When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Does anyone have experience with a head strut snapping? Engine rebuild I’m told. The mechanic found a snapped strut while doing something else. At this point the car is asymptomatic. I’m weighing if I should drive until it really becomes an issue. Any advice welcomed. Don’t know exactly which one it is.
It's almost certainly one of the lower exhaust studs. Very common on 3.0L engines, and from reading the forums it seems to be cropping up on 3.2L engines as well. Which do you have? How many miles?
If you keep driving, you run the risk of more studs breaking. The exhaust gases can start to escape from the cylinder and could damage the sealing surface. That would add significantly to your repair cost.
You could probably keep driving if it's just one stud, but I don't think I would do so for long. If this was the spring, I might drive it all summer and then tear it down in the fall. Maybe push it one more year (depends on the mileage you typically drive), but if you can hear the exhaust escaping, I think it's time to stop driving. Who knows how long you've been driving with this already.
The fix is to pull the heads and replace all the exhaust studs. Some debate on what studs to use, but the threaded 993 steel studs are probably cheapest and are often recommended for non-race motors. Once the heads are off you might as well do a top end rebuild. Depending on mileage and the history of the motor you could keep your costs down by leaving the bottom end alone and not splitting the case. But I know Iceman here only replaced the studs and then reassembled. It really depends on how confident you are with the condition of your motor, how many miles, and budget.
A lot of us would do this repair ourselves, and send the heads out for rebuild. It's doable if you are reasonably handy.
I appreciate your help. The motor is an original 87 3.2. It has around 85k miles on it. Sadly my wrenching skills are none existent, so I would need the help of a professional. I’m up in the Rockies so at least this happened, I found out about it, as driving season came to an end. Top end will do the motor good me thinks. If you weren’t doing the work yourself, who would you trust with it? How much do you think the budget should be? I’m going to take some mech classes at the local college once this stops. I would love to do the work myself.
strap yourself in my friend as the sticker shock may put yopu on your butt !!
As mark points out engine studs are becoming commonplace and actually have been for a while .
Engine has to come out. the cam carrier and heads have to come off just as your exploded diagram shows. Additionally you have to look at the clutch while you are in their and decide if you want to do both sides of the engine while its out , just the lower 12 ( which are typical ) or all 24.
This is going to sail North of 10G in a hurry i would imagine if you are not doing it yourself.
As far as where, connect with your local Porsche Club chapter and see what local independents are in your area, i would NOT recommend a dealer as usually the real expertise on these cars has long retied and moved on from dealers.
There may even be people on here from your area that might chime in. Also post on Pelican as there are people from all over the US on their that might know someone that can do the work.
I was going to guess $10K-$15K. Even if you don't do it yourself, I think it will help you talk to the shop if you know what is involved: How to Rebuild and Modify Porsche 911 Engines
Mark
Well...
If you buy a head stud kit and gasket kit, it will only set you back about $1,000 bucks... Does not include any cylinder head work or other maintenance.
11-06-2020, 12:34 AM
Broken head strut help
