Pulling Engine on Carrera 4S

[Gloucester]

18 months ago I picked up a pristine 2002 Carrera 4S. A garage queen with 38k miles. Bought it to drive and quickly cranked 10 k miles onto it. Then the noises began. Lifters? Quart of oil every 200 miles, etc. Decided to pull the engine and take a look. From the Pelican Tech article. Shows loosening the trans to take trans with engine. My manual trans is fine. Which is better, just pull the engine alone or pull both together? The 4S has additional bracing, drive shaft, etc. I put in a 2 post lift, have all kinds of lifting/lowering gear. I suspect scored cylinders and collapsed lifter(s). Plan is to disassemble and send block to LN Engineering for new cylinder liners.

[JFP in PA]

It is a matter of preference depending upon what you intend to do. Based on your description, I'd drop both as a unit and then separate them. Takes less time.

[JJK78-951]

I just picked up a c2 with a bad motor that i'm going to be posting about soon and just pulled my motor/trans in my garage with no lift. It can be done leaving the transmission in the car but as JFP in PA said it takes less time and in my opinion is easier. Since you have a lift just get a sturdy table to set the motor onto and drop it out as a whole unit. Mine is an automatic which has a lot more BS in the way but with a manual all you need to do is remove 2 bolts for the slave cylinder, 2 shifter cables and an electrical plug or two and voila~
Not much to it, especially when you compare to removing all transmission bolts in the car, supporting the transmission, then wiggling the motor out without damaging anything.

Good luck with the project!

[Gloucester]

OK. Sounds good, I'll pull the tranny and engine together. With the 4S there are more bolts, brackets but at least they are accessible. I like the idea of lifting the car up off the engine/trans rather than lowering away. Identified one of my rattles...the water pump bearings are gone, you can see the pulley jumping around, but oddly no coolant leak.

Back at it!

[JJK78-951]

You should be sure to replace to Air Oil Separator while you're in there as well!

[Gloucester]

So I thought I'd update. As suggested, I removed the engine/tranny together. I can't stress enough how easy and safe it is to do any kind of work once you have a two post lift. I paid $1500 for a brand new one. Greg Smith model. Sturdy unit. Money well spent. The other thing I'd suggest. Unless you're a pro, go down to Harbor Freight and buy every 1/4" and 3/8" metric socket and accessory you can find. Swivels, extensions, crow's feet, ratchets, go nuts. Bolts are inaccessible and corroded. It makes life a lot easier.

So engine came out and I stripped it down to "long block". I got nervous going through the manual and seeing all the "special tools" needed. Initially, I decided to send the engine to RND for a total rebuild. Then out of curiosity, I pulled the oil pan, clean. Pulled the IMS. Perfect. Pulled off a valve cover, everything was perfect. At that point, decided to pull it apart and rebuild myself. Stripped engine down. Found what I expected, scored #4 & #6 cylinder. Classic. As I was going along, I made all the "special tools" I needed. Understand what the tool needs to do, then model on the pics in the manual. Sent engine blocks to LN Engineering. Opening up to 3.8 ltr. (RND won't). Upgrading to ceramic IMS, HD head bolts, etc. Heads just came back from race shop. Cleaned, checked, re-lapped with new stem seals. All the hydraulic lifters act smoothly, won't replace. Now I'm just cleaning everything, painting the mufflers parts. I'll replace any bolts/nuts/studs that are screwed into engine with stainless. Air/Oil sep will get replaced. New clutch too. Used Pelican Parts for everything, they even sourced me Porsche OEM parts not in their catalog. Blocks are due end April so I'll post as I go!

P

[Gloucester]

Well I'm done. Runs like a scalded cat. Via LN Engineering bored out to 4.0 liter. Big pickup in torque. This was my first porsche water cooled rebuild. Made all the tools myself, easy. Understand what you are trying to accomplish, and fab the tools. Again, a good lift is the way to go. I did update a number of items. Obviously the IMS update, pinned IMS shaft, ARL rod end bolts and head bolts, new water pump, tStat, heads re-lapped and new stem seals. Time to find another project!

[rbogh901]

might as well show a couple photos of your work since it sounds like it went well...

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by Gloucester

Well I'm done. Runs like a scalded cat. Via LN Engineering bored out to 4.0 liter. Big pickup in torque. This was my first porsche water cooled rebuild. Made all the tools myself, easy. Understand what you are trying to accomplish, and fab the tools. Again, a good lift is the way to go. I did update a number of items. Obviously the IMS update, pinned IMS shaft, ARL rod end bolts and head bolts, new water pump, tStat, heads re-lapped and new stem seals. Time to find another project!

2002 valve springs often fail & drop a valve into the cylinder...

