#2 rod.

[bigyagi]

well, i been looking at old posts, and i think i have been hit with the #2 rod bearing problem.
so much for mobil 1 eh?
in an earlier post ,seems someone managed to replace the bearings with the engine still in the car!!
i dont think i can do that, but i'd like to!
oh well, better it has happened now, and not into summer. i still have time to fix it.
i believe that there is a fix, for the oil hole for #2. anyone know what this is? as i'm liable to start drilling holes all over the place!
bob.

[ae1969]

YOu can do it with the engine still in the car....

You pretty much have to follow the procedure for changing the oil pan gasket and voila. You are there.



By the way you cant drill into the crank with it still in place so get that idea OUT of your head.

[Britwrench]

If you can hear rod knock the crank is done. Replacing the rod bearings in the car may work for a (short) while. The crank journals are usually damaged, the rod end is normally out of spec and the bearing material has deposited itself through the oil system. I've yet to see a successful repair after rod knock has been heard without redoing the engine. You could pull the oil pan off and have a look, be prepared to pull the motor out for a proper repair.

[Zero10]

Not to be rude here, but don't do half a job.
The car will take advantage of you, and suck money out of you for years to come, eventually leading to another engine failure.
Pull the engine, clean out the oil track, check out the crank, and do a full rebuild.
Replacing the rod bearings will be a band-aid fix.
Britwrench is right, you got little metal shards through the entire engine, you should check it all out.

[88_944]

Taking out the crack is a living HELL!! Never want to do it again!

[fast924S]

common rebuild the engine isnt that bad I did it on my 924S when I was 17, just follow the derections and use a torque wrench when putting it back together. The only thing that took a long time was GETTING ALL THE RIGHT PARTS.. Seals, rings, bearing...ect. But its not to bad and you learn all kinda of stuff while you are there. Have fun take your time and Do it right the first time every time. Plus you have a safty, If you do it wrong a blow up the motor I have a extra used 1985 944 motor for sale ... So just let me know, GOOD LUCK

[88_944]

Originally posted by fast924S
If you do it wrong a blow up the motor

LMAO!!

[fast924S]

HAHAHAH sorry Some times I cant type or spell, but you get the basic idea

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I'll do some looking at the old posts, but what exactly is the #2 rod problem? Are the #2 cylinder connecting rods suceptable to failure or something else that I should be aware of? Also, why is Mobil 1 bad? I currently run Mobil 1 and the engine has approximately 126K miles. If there's something I should be doing to prevent a crank or rod failure, I want to know about it!

[jjgrow]

There has been extensive discussion of the rod bearing failure problem in 944 engines on Rennlist racing forum http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=65and the NASA 944-Spec forum http://www.nasaforums.com/viewforum.php?f=40&sid=d4d89b8b582de70cb1aecf520d915d64.

Bottom line is there are lots of opinions, potential solutions, but no consensus on what may work.

[bigyagi]

well, i'm taking the engine out in 2 weeks, and its the big re-build. funny, ever since i have been on this forum, hardly a week goes by without someone posting about the timing belt scenario. i was not at all happy about the belt situation, although i have that part of the maintenance cycle all ok. now i find out, that the 944 models are plagued by rod bearing failure too !! i'm beginning to wonder what next months scenario will be!
i really enjoy my cars handling/performance, but i have to say, i'm not very impressed by these problems.
anyways, after the re-build, i'm going to look into obtaining a "domestic" engine, that will be suitable to go into the car. have to be a carburetor though, as i'm not good with electronics/hook-up.
i think basically, i need to make an adapter, so that the input shaft mates with the engine.
flame me , but i want to be able to drive my car, not spend lots of time in the garage, or restrict myself to limiting rpm to 4k.
ah well, c'est la vie, n'est pas!
thanks to all who replied/gave advice.
bob.

[Moneyguy1]

That's the basic problem with the 944 engine. It appears to have been designed by a committee, consisting of accountants.....

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I'm continually amazed that the engines don't just use chains or gears for timing. I suggested a gear conversion a while back and was blasted for suggesting it - "it'd be too noisy!" some said. Well think of the noise your engine will make as your pistons go slamming into your valve train! I'd deal with a negligable amount of extra noise to run gears or a chain, and wouldn't mind the fact that the front case would have to be lubricated & sealed. That's the ONE area (aside from the rod issue) that I can say I think the Porsche engineers truly screwed up on these engines. Belts suck. They're unreliable and they slip / jump / break. There's a reason all the large, high-horsepower engines out there use chains or gears. Leave the belts for the Hondas IMHO.

[toolboy62]

There's actually one more reason to use belts. Not only do gears make more noise, but they actually introduce vibration into the whole cam setup. Some racers are going to belt drives now, evern for cam-in-block engines like a SBC so they have more accurate valve and therefore ignition timing.

That said, belts do suck when they break. You win some, you lose some.

nate

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Well - a belt might then be a better way to go with a non-interference engine, but I think for an engine such as this I'd rather deal with a little vibration than a new set of valves / pistons / head machining / possible new block and all the other wonderful scenarios I can think of by having a piece of rubber or plastic bust as they love to do.