Update! Helping hand in Calgary...

strikinglight · 08-27-2008, 11:42 PM

So an update... I have been reading and reading and well reading about how to take one of the apart and jumped right in!

I should have the head off Thursday So I will see how bad it is when I get there. I called a local shop to see what it cost to rebuilt a head... (Many944's I think I will be taking you up one your offer) As far as the timing belts go I think I may be in over my knowledge level right now. I have no doubt I could learn and figure it out I just don't want the gas to go bad! lol
So if anybody in Calgary would like to share some wisdom I would be forever grateful! Slam why the hell do you live so far away?!

John_AZ · 08-28-2008, 05:08 AM

The small while you are at it stuff is really important AFTER you get the head on and follow the torque procedure carefully. Do not cut corners on hoses, ICV mounts, cleaning, hose clamps, vac hoses, heater control valve, injector seals and injector cleaning.

I read from another post about the high cost of using UPS shipping from the USA to Canada. USPS seems to be the best.
http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html

Good luck,

John_AZ
1988 924S + 1987 924S

strikinglight · 08-30-2008, 08:22 PM

I got he head off... a bit perplexed as there in no visible damage and no missing teeth on the timing belt... To be fair this is my first and I just kind of jumped right in!

Here is what I found.

John_AZ · 08-30-2008, 09:21 PM

Please take 4 photos of the cylinders. Do you have/see any scratches where the piston rings may have taken a small chunk of the carbon from the head and caused damage? The litmus test is your fingernail. If you see a scratch does your fingernail catch on it?

Shadow scratches on the side can be ignored.

Good job so far. Watch how you store the cam and lifters.

John_AZ
1988 924S + 1987 924S

strikinglight · 08-30-2008, 09:25 PM

Thanks for the reply. I will take some closer shots in the morning. I can't see any marks where a valve would have hit.

What the best way to clean them?

Also how should I be storing those parts?

Thanks!

John_AZ · 08-30-2008, 10:10 PM

The head will need to be taken to a shop. Easy.
Your 4 to 6 hour task is to clean the top of the block.
Use soft tools like brass to get off the old gasket. Do NOT put any scratches on the block. Acetone helps. Put rags in all holes to avoid more stuff from falling in while you work. Lots of rags stuffed in. Work slow.

Do not remove the ring of carbon on the top of the inner cyl wall
Vacuum out the crap and coolant in the passages between the cyl and block.
Look closly at the back passage deep bottom and you may see a pile of gunk that should be sucked out. It is goop that seems to accumulate in this area.

The top of the pistons. Flame suit ON. Carbon-some take it off---Some do not . The reason for NOT taking it off is to avoid chunks falling down and getting caught by the rings and thus scratching the walls. It is your call. Some take a soft scraper and take it off carefully while the piston is at the top of the block.

Keep the cam upside down with the lifters UP. Do not let them empty. Some store them in a big mason jar with oil. There is a "thumb" test to see if you have a weak or bad lifter. I do not know how to judge myself.

Good Luck

John_AZ

earlr85944 · 08-31-2008, 03:10 AM

put some rags or paper towels in the bores before cleaning the deck, just makes it easier to clean the mess when done.

pic #1 shows damage, the valve is not seated and there will not be any compression on that cyl

Slam · 09-01-2008, 03:14 PM

Lots of good points here. And I agree about using USPS and NOT using UPS.

It's hard to tell for sure about the damage but in pic one it does appear that the exhaust valve isn't seating. You won't see damage to the piston tops 'cause basically the valves are designed to accommodate the pistons in the event of a collision and not vice versa. They're hollow sodium-filled rods and the pistons are slugs, basically. Moot point if you're replacing the head.

Right now your big job is cleaning. I used acetone, an ice scraper and some very gentle sanding.

Oh yeah - I don't live far away. YOU do!

Good luck and call anytime.

many944s · 09-01-2008, 04:37 PM

It's tough to tell from the photo if the exhaust valve is damaged or not. Some of the original Porsche part number valves (928.xx...) were thicker in the seat area than others. I have actually pulled 3 different thickness exhaust valves from standard NA heads that all had the same part number!!

-Nick

Zero10 · 09-01-2008, 11:26 PM

Don't know the whole story but I am rather local. Nice to see another 944 in Calgary, sucks that it is not running properly.

I had my head work done by a local shop here in town when I rebuilt my 951's engine, they did amazing work. I can't recall their name, precision engine rebuilders or something, located just off blackfoot trail.