First-timer Engine Teardown - Part I

[bigel]

So the story begins in the fall of 2012 with a proud new owner of a 1987 911 Carrera Targa in Granite Green.







So I couldn't believe my good fortune to actually own a motor car that I lusted after my entire teen and early adult life...I mean, I even had one of those girly posters with a 911 turbo prominently positioned under a beautiful lady. I couldn't find the actual poster but you know the ones I'm talking about. I found a prime example on the interwebs.



Well, you can imagine my horror when I removed the lower valve covers to perform my very first valve adjustments and find two bolts fall out into the garage floor! As a person new to the 911 world, I thought to myself, "what the f%@k??"



I soon was to learn the scorn of the broken head stud! A bit later I began to plan out exactly how I, a person who feels he is technically savvy and handy with a wrench and around the house on construction/renovations projects but has never disassembled and reassembled an engine, would go about a full teardown to remove (hopefully) the broken off studs from the engine case and ultimately replace all of the lower Dilivar studs with stock steel (no offense to those who swear by the high strength, high performance studs).

Upon disassembly, I found some of the studs had broken off awfully close to the case, but I was able to 'coax' them out by grinding a slot with my trusty Dremel and then using a screwdriver (not the drink).



One of the studs was near flush with the case, but with Dremel and screwdriver, no machining needed...thankfully.



I am so appreciative of all the many knowledgeable Pelicans who have helped so many of us with our novice questions; they seemingly never tire of our repetitive, newb questions. I literally would work a bit on the motor, then check the forum...do some more work, then ask a question...search the forum (Google is best for this task, my apologies to Wayne and Co.), do some more work.

During disassembly, lots of zip-top bags and a trusty Sharpie to keep track of the countless screws, hoses, springs, washers, bolts, and assorted small parts. This is something I was very concerned about; however, friends assured me that it is done all the time. And so, I did...

Some tricks were employed during my project, such as using a few plastic wall anchors and screws to get a good hold on the cam shaft end plates without marring the stainless. Perhaps a little overkill, as I know most simply pry the suckers out.



I also held the cylinders in place with small lengths of 3/8" Tygon tubing fastened with the head stud barrel nuts.



Had the usual surprises (no surprise, really, for anyone who has opened up one of these 30 year old engines...mice love the void between the top of the engine and the fan shroud! Lots of threads on that issue, to be sure.



Now all I needed to do was to buy up the gaskets, seals, studs, accessories from our host and put the whole mess back together!

More on that later...

[michael lang]

Congratulations on getting that broken stud out. What to go on using the Dremel.

I know first hand how it feels to dive into this with no experience, many of us on this board have been exactly where you are. Take lots and lots of pictures, make a list of all the questions you can think of as you go and then ask them when you are on the forum. We are here to help you along the way. The search function got me out of so many binds, if for any reason just to be able to see what it is supposed to look like when it goes back together.

As frustrated as I got at times, looking back on it now, I had an absolute blast going through the process, what a great experience.

[DRACO A5OG]

Good Job Brother!

Break a Leg!

[seanratpel]

Steve -- I have also faced the horror!! Great feeling you did it yourself when that baby is on the road again. (not to mention, the money you've saved)

[cabmandone]

I think I kept all of my old steel studs. If you would want them I could check when I have time unless you have already bought some.
Good luck and take your time. If you haven't gotten Wayne's rebuild book you might want to look into it. My brother loaned me his copy and it was extremely helpful.

[bigel]

Originally Posted by cabmando

I think I kept all of my old steel studs. If you would want them I could check when I have time unless you have already bought some.
Good luck and take your time. If you haven't gotten Wayne's rebuild book you might want to look into it. My brother loaned me his copy and it was extremely helpful.

I do have Wayne's book and you're right, it is helpful. I have also already replaced the studs and buttoned up the engine. I'm just now getting around to posting my story.

I'll be posting more in the near future.

[jlex]

Good for you. Was thinking that an '87 was too new to worry about broken studs. How many miles were on your car? Somebody tell me I shouldn't worry about it on my '88 with only 36,000 miles!

[Reiver]

Originally Posted by jlex

Good for you. Was thinking that an '87 was too new to worry about broken studs. How many miles were on your car? Somebody tell me I shouldn't worry about it on my '88 with only 36,000 miles!

My 911 mechanic friend in old Miss has found broken exhaust studs on 964's already.

[bigel]

Originally Posted by jlex

Good for you. Was thinking that an '87 was too new to worry about broken studs. How many miles were on your car? Somebody tell me I shouldn't worry about it on my '88 with only 36,000 miles!

I had five all together, though no multiples on any one cylinder.

The engine had only 60k on a rebuild...I assume the studs were original. The car has 146k total.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by bigel

I had five all together, though no multiples on any one cylinder.

The engine had only 60k on a rebuild...I assume the studs were original. The car has 146k total.

I had two on the same cylinder. Hooray for my team! Sucks to find but a good learning experience. Glad you got your engine together.

[Tori]

Thanks for the pics, i'll be doing similar work to mine soon i think. I guess you cannot hear the head stud rattling about in the lower cover ? I wonder if i'll find the same surprise in mine ?

[911tracker85]

good luck. I have my 930 engine almost torn down. my first 911 engine rebuild. going all the way to splitting the case.

