leaking oil into the Exhaust and I though it needed new rigs so I poled the motor and in the middle of the tar down I notes its has 2 broken head studs and is it common with these Porsche and how can this happen???? Is it easy to fix this or do I have to get a know motor so let me know what to do thanks

[stormmaster]

Yes it is very common....no you do not have to replace the motor...however it is fairly expensive to have repaired. There are a lot of variables. When I had mine done I replaced the studs with ARP brand....they are pretty much bullet proof. The issue is with the materials the original studs were made of. The heat cycles over a period of time weaken the exhaust studs causing them to break. Most likely with only two broken studs no other damage was done. The nice thing is you were going to have to pull the pipston/cyl anyway to replace the rings...so basically if you can get the studs out while you are at it the only extra cost is the studs. You have several options as far as the quality and material and price of the studs are concerned. If you do a search for head studs you will see that you are far from being alone in this matter.

[JMH82SC]

I have a 82SC that had 2 broken studs also. The lower studs corrode and weaken to the point that heat cycling will snap them. Mine snapped in the middle so I was able to remove the 2 broken as well as the other 10 bottom ones with heat. The upper studs are steel and do not have the same problem as the delivar bottom studs. Do a search as many have posted about this topic and you will find many options and information on replacement. One common fix is to replace the 12 lower delivar studs with 12 steel upper studs, depending on your situation this can save you hundreds of dollars.

[Joe Bob]

Replace them all with steel studs, I like Raceware. Don't screw with the bottom end, get a new gasket kit from Pelican and consider a valve and guide job. If you haven't removed the exhaust nuts on the heat exchangers yet...do a search on that BEFORE attempting to remove them.....they can snap in a NY second.

BTDT and it's a beyotch to get a flush snapped stud out.

[Gunter]

Good advise.

sesco:
I hope you get Wayne's book on 911 Engine Rebuild.
Send the heads out for a Valve job, guides and seals.
Replace the head studs with steel.
Gasket kit from PP.
If you remove the heat exchangers, be very careful when removing the nuts for the exhaust studs. YOU NEED RED HOT HEAT! Do a search here for this.

Get Wayne's book; it's the Bible.

[cesco]

thanks guys its weard that the car only has 27xxx and is there some one in michigan that i can send the motor to and add some performance parts

[80-911SC]

not that odd it is almost 28 years old and are you sure its 27k miles ? also Michigan weather isn't very car friendly, its not the end of the world but its gonna take a bit of work , if you can do it yourself not real expensive , at a shop not so not expensive . best of luck , unsure why they do go , some do some don't mine 1980 knocknock ni issue yet at 165k and climbing ..... best of luck

[chocolatelab]

my understanding is that low mileage doesnt mean that you are less likely to have broken studs.

moisture gets at the studs and if it sits alot (28k miles in 25 plus years) that moisture had time to soak in. its didnt get burnt/evaporated off.

i had 2 broken studs earlier this year. california car with 77k miles.

i took it to a shop to have the repair done.

in retrospec i wish i had done the repair myself

good luck to you

[VMAX1]

I have an 87 Carrera with 130k and had a head stud break. Got engine on a stand and got in over my head FasT. Porsche engines are very different and unforgiving for a shade tree like myself. Ended up in a Porsche mecahnics shop in N.C. Car back on the road

[efhughes3]

Grab several thousand $ out of your bank account to do this properly, unless you do it yourself, then it is only a few thousand $. Not for the weak of wallet.

[1990C4S]

Step #1. Buy Wayne's book.

[Gunter]

Originally Posted by cesco

thanks guys its weard that the car only has 27xxx and is there some one in michigan that i can send the motor to and add some performance parts

Be very careful when selecting a shop.

Lot's of bad experiences out there.

If I were you, I'd ask around by starting a new thread here on PP asking for recommendations for a shop in your area.

It's worth it even if the shop is far away, or in the next State.
You can drive the car to the shop but I wouldn't continue running the engine until then.

[sabeo.m]

Originally Posted by 80-911SC

not that odd it is almost 28 years old and are you sure its 27k miles ?

(+1) Are you sure it has only 27K? Our VDO speedometer's can be easily rolled back. Pull the speedo, check if outer ring is damaged, the outer ring is difficult to remove if one is not experienced. The ring's edge will turn into jagged edges from the screw driver. If the green or red paint over the housing screws is no longer there, that's a sure indicator that the speedo was opened. I also had broken head studs, I replaced all of mine with Raceware. ARP or Raceware is the way to go..

[rs6er]

I had 7, yes 7 broken head studs. Found a really good Porsche shop and did a top end rebuild. You want this done right.

[cesco]

thank guy iam going to buy a Wayne's book an do it myself or try it myself think guy

[edgarcia737]

Good Luck.

I had a broken stud too. Buy Wayne's book and take your time. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal since I use to build aircraft engines. Wrong!!

Be sure and pay attention to valve timing and rocker shaft installation. Valve Timing is no big deal if you use Wayne's book. The rocker shafts gave me grief. I torqued pinch bolts according to Service Manual. They need to be torqued to 18-20 ft lbs. Also, buy the recommended rocker shaft $eals.

In my situation, i fixed a couple of oil leaks since the motor was out. But created a few more that were leaking from the rocker shafts on to the header. So I am getting good at dropping Porsche engines.

Ed Garcia
1977 Carrera 3.0

[VMAX1]

I bought the Wayne's book, too. Started pricing all of the special tools needed, around $500. I subtracted that from labor charge and feel I came out good. I sent the injectors to have rebuilt. I think the car runs better than it did when I bought it with 70k miles. It won't sit in a storage bldg again. Good Luck! You have the best of the best on this forum to help you out!

[imcarthur]

It is often low mileage cars that have broken head studs. Corrosion is the culprit & sitting for months & years with no lubrication is not good.

Ian

[mca]

How do head studs get lubrication? Isn't it the heat cycling that burns off moisture and prevents rust?

[don gilbert]

cesso, I went through this last summer. It could be very easy, are the worst experience you will ever have. I would try and get the lower ones all out, the top ones are steel already, and should be fine, there is nothing wrong with a used steel stud, as long as its not corroded. Being you are from Mich, i bet you are going to have fun getting the studs out. You can search my thread "need help on broken stud" to give you an idea what could happpen if one wont come out. On my thread, one of the Pauls gives insight to a special snap on tool stud remover, i would check that out.


as posted above, if funds are available, get the valve job, cams, new springs,and fix all your leaks while you are in there, (about 2500.00)