[mikedsilva]

What a thread! OP sounds like a very capable wrench.
I'm crossing over from aircooled where there are multitudes of detailed build threads on aircooled motors.. however I am yet to find a comprehensive one on a watercooled car?

Would love to be pointed in the right direction.

[914turboford]

Originally Posted by Gloucester

Well I'm done. Runs like a scalded cat. Via LN Engineering bored out to 4.0 liter. Big pickup in torque. This was my first porsche water cooled rebuild. Made all the tools myself, easy. Understand what you are trying to accomplish, and fab the tools. Again, a good lift is the way to go. I did update a number of items. Obviously the IMS update, pinned IMS shaft, ARL rod end bolts and head bolts, new water pump, tStat, heads re-lapped and new stem seals. Time to find another project!

This is freakin' awesome!
Do you mind stating how much you spent on parts and services you didn't do yourself?

[rokemester]

Originally Posted by mikedsilva

What a thread! OP sounds like a very capable wrench.
I'm crossing over from aircooled where there are multitudes of detailed build threads on aircooled motors.. however I am yet to find a comprehensive one on a watercooled car?

Would love to be pointed in the right direction.

You get spoiled with the 911 Tech Forum! There are some awesome contributors who take the time to document and shake their work. Maybe this poster will come through at some point.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by rokemester

You get spoiled with the 911 Tech Forum! There are some awesome contributors who take the time to document and shake their work. Maybe this poster will come through at some point.

Here is a link to my 2nd Engine rebuild in 2011 with LN parts :

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/649044-3-6-rebuild.html[img]http:



//forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads26/For_Sale_Engine__1_0111616884749.jpg[/img]

[mikedsilva]

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

Here is a link to my 2nd Engine rebuild in 2011 with LN parts :

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/649044-3-6-rebuild.html[img]http:



//forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads26/For_Sale_Engine__1_0111616884749.jpg[/img]

cool!

[Gianni at Pelican Parts]

Originally Posted by Gloucester

Well I'm done. Runs like a scalded cat. Via LN Engineering bored out to 4.0 liter. Big pickup in torque. This was my first porsche water cooled rebuild. Made all the tools myself, easy. Understand what you are trying to accomplish, and fab the tools. Again, a good lift is the way to go. I did update a number of items. Obviously the IMS update, pinned IMS shaft, ARL rod end bolts and head bolts, new water pump, tStat, heads re-lapped and new stem seals. Time to find another project!

Right on! LN Engineering makes some phenomenal quality parts.

[Gloucester]

Well its been 3 years since I last posted. This is a follow-up to my last posts where I rebuilt and upgraded the 996 engine. Here's a little review of the reliability of said rebuild.. The 996 engine has 2 Achilles heels. One is of course the IMS, rare but if it fails its total devastation. Upgrade the bearing before it fails, easy and cheap. The other is bore scoring. This is a slow insidious failure that requires a total rebuild. These are the signs I noted. The left exhaust tip is black and sooty on the inside. Oil burn rate seems high. Then you'll begin to hear a soft tick, like a failed valve lifter. Then I heard a second soft tick. Oil burn rate is severe. Change the oil, its black within a few hundred miles. That oil burning leads to misfires and check engine lights.

I put in a 2 post car lift which was the best money spent. Dropped the engine, disassembled and sure nuff, #4  cylinders shot. Block went to LN Engineering where they resleaved to 4.0 liter. They have a cafeteria like menu of upgrades. Race head bolts, check, heads out to be cleaned, re-lapped, check, Replace all the expensive and inexpensive parts like AOS, IMS upgrade, IPD intake manifold, clutch, T-stat, water pump, oil psi sender, inaccessible water hoses, spin on oil filter, etc. All compliments of our host. Carefully reassembled. Filled with break in oil, turned the key and WOW! This is one fast car. Its now three years later. I live in Portland, ME so this is a 3 season car. daily driver. In that time, I've had zero issues. Starts instantly, goes like crazy. Has the factory sport switchable exhaust and is standard 6 speed. Love this car. But here's the rest of the story as to why this is such a great car. Admit it or not, I'm spoiled with the new car electronics, dash GPS, hands free phone, Bluetooth. The 996 dash lends itself to upgrade. For a grand, I bought a kit that gave me GPS, hands free phone, AM/FM, CD, back-up camera and Bluetooth with all that Android connectivity. The kit came with panels and all parts to replace the Bose system. It integrated with the existing amplifier in the frunk. The only thing missing is steering wheel controls. So, what! All I've done in the last 3 years is change the oil/filter in the fall before its winter hibernation. If you have one, keep it. My 4S is worth significantly more today than when I bought it, which is also pretty nice.