Tools question (again a bit stupid)

[arnebret]

I keep asking these stupid questions... but hey, over here it seems that car hardware stores aren't supposed to know a damn thing about cars... and tools.

I needed tools for the following:
- Removal and installation of piston rings (pretty regular job)
- Removal of pulleys on the balance shafts and crankshaft
- Removal of head stuts
- Piston ring compressor

Now, the ONLY thing the guy at the hardware shop undersootd was the piston ring compressor, because he just looked it up in his computer. For all the other tasks, he had NO idea what tool i needed. Now, of course, this is the last time i ever set foot in that place, but i still have a bit of a problem: WHAT TOOLS DO I NEED??

Any tips on how to accomplish the tasks above are more than welcome. Besides that, it seems that over in the US, car hardware stores are a bit more common, because the only store i could find in a 15 mile range was that ****ty one. If you think about the fact that i'm living in the most dense area of the country, you'll notice how big the car DIY industry is over here.

[bazar01]

Most of the Porsche special tools can be found here so you will have an idea how they look. http://www.arnnworx.com.
The ring compressor and installation tool, metric socket set and torque wrench are common tools over here. Other than that, that's pretty much it.

[AFJuvat]

I needed tools for the following:
- Removal and installation of piston rings (pretty regular job)
You don't really need tools to remove and install piston rings - if you are careful, you can do it by hand with little to no difficulty.

- Removal of pulleys on the balance shafts and crankshaft

You need the following Porsche Special Tools: (best source in Europe that I'm aware of is the Porsche Centers)

Balance shaft pulley holder P9200 Order # 000.721.920.00
Flywheel lock: P9206 Order # 000.721.920.60

- Removal of head stuts

Any Stud remover will suffice. Stahlwille and Hazet both make good ones.

- Piston ring compressor

The Porsche ring compressor is expensive. Any good quality ring compressor with that has a range of 95 - 110mm is more than adequate.

AFJuvat

[early_944]

As inexperienced as I am in the car repair world, I have gained a very meek knowledge in this feild. But what I do know that is if you are going to work on an older car that has been touched by another living soul that thought he knew what he was doing, you are going to have to have more than just the specific tools that would seem reasonable. I have a ton of tools locked away in a very large garage and still I don't have enough. It seems that the same job on different cars require a multitude of different tools. One time the harmonic balancer may just pull off by hand, and the next time you are disassembling the block because the bolt in the main refuses to come out. To as the question, what tool do i need doesn't have a specific answer. The more cars you work on, the more you will see the need to have more and more tools.

Sometimes you will have a hard time even finding the tool you know exists. I have been in many situations where making my own tool is the only result for my search.

Not to rant on too long about tools, you just have to go with the flow. Just get an idea of what needs to happen in order to get the job done, and try to imagine which tool will complete the job best.

bye

[IceShark]

I'm not certain exactly how this general concept applies to the alusil engine block but to do the piston rings the pistons have to come out of the top. What happens is you wear a ridge in the bore at the top and the rings hang up on it and you can't get the piston out. So you need a ridge cutter to shave that ridge off each bore.

Then you are probably going to need a measurement tool to check how out of round the bores are and if you need to have them slightly overbored to the first oversize piston rings. And I seem to recall there is only 1 oversize set of rings available. Not 2 or 3 like regular motors. Plus I think those rings are expensive as hell so you probably do want a ring removal and install tool just too make sure you don't snap one of the new rings. And maybe a ring grove scraper tool if there is carbon built up in the groves, though a broken ring will work if you are careful not to nick the grove metal too much.

Another problem is if you find the bores are still fairly round do you have to lap the cylinder walls anyway so the new rings set correctly? Alusil is a little tricky to do that and you would want to take that to a machine shop to have them do it. I don't think anyone can do that with the block in the car so you are looking at pulling the engine.

You may want to think about not buying the extra tools for a ring job, pull the motor out and take it to a machine shop and have them do the work. I don't think the machine shop labor charges would be too expensive and you pretty much have to take it to them anyway if the cylinder walls need to be trued up.

[AFJuvat]

Originally posted by IceShark
I'm not certain exactly how this general concept applies to the alusil engine block but to do the piston rings the pistons have to come out of the top. What happens is you wear a ridge in the bore at the top and the rings hang up on it and you can't get the piston out. So you need a ridge cutter to shave that ridge off each bore......

944 motors do not get wear ridges. As long as they bore out correctly, and there is no obvious scoring or shiny spots on the cylinder wall surface, there is no need to bore or lap the cylinder walls.

AFJuvat