2.4T engine rebuild - Shock: It actually runs!

[AndrewSlater]

Gary the heads are looking great - good to see your rebuild progressing.

At this rate you will be catching up and passing me - especially with my latest potential set back.
Regards
Andrew

[mycar]

Gary, the magnafluxing of cranks is a common cause of conversation over on the 356 Registry. I Suppose the engines are that bit older and the cranks that bit more delicate but the consensus seems to be that magnafluxing is a must.

Or the ding test.

Hold one end of the crank between thumb and forefinger. Hit the other end with a hammer. If it dings, no cracks.... if it dongs throw it away.

I should think a light tap with a smallish hammer is probably best. This sort of touch...



Have you considered shot peening ?

[Gary71]

Grabbed an hour in the garage tonight for what is for me the most nerve wracking part of the build: Dry build of case, crank and new bearings. Particularly when the consequences of the case being distorted are quite expensive to put it mildly...





Luckily the crank still rotates freely by hand

Now onto the head rebuild, rod balance etc and of course endless cleaning before it goes back together properly!

[Gary71]

A few more jobs today: Fitted all the studs back to the heads double checking (and adjusting!) the length of the exhaust studs by dry building with the exhaust so they don't stick out too far into the hex nut and stop me getting the tool in properly.


The machine shop fitted Timeserts to replace my dodgy helicoils for the exhaust studs


I've lapped all the valves in with a fine paste just to make sure.


I've started setting the preload on the valve with shims under the valve spring. As I've had the seats recut and have new valves chances are it will have changed, the first one required one additional shim.




Once everything is measured then I can rebuild the heads for the last time with the new stem seals and springs.

[Gary71]

After a few days driving around Scotland in the beautiful sunshine is time to get back in the garage.

First head is now back together and holding nicely onto its white spirit.



Only problem is I think I'm going to run out of additional valve spring shims as I was a bit optimistic on quantity

[johnM]

Hi Gary

Make sure you grind/lap the heads into the barrels.

[Gary71]

All done John Four heads completed tonight and lapped onto their matching barrel.

Unfortunately I've bent one of the valve stem seals so final assembly of No.6 will have to wait.

So tomorrow's jobs are the last two heads and start weighing pistons/rods and balancing as/if required.

[Gary71]

All the heads are now shimmed up thanks to the kind offer of spare shims from Tony, usual charity donation on its way. I still have a few over so these can do the rounds again if anyone needs some. I need to buy one valve stem seal to fully complete the job.

All the pistons were within a gramme so didn't need doing, but I tweaked them anyway as I bought some scales!



I spent a few hours making a jig (various old bearings, camera mounts and bits of wood!) and tried to get consistent end to end measurements on the rods, but I've given up. They were only 6g out overall and I couldn't measure end to end within 10g! Everytime I put the rod on the jig I'd get a different reading despite my best efforts to get them level and unconstrained.

So I've decided they are going to the machine shop for balancing, and whilst there resizing big ends and replacing small end bearings.

I've now started the painful detail cleaning process on a few parts. It's so boring, but at least you get a little high in the process...

[Gary71]

Cam carriers now cleaned within an inch of their lives and back through the dishwasher one last time... I've reckon I've spent at least 6 hours on these. I can now see where all the money goes on a rebuild, it's the hours spent with bloody toothbrushes and wipes!


A friend is making up some new plugs for the cam spray bars so that's the last job before these can be rebuilt properly.

I've started on cleaning the crank cases, another massive job.


I've ordered some long spiral brushes so I can do my best with the oilways, although I think the jet wash will be the final move just to blast every little orifice out.

[911hillclimber]

Bob Watson recon'd on 1 week to clean and prep, 1 week to build a 911 6 pot.

It takes forever!

Tough job Gary but prep is everything.
It will be running before the end of April.

[Nine One One]

I've ordered some long spiral brushes so I can do my best with the oilways, although I think the jet wash will be the final move just to blast every little orifice out. [/quote]


This any good for cleaning the oil ways?
https://www.aldi.co.uk/high-pressure-pi ... 4007556400

[Gary71]

It's been a while... Life got in the way again I'm starting to sympathise with Brendan's 5 year rebuild timing.

I grabbed a few hours today and fitted the oil gallery plugs. They were too tight to push in so the carriers went in the oven for half an hour then they could be gently tapped home.



Also more time cleaning:

I've been ignoring the oil cooler for a while as it was never going to be easy to sort out, but this afternoon it was its time. I've not got an 'after' picture but needless to say it was better than this. Externally it was caked in grit filled grease, presumably from various leaks and the CV joints spraying it. A litre or two of brake cleaner inside and out it looks much better and ready for clean oil! It's from 1984 according to the date stamp.



Also did one of the chain housings. Mission for tomorrow is to chase my rods from the machine shop then I have no more excuses to not bolt it back together.

[AndrewSlater]

Good to see some progress Gary - in my book any progress is worth having.

Life got in the way again

I can definitely relate to that.

[Gary71]

Well life is still very definitely in the way, but my rods arrived back today so my list of excuses to not crack on and commit to the build are slipping away! The rods have new small ends, honed to match my gudgeon pins, big ends resized, and then balanced overall and end to end.

My scales put the overall weight difference to be within half a gramme so I can't complain at that!



Everything is pretty much clean and I have all the parts. So next step is to borrow a calibrated torque wrench from work and get on with it

Maybe a long weekend will be enough to get the important bits together...

[Gary71]

and I have all the parts.

...apart from the Porsche OE head gaskets. Something to order tomorrow.