1983 headgasket change?

icallshotgun · 08-18-2009, 07:28 PM

i got a crazy deal from my friend. he wants 900$ for his 83' 944.
the car runs temporarily, it smokes from burning coolent, needs a new head gasket.
i got the PDF manual from a guy on vortex.

i was wondering how hard of a fix this should be. normally i would think it would be nothing but on this car i heard its a different story. i have some friends that say they've done it, but never on this car of coarse.

id love to get it running nice without paying for labor because they would want 1k for it when the gasket costs nothing.
thanks.

HondaDustR · 07:52 PM

Assuming nothing is stuck and there are no WYIT (while you're in there) projects, it could be done over a weekend with about $150 in gaskets and other needed parts. Add a trip to the machine shop to have the head checked for warpage and possible shaving to get it in spec (head gaskets usually go bad for a reason). The cam belt is loosened from the camshaft sprocket, ~15 bolts and the cam tower comes off (you don't even need to remove the cam sprocket if the seals are still good. The whole assembly will just lift off the head in the one piece you see it in once all the allen hex bolts are removed), the fuel rail, intake and exhaust manifolds are removed, coolant is drained. Then it's disconnecting a couple coolant hoses, 10 nuts, 2 bolts, head comes off, lots of careful cleaning of old gasket, dropping the (fixed) head back on, and putting everything back together the way it came off.

The project escalates if you find out all the front seals are leaking (not hard to fix, just time consuming to get to them all), vacuum hoses under the intake manifold are falling apart, the cam belt/balance belt is of unknown age/milage (if so, do not drive until you change it, or the project might turn into a complete head rebuild, too), the tension and idler rollers for the belts are worn, the water pump is worn or leaking, etc...

Totally doable if you're good with a wrench and can spare some time. Clarks garage ( http://www.clarks-garage.com/ click shop manual on left) and Pelican forums are indispensable to help do it correctly.

...oh, and welcome to the forums. You've come to the right place.

icallshotgun · 08-18-2009, 11:32 PM

Ha yeah thanks a lot you put that all pretty simple.
yeah I got a boost of confidence when I found this site.
I mean to me time and some money on this car is nothing. I love the 944 body style, nothing compares for me. Ive been looking for one for awhile, turns out my friend has one, it runs and he said he was just gunna throw it, he said 900 and i get it.
now i finally have a project.

HondaDustR · 08-19-2009, 11:22 AM

Obviously, there's a bunch of details between the basic steps, but it's still pretty straightforward. I have a couple horror stories I could tell about removing exhaust manifolds, though...and I didn't even break any studs off in the head or strip the threads out.

You may hear the term "wake up a bolt" and it is the act of hammering on the bolt head before trying to loosen it. It's because these motors are all aluminum and steel bolts bond to the aluminum after sitting for awhile. Hitting them first helps crack the bond, otherwise, they may take the threads with them when removed, or at best just be much harder to break loose. This is especially important for stuff like the cam tower bolts (they are on tight and are very inaccessible if you destroy one) and water pump bolts (exposed to coolant, like to corrode/rust, and are only M6 so they'll take the threads out of the block in a heartbeat if you crank on them).

Techno Duck · Techno Duck's Garage

I made a few pictorial posts documenting headgadket jobs on both a n/a and turbo. Should give you a decent idea of what your up against. It's not a bad job really. Posting from my phone so not sure I can find those links for you.

Also for $900 and a blown headgasket, the car better be in damn good shape. Ask about clutch history and
belts / water pump aswell.

Edit- here is one thread from the swap on my 951.
http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/944-turbo-and-turbo-s-forum/417463-phase-one-of-my-project.html

Kinda funny looking back how inexperienced I was.

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/924-931-944-951-968-forum/303984-headgasket-progress-thread.html

John_AZ · 08-19-2009, 11:46 AM

When you pull the head, inspect the cyl walls. If you see a lot of deep scratches that can catch your fingernail---STOP and decide if you want to begin to spend the $500 or so on the gaskets and head work. Take a few pictures of the cyl walls and post here.
If you want a rebuilt head Here is what should happen:
http://www.benms.com/944head.html

Here is a link on testing the lifters again from member many944s. Mark the lifters to the hole. They like to go back to the same slot.
http://www.benms.com/944lifter.html

GL
John_AZ
1988 924S + 1987 924S

Slam · 08-19-2009, 11:51 AM

The HG itself is a pretty straightforward job. The issue is more with the Front Of Engine Service you'll be doing as part of your repairs. It would be a good idea to plan to spend the $1K on the head gasket AND the FOES - you should be able to do it all for that. Then you'll have some carefree motoring ahead of you. At $900, you're in the right way. Pop on over to www.clarks-garage.com and read all about tensioning the timing belts. Congratulations and welcome to the club!

icallshotgun · 08-19-2009, 09:00 PM

first i want to say that you guys are all really helpfull. more then in some of my other forums.

I am going to wait to buy a more solid car, not an 83', more like an 87 or 88 manual.
but really, is it true, does everyone spend nickle and dime on repairing the car. everyone's telling me dont get a 944 its just going to be in the shop. i dont care about maintenance and casual repairs, im a DIY person ha. i just want your word, if you think these cars always break and are less reliable.

Techno Duck · Techno Duck's Garage

Fact is it's a 20+ year old car. Alot of people buy them wanting a cheap Porsche and get what they pay for. It's been said many times before and it's good advice for any old car, buy the best one you can possibly afford.

I bought my n/a with 60k on it and sold it rigt around 100k 4 years later. I tracked that car and daily drove it. Aside from belts and other basic maitenance the only problem i had was a leaking 20 year old headgasket.. No surprise there.

My 951 came with a few grand in recipets and has required nothing other than basic maitenance. All work done on that car was for upgrade purposes.

The short of it is if you buy a cheapo 944 expecting a bargin you may get lucky... But you probably won't.

I have never been stranded by and of the p-cars I've owned.. That includes a 924S, 944 and a 951.

icallshotgun · 08-19-2009, 10:58 PM

yeah im hoping i can get the lucky one ha.
no, if anything ill be doing a lot of 'upgrade purpose stuff' to this car.
My dad works at Porsche so i can get the little things but it is really strict there nowadays so all the tech stuff ill be doing myself.
yeah im just looking for the best one i can find.
right now i cant wait to work on the car.
couple months from now i hope im saying the same thing.