Mike72

Hey Guys,

So I just got my first Porsche. It's a 1968 911T with a 2.4 from a 72T. The car has been sitting for 5 years since the previous owner drove it into the garage and threw a cover on it. Now I am expecting to have lots of surprises after the car has sat for that long but the one that makes me the most nervous is the engine.... I pulled all the plugs and squirted some oil in each spark plug hole, then I got a wrench on the crank pulley, went to turn it clockwise but no luck. Now I haven't put a heck of a lot of force on the wrench but figured it would turn fairly easily. I suppose given that the previous owner probably didn't spray oil in the cylinders or periodically turn the engine over that I could be looking at a seized motor due to corrosion. Is there anything I should try before pulling the motor? Maybe a longer wrench or a breaker bar?

Amber Gramps

Any chance it's in gear?

Mike72

Nope, it's in neutral.

Amber Gramps

OK, try a little harder to turn it. They are super robust engines.

Congratulations, by the way.

I would expect it to turn with moderate pressure on a typical 1/2" drive ratchet.

Mike72

Thanks,

I will give it a go with a little more leverage after work today. The penetrating oil will have had a little more time to work as well so I will keep my fingers crossed.

Also going to have to pull the webers off in order to give them a rebuild and clean the old fuel out from tank to carbs.

theiceman

I would not think the cylinder pistons have seized in place over 5 years . Oil leaks into these cylinders for crying out loud. I would think something else is going on.

Mike72

I really hope you are right, I am going to take a look with a borescope and see how it looks in there.....hoping I don't see anything surprising.

Is there anything else that could be causing the crank pulley to not turn? I have made sure it was in neutral, all plugs out, I have confirmed the fan is free to turn...

theiceman

oh all kinds of things ... but none of them good ... most common thing is a bent valve jamming the piston , have you tried to go back the other way just to see what happens ?

also I do realize you have it in neutral .. but have you tried it with the clutch in just for giggles ?

Mike72

I wasn't considering a bent valve as a possibility as the car was driven into the garage and was running fine when stored. I have not tried to turn it CCW as I was under the impression that could cause some problems with cam chains/tensioners. BTW this car is fitted with the updated oil fed tensioners. Not sure if that is relevant to this situation.

I have not tried with the clutch pressed but will do that today.

theiceman

i am just always dubious of .. " I drove it into the garage and just parked it and never drove it for 5 years"
I always assume the worst and work back from there.

Mike72

I agree with that under most circumstances however I have worked with the previous owner for years and he isn't the type of person who wouldn't be 100% honest about the cars condition.

Mike72

With standard 19 mm wrench and a small extension added I managed to free the crank slightly. So I pulled all the plugs and gave each cylinder another shot of penetrating oil and continued to turn the crank pulley, this time with only the 19mm wrench. No abnormal scraping noises as I completed a couple of rotations of the crank. Hopefully everything is good and I can focus on cleaning the fuel system out.

Anything I should be aware of when draining and cleaning out 5+ year old fuel from the tank to the carbs?? I assume it would be prudent to pull out the sending unit from the tank and have a good look inside?

Mondrian

& change fuel & tank filter. Some folk change the tank too.

Valkuri

It's a complete write off. No value in the thing whatsoever.
Just leave it in my driveway, and I'll get rid of it for you.
Don't forget the keys.

theiceman

I wouldnt think 5 years was too bad, Not great , but not too bad ... As Steve as pointed out before Not all gas is created equal . i went with a guy to see a 911s that had been unstarted for 7 years .. the guy who i went with was a mechanic BTW . He turned the crank ,, saw it was free, then got in the car and fired it it up , coughed blue like no bodies business but after 5 minutes smoothed right out .. We drove it home after a top up of fresh gas .. if i had not been there i would not have believed it ...

he is still driving it tonight and it pulls like crazy.