bad, bad, bad

[rdhhdr]

i recently replaced my generator, points, condenser, rotor, and cap and had two of the greatest driving days ever...you know those times-when you replace the plugs, coil, adjust the valves or carbs and get a major performance jump...accel. is smooth, she pulls through the gears, corners like a dream...it's one of the greatest pleasures of 912 ownership, esp. when we're the ones doing the adjusting....

3rd day of driving heaven and i am on my way to a friend's on sat. morning for the navy/notre dame game...perfect weather, just a great day for driving...i pulled away from a light onto a gently sweeping, mile-long, curving ramp onto the expressway...at 85mph or so i noticed a slight loss in power, within a minute i had a cloud of oil smoke streaming behind me...i pulled over immediately and was unable to revive her...the starter was going nowhere (not turning it over) so, fearing the worst, i tried turning it by hand-not a nudge...

she's now back home, resting in the garage, and i can only imagine that my replacement of the generator led to improper cooling via a bad fan connection or belt tensioning...no indicators came on, and my temp gauge didn't indicate anything out of the ordinary...however, despite recent testing, i wouldn't trust either with my life...

my question is-has anyone dealt with a seized engine? how is it definitively diagnosed? and what are my options...can it be rebored/rebuilt?...engine replacement seems to be the most cost effective opportunity, though i have considered parting her out and starting fresh, probably the most financially sound possibility...give me your thoughts and ideas, not to mention your condolences...i welcome them all

thanks,

dale

[Alan.UK]

Dale,

I am really sorry to hear you 912 has taken a turn for the worst. As I am sure you already know, it sounds like a complete rebuild with some new parts depending on how bad it is, and that means £££$$$. If we can help at all please ask, but stick with it.

Again sorry about your bad news

Alan.UK

[adot]

Hey Dale

Sorry to here about your car.

85mph or so.... !!!!

I would say start with the easy stuff first. Take the plugs out to see where the problem is.

When you tried turning over by hand, was the car out of gear?
Maybe at the time, side of the road thinking the worst $$$, you forgot about being in gear.

Good luck and hopefully it wont be a winter project
Brett

[Green 912]

All might not be lost.

Pull the plugs! let us know what you find. Could be not so bad, could be a tanker. The heads tend to fill up with oil during long turns and then the sump can run out of oil. This will eat bearings, and P/Cs. You might have lunched a cyl but then again you might just have a cyl full of oil and hydrolocked. Do you have stock air cleaner with oil breather it might have belched a slug into the carb Any carbs wet with oil? Did you have too much/ too little oil in the case?

Don't think it was from the gen work. Post Hock Ergo Proctor Hock. After, therfore because of, need not be the case.

How far is Fort Hunt from Northern Va? Might be able to lend a hand.

[adot]

The heads tend to fill up with oil during long turns and then the sump can run out of oil. This will eat bearings, and P/Cs. Boy, that sound like $$$$.


Pull the plugs Dale

Brett

[rdhhdr]

i'm going to pull the engine this sat....what should i look for when pulling the plugs aside from oil?

hopefully we'll have a verdict by the end of the weekend...

[Green 912]

Personaly I would pull the plugs first.

[h.beard]

Dale,
I'm not sure if I have to work Sat, but if not I could try to cruise by. I live in the Kingsville area. I'm no mechanic but moral support can help sometime. Will probably be celebrating the discovery of some minor (fingers crossed) problem.
Email me your address if you like at plus@comcast.net or page me anytime at 410-492-5987
Howard from Roebuck's Hill

[rdhhdr]

well, the autopsy has begun...engine's out and the plugs pulled. #2 and #3 have suffered mechanical damage (electrodes bent on plugs) and it looks pretty ugly inside...#1 and #4 are fine, but that's irrelevant. at this point...

that's all i've dones so far, i guess the next step is to pull the heads...at the very least it will be an education in what can go wrong with the engine...i'll keep you posted

thanks for all of your posts and suggestions, keep them coming...

dale

[adot]

Pull the air filters (opps, you have to, to remove engine) and see if you didnt send a couple of mounting bolts down the carbs. The K&N kits have a problem with this. You didnt say anything about noise, was there any?

GoodLuck
Brett

[Duke]

Why don't you regap & reinstall the plugs & see if it runs better? I had this happen once to one plug during installation. Reset the gap & all was fine. Just a thought.

[jac912]

How did your rebuild project end up ?