3.2 Rebuild...it's a dirty job

[al lkosmal]

Greetings..........Following closely behind Rick's EFI project, I am rebuilding this 1984 Carrera, 3.2 engine. I am in the tear-down and analysis stage of the project and, I've just started. Really, the 3.2 is one of my favorite engines, but....every time I have to deal with the rusty, hard to reach hardware on the god-awful exhausts of this era...it makes me want to beeeyatch-slap the Porsche engineers who designed it.......It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it. That would be me.









regards,
al

[WP0ZZZ]

What do you soak the bolts/studs in?

[al lkosmal]

Those are soaked overnight in PB Blaster............then I heat them and try to remove...then, I soak them overnight again in PB Blaster, then i heat them and try to remove....rinse and repeat until they break..........


regards,
al

[john walker's workshop]

Get the ocy/acet out and slice the heads off (last pic). The rest come off when they're red.

[al lkosmal]

yea John...good advice...they are crusty mothers.

[KTL]

Yeah don't even bother trying to remove those bolts in a conventional way. Just cut a head or nut off and drive them out with a hammer and drift. You'll be shocked how corroded and shrunken the shank of the bolts will be.

For the regular hex nuts on the exhaust manifolds, get a 3/8 drive 13mm socket with the integrated/built-in universal joint. Works great, after you've of course heated the heck out of them with the torch cherry red.

[al lkosmal]

yep....that is what I use too....

thx,
al

[WP0ZZZ]

Thanks for all the useful info, guys. Will be replacing the exhaust manifolds soon-ish, do you reckon a propane torch will suffice to heat the nuts red-hot?

[KTL]

Propane not hot enough. Neither is MAPP gas. That's why John mentioned the Oxy-Acetylene.

If you're doing the heads anyway as part of the rebuild, i'd not worry much about getting the nuts off cleanly. Replace the studs as part of the rebuild. If you break some, no big deal. Borrow somebody's Stomski style tool. It works fantastic.

I wouldn't cut those manifolds off simply because they're in good solid shape. It'd be a shame to waste them.

[jimtweet]

I swear germans had small hands. I marvel and scream at the some of the tools needed to get at some of these bolts. I have made tools to make tools to get at a bolt

[al lkosmal]

another good use of heat.....forming tools into the shapes required to get at some of these bolts.
regards,
al

[Tippy]

Makes me appreciate my equal length headers. Plenty of space and have never broken a stud yet.

[Ken911]

yep best trick is a flame wrench

[RSBob]

Al you really know how to party. So are you solely doing a rebuild or will you be adding a few ‘goodies’?

A real man uses a cigarette lighter to loosen stubborn bolts. Oxy is for wimpy puppies. .

Keep on keepin’ on.

[pmax]

Originally Posted by al lkosmal

Did you try lighting that pool of PB with a cigar or something ?

[al lkosmal]

Originally Posted by RSBob

Al you really know how to party. So are you solely doing a rebuild or will you be adding a few ‘goodies’?

A real man uses a cigarette lighter to loosen stubborn bolts. Oxy is for wimpy puppies. .

Keep on keepin’ on.

Rick,
This is a stock 3.2 rebuild. Lot's of new goodies...but all stock. A change of pace for me, but a very nice engine.

al

[Jack Stands]

Wonder if Porsche could have designed some original style heat exchangers with small catalytic converters for each bank, hence having more efficient scavenging while still meeting emission specifications. The ‘75 on exhaust design seems like a compromise at best. Good luck getting that system off the engine!

[al lkosmal]

no worries....I have the tools of destruction............

regards,
al

[JackMan]

@al, love this post and I'll be second in line to *****slaptheengineers, but lest we forget the engineers ruled the roost at Porsche before the sales people, marketers and manufacturing people.

All hail the engineers and our scuffed and cut knuckles from working on these engines, but my is it worth the grin on my face when I drive them.

[al lkosmal]

Jackman...i spent a great deal of my life as Director of Engineering/Product Development for various companies.......I know first-hand .....how great the results can be and.....sometimes, not so much. however, i am with you....despite the occasional cursing and throwing of wrenches across the room......it is all worth it, once you fire them up.

regards,
al