Common problem?

Blondie · 04-01-2006, 09:18 PM

Turns out ol' faithful - er, I mean piston #2 was long gone...ie the bearing melted down to mush. Cooked through and through.

Im in the middle of deciding whether to get a rebuild done on this engine (the cylinder walls are like mint...this block is in awesome shape,) or buy a complete, running engine and save myself the headache.

Ive been calling around to get quotes on a rebuild, and the first place I call tells me that piston #2 is a real common problem on 944's..apparently it gets cooked all the time from being starved for oil due to the way the oil pan is designed.

I've never heard of that one before...99% of the time it seems to be a timing belt issue...the achilleas heel of the 944, as it were.

The mechanic says theres an oil pan mod out there (he did it to his own 944,) to update your oil pan so the problem never comes back to haunt you. (Involves shaving down a few of the fins inside the pan or something to that effect.) Again, I've never heard of any pan mods either. All I ever hear is praise for how well its designed lol

Anyone else come across a cooked bearing in #2?? Anyone have any experience/know of a 944 that this has happened to?

(OT question - I need to fix some linkage under my auto shifter...how can I get to it?)

auh · 04-01-2006, 10:03 PM

I think thats actually the number 3 engine killer behind balance shaft belt and timing belt. if you search you'll find a ton on the #2 rod bearing spun

WolfeMacleod · 04-01-2006, 10:42 PM

Buy a new short block. Only about $5500 from a dealer.

I plan to at some point. No, really.

Unfortunately the heads have been discontinued.

TheCooler · 04-02-2006, 03:07 AM

Happened to me.

Blondie · 04-02-2006, 08:05 AM

So how bout that oil pan mod? Any takers?

Dantilla · 04-02-2006, 03:15 PM

My pan has been modded, but more importantly is to cross-drill the crank, if the car sees sustained high rpms.

Number two is always the first one to go, but I had both two and three drilled for better oil flow at high rpms when I rebuilt mine.

I raced for a while with a stock engine pulled out of a parts car.

I heard a slight knock when exiting the track after a race. Got home, and when I pulled the drain plug, it was full of shavings because the #2 bearing decided to go take a look around the rest of the engine. I caught it before the entire engine was destroyed. Still had good oil pressure. Drove the car up on the trailer to get home.

VaSteve · 04-02-2006, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dantilla

I heard a slight knock when exiting the track after a race. Got home, and when I pulled the drain plug, it was full of shavings because the #2 bearing decided to go take a look around the rest of the engine. I caught it before the entire engine was destroyed. Still had good oil pressure. Drove the car up on the trailer to get home.

Common problem.
Dantilla's aounds like mine. Drove it off the AAA wrecker and into the garage. Good pressure. I'm shopping for a new engine so I can finish the DE season. No time to machine cranks, etc...I'll rebuild the one I have over the winter when I have more time. I don't think it's too bad

What's this look like to you?

(plus a couple of other threads).

As of last evening...

Razorback1980 · Razorback1980's Garage

Blondie, sounds like you have a pretty decent mechanic. If he owns one, then he should know them I guess. Everything you said was right on with this car. Common problem. Many of the aftermarket racing parts places sell inserts to go in the pan to prevent this problem. I never had this particular problem with mine, but I've read a lot of posts here and other tech forums that say it happens especially on the track. The oil shifts and isn't accessible on high speed corners and the pan inserts corrects that.

I have a friend in the recycling business and I can sometimes find parts if you need to price some....although it's harder for Porsches as they aren't as common as the American built cars. I think I did a search for a crank and the going price was between 150 and 200 and the engines with decent mileage was around 1000. If you need places and phone numbers, let me know or look in my past posts and there should be a long list for engines and I could get you one for a crank.

Blondie · 04-02-2006, 09:23 PM

Hey thanks Razor...much appreciated

My sympathies, VaSteve...I can see you've joined me on the S.S. #2 Rod Bearing lol.. (supporting the block with 2x4's, using the uv yellow shop light..LOL yea, we're on the same boat

)

So apparently this is a common problem, then? At least on the track it seems to be..

But I still find it strange..I mean, I've had this 944 for a few weeks now. Picked it up for a little under 2 g's..wasnt running when I bought it. The last owner told me the number 2 rod had let go. How he knew this without tearing the block down will always be a mystery to me lol

Sold it to me cuz he had his hands full with other projects. The car is an automatic, never track driven (from what I can tell lol) which is why, given the circumstances, I cant see how he could've burned the number 2 bearing. Street driving an automatic??