KEVIN ANDERSON

I'm slowly building and engine on the side for my 1987 944 Turbo that is running fine. I heard about the girdle dowels but never really knew what people were talking about. Now I do. The girdle pops right into place at the rear of the block because the dowel holds it in place. Porsche drilled a wider dowel hole at the front of the girdle but didn't use it. So without the nuts and bolts being torqued down it can slide around up to 2mm. I imagine even with everything torqued down it can still slide. Does anybody know where to obtain a dowel sleeve that will fit? I know a couple of the high end machine shops will insert 8 to 10 sleeves. That's what they really are sleeves. The bolt holes are wider than the studs and bolts so that allows the movement. The inserted sleeves fill the gap between the side of the hole and the bolt / stud so it stays in place. Lindsey charges $300 for 4 dowels. Just wondering if anybody ever did it themselves. The benefits seem to be pretty good. The girdle is held firmly to the block and the crank can pretty much rotate as straight as it's capable of. Thanks, Kevin

V2Rocket

it can't slide around once the oil pump is bolted to the girdle.

GPA951s

When assembling, bolt the oil pump on the block first. The assemble the girdle but loosely draw it in against the pump. Once in place tourqe the girdle. You are then assured it is flush with the block. Then do the final assy of the oil pump.

KEVIN ANDERSON

OK, so that's the reason Porsche didn't use the front dowel. Thank you very much everyone, Kevin

KEVIN ANDERSON

Should I use new studs / bolts and nuts when installing the girdle? I know it sounds pretty dumb because I always use new heads studs / bolts and nuts.

odonnell

They're fine to reuse, according to a few experienced people on here.

tempest411

Wouldn't it make more sense to let the concentricity of the bearing housing determine where the girdle sits, and not the oil pump? If there's an issue with how the oil pump sits, the front of the block/girdle can always be milled flat. If the oil pump is allowed to determine where the crank girdle sits, couldn't it potentially at least, impart a slight misalignment on the bearing halves?

As an aside, what's up with the E-Bay sellers selling crank girdles by themselves (without the block)? I would think these are machined together at the factory, and one would be utterly useless without the other without loads of expensive machine work to match them once again.

V2Rocket

because a lot of dismantlers are retarded.

Van

No, because there's a clearance tolerance between the bearing halves and the crank. But the girdle-to-block surface in the front - where the oil pump bolts up - has to be perfectly flush/planar so the oil pump doesn't leak.

ealoken

I lost one and milled a new one. 14.9mm outer, 13mm inner and 15mm high.

tempest411

You mean you lost your original girdle and machined another one to match? How long did it take to do that? How did you approach it?

tempest411

I would think the fitment of the crank would be the priority. If the face on the front of the crank girdle is slightly askew relative to the block you can always mill it flat with little impact on the rest of the assembly, but if the bearing halves are a bit out, even slightly, I would think at the very least bearing life would be effected and probably impact the high rpm oiling and durability of the engine.

I really wish Porsche would've put the oil pump down in the sump where it's not so sensitive to mounting, and also primes much more easily.

ealoken

KEVIN ANDERSON

What did you use to make that and what are the dimensions? That is exactly what I am looking for. Thanks, Kevin

ealoken

Stainless steel, my friend had a steel tube and milled it out.
outer diameter - 14,9mm
inner diameter - 13mm
height - 15mm