Freddie Two Bs

Please excuse the dumb questions, but I'm looking at a car that reportedly has one broken head stud. Is it logical to replace all of them studs if one is broken? And does the total labor scale linearly with the number of head studs replaced or is there a base amount of work required for doing just one?

race911

Yes, you'd be foolish to not replace all. (Absent being the total DIY, fix as cheap as humanly possible guy.)

Problem becomes what's been damaged. Has it been broken a long time? If so, you've got to consider damage to the cylinder and head mating. And since you've got the engine down past the cylinders, when was the last time, if ever, that it had a top end/guides replaced. Goes on and on and on.

Ultimately, sellers (especially in this market) never discount enough to make it worth a buyer's while. They always know there's that hopeful buyer who thinks he can get it fixed on the cheap.

Back to the simple answer to your labor question--yes, if you replace one stud, you're only pulling off one bank of cylinders. Which is still 60% of the labor to do everything.

Freddie Two Bs

Many thanks.

Last time anyone lifted the valve covers was in 2007 apparently, and from what I can understand the car was not very well taken care of until recently, so no way of knowing how long it was broken.

sithot

SC's and Carreras break head studs. It's common.
My "new" SC was purchased by a previous owner on the cheap because it had broken studs. He was friendly with a well respected restorer who ended up giving him a "family type" deal as he pulled the engine all the way down (to replace all the studs) but also split the case to install all new bearings in the bottom end too.
The more SC's and Carrera cars I've looked at the more broken head studs show up in the records if they have records.
I'd be inclined to see if it has been done as part of the negotiation process.

It's not if, but when. They will all break eventually.

JCP911S

Although an SC engine can go 250K miles, they still wear. This all depends on how long you plan to keep the car.

Once you pull the engine, you might as well do a total top-end rebuild, which is all new head studs, rings, re-do the heads, timing chains, tensioners, recondition cams, new gaskets and seals, etc, etc, etc,

Non of these is particularly expensive by itself,, but it adds up.... I'd just bite the bullet and budget about $6k, and do it all, and then you'll have an engine that will give you 100K of service. Plus, if you do sell the car, having this work documented will definitely add to the value of your car... so keep the bills!

There is no way a sane seller is going to knock that much off the asking price, but if you should be able to get him down a couple K, which helps.

IMHO, if you like the car in all other respects and the price is reasonable, putting the extra money in a top-end rebuild is good long-term insurance.

Freddie Two Bs

Thanks all - we couldn't agree on the price post this realization, so in the end after long consideration I decided not to pursue the car further.