rod bearing replacement

[mytrplseven]

I have 121k miles on my 87 944 NA and while I have the pan off I'm planning on replacing the rod bearings. In the past when I rebuilt American motors I did a plastiguage on the rods to see how much, if any, non-standard bore bearings I might need to buy. I can't seem to find any info on this and am looking for some insight from anyone who might have encountered this matter. I'm pretty sure there's quite a few of you out there by now.

[Jfrahm]

You should check them, there have been some reports of issues with non-OEM bearings if I am not mistaken. Also use new rod nuts and consider checking if not reinforcing the oil pickup tube.

I am taking the pan off one of my cars and am curious about other stuff to do while I am in there. Motor mounts? Oil pressure sending unit? I might get the power steering hose rubber replaced. Any other suggestions?

Cheers,
-Joel.

[SolReaver]

Oil cooler seals if they haven't been done.

Set to TDC and Stripe the lower bell housing and FW so you can find TDC easily from underneath.

[Techno Duck]

In my opinion if the car has good oil pressure and the bearings in the car are either original or still the standard clearances (bearing will be marked STD and also have a manufacture date) its not really necessary to plastigauge. Though if you wanted to, the specs are in the factory manual, if i remember right the tolerance is .02-.07. I just did the bearings on my 125k mile 951 which had original rod bearings, all of them fell in the .051 range.



Original, Glyco and OEM... the OEM bearings are made by Glyco and are about twice the price. I recommend getting the Glyco (Non Porsche branded) bearings as the packaging with the Porsche branded bearings is pretty pathetic and there is a chance some will be damaged out of the box. I believe there is no difference between the two other than the brandings.. but thats just my opinion.

[Techno Duck]

To further elaborate a little,

Here is what one of the Porsche bearings looked like out of the box, its hard to see in the picture but there are some very deep nicks in the bearing surface. In talking to people and the supplier i bought these from this is not an uncommon occurrence. Needless to say i was pissed when i found this because it was friday at 7pm and my plan was to have the car back together the following sunday. Luckily WorldPac (part supplier) was open saturdays and had these in stock (and they are local to me).



****ty Porsche packaging..



As far as i can tell the Glyco and Porsche branded bearings are exactly the same. Perhaps the Porsche bearings have a better tolerance but i have not read anything to confirm or deny that. Side by side i could not tell a thing other than the Glyco bearings were in way better condition out of the packaging.

Glyco bearing package. These are about $80 or so for the set vs $40 for 1 bearing (both halves).



While you have the pan off, i highly recommend replacing the oil pickup tube. No better time to replace it, yes they can and do break. Especially if your car is run with no balance shafts, misaligned balance shafts or worn motor mounts. Cost is about $110... cheap insurance to keep you from having to remove the pan again down the road.

[mytrplseven]

those nicked bearings look like they've been in the bottom of my tool box. No excuse for that. I appreciate the info on the oil pickup tube. Motor mounts appear good but don't know if they had vibration problems earlier in her life with the previous owner.

[Jfrahm]

There is a weld-on reinforcement for the pickup tube but I think something could be bent out of sheet metal easily enough and fastened with a hose clamp.

[redranger]

+1 on replacing the pick up tube. Here's what mine looked like, caught it before it did any damage.

[Techno Duck]

Finally got around to it, but i posted a pictorial with some tips on doing the rod bearings. This is on my 951 so a few things dont apply, but for the most part its all the same.

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/944-turbo-and-turbo-s-forum/632754-rod-bearing-and-lower-balance-shaft-reseal-pictorial.html

[db9146]

Anyone have some recent experience shopping for the Glyco bearings to know the best place for pricing?

I have been putting this off but I guess I either need to fix it right or else.

But its only got 49K miles.

[Gawernator]

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[mueller944s2]

Originally Posted by db9146

Anyone have some recent experience shopping for the Glycol bearings to know the best place for pricing?

I have been putting this off but I guess I either need to fix it right or else.

But its only got 49K miles.

I bought them off pelican, but with 49k why would you replace them?

[db9146]

Found some oil in the coolant, from the o-rings I believe, and several folks including the factory have recommended replacing the rod bearings when this happens. I am at least going to pull the caps and check them, I believe.

I've been running synthetic oil but have seen more silver in the last oil change or two than I would expect so I feel like I'm rolling the dice if I don't.

[Jfrahm]

I think you run more risk from cycling the rod bolts than you do from replacing the bearings, unless it's a race car or you have some other factor or symptom. Just MHO.

-Joel.