Installation took 5 hours the second time around, not including adding the oil and steering fluid and test starting the car. (I'll do that when the sun is up.) So wish me luck that the thing works properly now. I don't want to have to cut my times in half again!

Great wrench time ! Hope all goes well with test drive.

Thanks. It's snowing today so the test drive will have to wait. I did notice one odd thing as I was working on the car, though. Between the last time I put the engine in and this time taking it out, the right heat duct was damaged. At first I thought that it was cut or scuffed by something during the installation, but a closer inspection revealed that it was burned. This was almost certainly due to contact with the alternator/battery terminal on the starter. It seems to have at least not started the car on fire, so I am hopeful that it did not also damage the alternator. The contact was probably due to my big copper ring terminal on the alternator wire (to replace the aftermarket alternator noise suppressing equipment that I removed while the engine was out the first time) so I wrapped that terminal in electrical tape and repaired the duct with duct tape. A new duct will be on the engine rebuild "while in there" list for next winter. Or earlier if I feel like my knuckles need more abuse.

Engine rebuild ? Is it showing some signs of weakness or bad oil consumption? I saw you have about 160k. I've seen one guy that's got over 240k on his car without having even the top end done. I also hear that a lot of these cars can be prematurely worn out. Mines got 123k and I'm hoping "NOT to skin my knuckles " for a while. Good luck on test drive after the snow clears.

I have oil leaks that can't be solved without at least pulling the cylinders. Case through bolts seem to be a major culprit. I am the guy who drops oil in the garage at the race track after every DE run I go out on. I also have 15% leak down on one cylinder. Most likely exhaust valve by listening but it's hard to tell for sure. Maybe a rebuild is overkill but I do want to stop the leaks so at least some tear down will be required, and I want to brace for the worst in case I open it up and find all sorts of things out of spec.

I see. If I had to go that far in I would consider a possible rebuild also. Hopefully just a top end for you.

I thought I was going to need a top end as well when I bought mine 6 years ago with just 70k miles and it was leaking oil like crazy.

I just did the usual oil leak fixes that addressed the most common sources. It has been dry for the last 5 years.

Two years ago, I plugged all the leaks I could get to with the engine in the car other than the breather housing and nearby sensors. I probably should have done those while I had it out of the car this time but I didn't want to remove the intake, in part because the area is so dirty and my garage isn't quite ready for prime-time when it comes to degreasing an engine. At any rate, the total number of leaks is down but it does still leak enough to annoy the guy who does my technical inspection for DE events. Plus, rebuilding will be fun, right? :)

Yes, it'a a lot of fun if you have lots of time and money.

I don't have both so I'll just live with it when it starts leaking again and just drive and enjoy it when I can.
I will just pass on the issue to my next of kin who will inherit my car.:D
It will give them a sense of ownership.

I'm sure they'll never forget you that way. :)

Finally some nice weather when I'm at home, so I poured in the oil and steering fluid, topped up the brake fluid (glad I thought of the "MAX is the minimum" rule that I learned last year, as the brake warning light is now cleared after being on during the previous test drive), hooked up the battery, and went for a drive. It turns out that putting the ring gear in the correct direction makes a very noticeable difference in the overall performance of the clutch system. The car drives flawlessly. Better than ever. And the lightweight flywheel is very noticeable in at least one place: blipping the throttle on downshifts. It goes right up to 4,000 rpm faster than I can blink an eye.

Thank you to everyone who posted help, advice, thoughts, or just encouragement on this much longer than originally planned thread. I couldn't have done it without you.

We have all been there.

way to stick with it.

enjoy spring !

stefan

Not really.

But it was good to learn from other's experience.

Just glad Ari found the culprit. Enjoy the car !