70 S, RHD, Signal Orange, UK->Australia->UK

[inaglasshouse]

Thanks all!
Feroz - found on eBay, but from someone I've met in real life. Did require a trip to Slough to collect... who dares wins!

[yoda]

Excellent work!!

[PMNorris]

Wonderful seats. Very nice

[johnM]

Seats can make a car, they look wonderful. Great buy.

[inaglasshouse]

Minor update...

With
- refurbed throttle bodies fitted and looking lovely
- clutch friction plate replaced with the correct one, so it actually engages with the gearbox input shaft....
- oil leaks allegedly fixed (spoiler alert - not fixed) and oil cooler pressure tested
... Barry and I bunged everything back in the car.
Good news:
Still runs, throttle bodies work, clutch and gearbox now seem to be functioning as intended.
Bad news:
My cunning scheme to replace the throttle linkage with a single "morse" cable is rubbish. Cable is far too draggy. Turns out Porsche knew what they were doing. Accordingly I will revert to their scheme...
Still pissing oil. So the top end leaks were not the (only) problem...
That was a bit of a bummer.

We spent a fair bit of time trying to figure out where the oil is coming from, and concluded that (even though the seals seem fine and the cooler has been pressure tested) it's coming from the cavity where the oil cooler meets the block. Note I am not saying from the cooler, or from the cooler seals - there are other possible culprits in that area...
The day ended with a partial engine drop to allow the oil cooler to be removed (again).

[BILLY BEAN]

Good news and bad news Richard. One step forward then one step back. It is frustrating and a little dispiriting at times. Hopefully you can identify the leak shortly and all will be sorted. At least the induction side seems resolved.
Regards, Kirk

[inaglasshouse]

Hi Kirk
Yes, a little trying...
I'm starting to see the wisdom of your approach - dyno run before trying to put the engine in a car... Must be a more efficient way of finding leaks and other snags, surely? Although not a cheap way, I guess...
Cheers, Richard.

[BILLY BEAN]

Richard,
so far the dyno first approach, for the ST, appears to be a favourable one. There were many unknowns with the engine soecification so it seemed the best thing to do. When the engine was installed it started first turn of the key and the only leaks were fuel lines to the fuel filter. However, as you say it is an expensive option even though the first service was completed after the dyno runs. Kirk

[inaglasshouse]

Sounds good, I'm suitably jealous of your oil tight engine!
If the engine needs to come out again, even if I think "I've definitely found the leak this time", I will switch to the dyno plan.

[Gary71]

Shame about the morse cable idea, I was planning to copy that!

The only dry 911 engine is one with no oil in...

Hope you find the leak soon!

[inaglasshouse]

Thanks Gary
I know they all leak a bit, but this is more of a trickle than a weep. Enough to make me worry about an oil fire on the RH heat exchanger!
I will find it... more later...

[Gary71]

Agreed, trickles need fixing, drips don’t

[inaglasshouse]

So here is the leak (engine running). This is at the joint between the block and the oil cooler:



With cooler removed, the area looks like this:



And Porsche has been kind enough to give us a clue about one possible source for a leak:



Close up of the cast-in pipe on my engine:



At this point we have a suspect, but no proper smoking gun. Mainly because, on my engine, the side of the cast-in pipe outside the oil cooler cavity is in exactly the same state, and is not leaking. Still, can't hurt to follow the procedure in the service bulletin, which can be summarised as "gunk it up".

Conceivably we might also have some leakage from the studs, so they will get Dowty washers and probably some gunk for good measure.

All other suggestions welcomed before I put it back together, put in yet more new oil, and try it again...

[Gary71]

Maybe chemical metal might be a better ‘gunk it up’ method?

I guess the casting is porous

[inaglasshouse]

Maybe chemical metal might be a better ‘gunk it up’ method?

I guess the casting is porous

Thanks Gary. Yes, agree.
Conventional wisdom over on Pelican, including from Dempsey, is that J B Weld is a good choice. Plenty of "it worked for me" testimonials over there.

The casting is really thin in that area. Here's a pic from the inside of the engine (post 10 of the thread):
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche- ... stion.html
Barry and I concluded that, while not formally under pressure, there's an awful lot of oil being flung around by the crankshaft in that area. Very thin casting, which being 50 years old may have flaked away from the cast-in pipe (as in the Pelican photo), could easily let some oil out. Although I do wonder if if can possibly be leaky enough to be the whole story of my significant leak...

For the seals around the studs a conventional liquid gasket (Elring Curil-T in my case) is gunk of choice, I reckon. Along with bonded rubber washers (aka Dowty seals).

Wish me luck, all comments welcomed!