Is it a good deal?

[Brandon85-944]

Alright,

I have had the embarrising problem of smoking (car that is) for some time now and summer is coming up and I want to fix the problem. I ran into a web page that offered a viable solution and it doesn't seem that expensive to me. (of course i'm not that smart and all, heeeyuck heeeyuck)

The deal can be found at www.944online.com They offer a rebuilt cylinder head. I have diagnosed the problem to be rings.( Oil on plug, blue smoke above about 4000 rpms, low compression on cylinders) So I figure why not just get a new head like these guys offer. I emailed about the price and they told me it would be $450 dollars WITH a trade in of the old head. Doesn't include gaskets or belt. Does include new seals, new guides, valve job, and pressure checked, and a 1 year warranty.

Is this a good deal?

What other questions should I ask?

Is that all that is really included with a rebuilt head or are there some other things I don't know about that are implied?

Thanks for the input yall!!! GO GATORS!!!!

Brandon85-944 (early) w/about 125,000miles

[justin]

Well if the problem is the rings, a new head will just make it worse,if it's your rings that are bad, well, then thats what you need to replace.
Good luck

[Brandon85-944]

I assume you are referring to piston rings. I don't think that's where the problem is. Are the rings located in the engine block?...That would be under the cylinder head I'm assuming? Anybody else want to comment on this deal? good bad?

Brandon85-944

[Eduardo Castrejón Elbjorn]

First check if are or are not the problem the piston rings.

[85944na]

piston rings are in the block, it really does not sound like you need a head. And in either case, some smoking should not cause the need for a new head, maybe a headgasket, etc, but unless your head is warped or damaged I think you should focus on your actual problem, what rings are you talking about?

[97XRAY]

Clean the engine (while cool), idle in the driveway, watch. Tell us from where the oil is coming - or second best, where the smoke is coming from.
It could be just a camshaft cover gasket... there's no way to know without finding out where the oil is coming from.

[Brandon85-944]

by smoking I meant coming out the tail pipe. ugh..why can't it be something easy to fix...damn college it always get in the way of everything important...my car

[todwic]

Originally posted by Brandon85-944
by smoking I meant coming out the tail pipe. ugh..why can't it be something easy to fix...

There is a bbs commited to the restoration, repair, or daydreaming about a car, and you wonder why a simple R & R procedure w/o further investigation nec. is all you need? I realize that was a sarcasticaly rhetorical question, but the answere is: It's a Porsche.

damn college it always get in the way of everything important...my car

LOL, you'll be able to buy a slew of 944's and an on tap mechanic when you get through with school. Nothing worth anything is ever easy.

[Brandon85-944]

Everybody tells me the same thing about college....it's not what you learn. It's whether or not you can get that peace of paper at the end that says that you survived the journey. Basically people higher college grads because they are "trainable"...I'm only going to remember 5% anyway!!!!!! Oh well...I guess I have to stick it out....should have been a history major...would have been easier....ohhhhhhhhh ohhh...I got it ..Health and Nutrition major...I'll switch tommorrow...!!!! LOL

P.S. all in a joke...I don't plan on ending college...although it has crossed my mind!

[macreel]

Brandon85-944...did you check your compression dry or wet? ie, for wet
numbers, squirt 1-2 tablespoons of oil into sparkplug hole and compare
the pressure with the number for no-oil-in-cylinder. If the pressure is
greater "wet" you probably need rings.

You could do a leakdown test on cylinders and listen for air leaks:
Intake manifold hiss = valve, intake leak
Tail pipe/header hiss = valve, exhaust leak
Oil dipstick tube hiss = rings/piston leak
Oil filler hole hiss = maybe valve guides leak

this 'hiss' testing is a little flakey but might give you a clue with other data. rings/...leak is a block fix;others are a head jobs.

G'luck

Macreel

[scottmandue]

Brandon,

IF what is wrong with your engine is the "rings" (and yes smoke at the tail pipe can be an indicator of that)
After you have done the above tests and confirm is what you need.
FWIW the rings go around the pistons to seal them in the cylinders and keep the oil in the crankcase from leaking up into the combustion chamber.

[interglossa]

When your porsche starts smoking, you might as well rebuild the engine. It's gonna cost you a big chunk of change to get it diagnosed so you might as well get a rebuild kit and do it right so as to not have to do it again.

[DangerIsland]

What kind of smoke is it? If it's black, you might not need a rebuild, if it's white, or blue, that's a different story. Which is it?

[profssr2017]

Originally posted by Brandon85-944
"...I'm only going to remember 5% anyway!!!!!!"

That's about five times more than I rememberd from college!!! And about 50 times more than I remember from graduate school!!!

[Brandon85-944]

hahaah...that's funny professor.

Macreel,

Why would the pressure be greater or less when wet? Can you give me the break down mechanically of how the wet compression test works? Is that the same as a leak down test?

[macreel]

Brandon... In a wet test the oil adheres to rings, piston & cylinder walls.
The surface tension and adhesion of the oil help seal the chamber above the piston so that when the valves are all closed the pressure can build &
won't leak through valve seats and guides and past rings into crankcase.
If rings are no good, the compressed air flows into crankcase, lowering
pressure readings on gauge.

Leak down test is different. Put the piston at Top Dead Center,TDC, so
all valves are closed, and pressurize the cylinder through spark plug hole
with (~50-100 psi)shop air and appropriate fitting, flywheel locked. Any
leak out of the cylinder can, maybe, be traced and cause revealed.