I am also using Wayne's book. occasionally find a few details missed between steps. but I guess if you cannot figure that out you probably should not be doing this.

and then I have local friends and PP.

no broken studs but replacing them all as they are the original divlar. they all came out pretty easy as this engine had been rebuild in 1990.

[Tori]

Can the the AC be left in tact ? Can you leave it charged and the compressor just tied up while the engine is out?

[boyt911sc]

Originally Posted by Tori

Can the the AC be left in tact ? Can you leave it charged and the compressor just tied up while the engine is out?

Tori,

Wrap the compressor with soft towels and place it to top of the right rear quarter panel. Make sure the bottom side of the compressor is well padded so not to cause abrasions on the painted surface. Then drop the engine.

Tony

[Tori]

Thank you sir !

[bigel]

Tori,

As Tony said, just wrap it with soft cloth, or drape a doubled up towel on the quarter panel and flip the compressor over the side of the engine compartment.

Be careful and check, double check and re-check that you have everything disconnected. You've got electrical connections, vacuum lines, hot/fresh air vent ducts, etc.

Lower it out S-L-O-W-L-Y!

[bigel]

Now that I have carefully lowered the engine and transmission out of the engine bay, by the way, I lowered the engine by myself and with a single, carefully centered pump jack. Probably not the smartest decision, but it all worked out, it was time to start the disassembly process.



I wrench on the various pieces of the engine and transmission…stop and review books (including two of Wayne Dempsey’s texts), search the web, review videos, etc. I feel the need to give a shout out to Matt Connor, Master Technician at AutoBahn Imports, Eugene, OR. I must have viewed his youtube videos of his work on a 1979 930 Turbo 15-20 times before and during my project. Great stuff if you’ve not seen it.

As each part was removed, I began to feverishly clean. Each part got a bath in Pine-sol, then paint thinner and finally brake cleaner. Brash and plastic brushes were worn to the nub. This, more than any other part of the project, really got to me. I really hated it to be sure, but the results are hard to dispute.





I sanded the engine tin and air flow baffles and had them powder coated, even though they’re obscured from view when the engine is assembled.

I buffed and painted the alternator fan and housing prior to returning them to service.



One of the worst jobs was cleaning the transmission! It was really caked with grease, road grime and just nastiness.



Took 60k miles worth of carbon off of the pistons with a brass wheel mounted to my bench grinder.





When it came time to return the pistons to the pushrods I employed a trick I read on the Pelican forums. I cut a small length of an aluminum broom handle. These just happen to be the perfect size to accommodate a circlip; I then placed the ‘tool’ up against the side of the piston and pushed the clip out into the piston with a wooden dowel. While installing six pistons I only missed a single clip and then managed to get it mounted on the second try.

I disassembled the heads, cleaned and measured the tolerances of the valves and seats. Replaced the valve guides and seals. The springs were found to be within tolerances.



Hmmm, can't seem to find any pics of the heads post cleaning...oh well, you can imagine the shine!

Things were starting to look good. It was a long process, but I could definitely sense the end of the journey.

More to come…

[universeman]

Congrats Steve, you seem to be doing a great job here! Can't wait to see/read about the final result!

[bigel]

So, here are a few more pics just to show the filth of the engine and transmission as they were lowered out of the car. Note that in addition to the dark oil spots that are obvious on the transmission, there is also nearly 3/8" of a light gray layer of funk uniformly deposited and very difficult to remove.




**Notice anything missing from the photo above?

Yes, I managed to install my exhaust manifolds and the fresh air distributor tube (a pain in the a$$ to install) prior to noticing I hadn't installed the hard oil line. Dah! So there was some more disassembly prior to continuing with the reassembly.

I took the opportunity to send out the fuel injectors for inspection, testing, cleaning and tuning. I used Mr. Injector (Bill Johnson) out of Dalton Gardens, Idaho. I was extremely satisfied with the service and price ($17.50/injector). The service includes electronic testing, ultrasonic cleaning, painting of the exterior surface of the injector, testing/verfication of spray pattern and flow rate and 'tuning' to get the flow rate of each within a few percent. Bill also supplies a nice test report, suitable for framing.

Here are some pics before and after:





As a side note, I was lucky to have the opportunity to participate in a 'group buy' organized within the 'used parts' forum right here on Pelican Parts of an aftermarket, but every bit as well made, P201 engine yoke. It only ended up costing us $158 because we ended up purchasing more than 20 pieces.



Here it is mounted to my engine.



Here is a shot of the cam housing all cleaned up and a thin layer of sealant applied.



And, some more remnants of my little mouse friends...they have acorns everywhere.



Literally, like 1500 acorns tucked up under the front protective plate that protects the front suspension bits.

[bigel]

Well, it was finally time to fire her up. Anyone who has been through a full engine teardown and rebuild knows the shear terror at the moment of truth. You buy a new battery, you add some fresh gasoline to her tank, you check and recheck to make sure all of the connections are tight, all the wires are connected and all the vacuum lines are in place and you turn the key.

When I did she roared to life...much to my wife's surprise. It actually turned over and ran and just then...a fuel line gave out.

It must have been the fact that it sat for 2.5 years with its interior region exposed to the air.

As I put it it was the thrill of victory, closely followed by the agony of defeat.



So I would need to replace the fuel lines with new prior to running the engine again. It had run for a total of 25 seconds before spraying fuel all over itself.

It was a long four days, waiting for the new fuel lines. And then I was ready again...