ANORXIC'51'

Hi, I'm fairly new to 951 ownership...as its been in storage since Oct and was purchased in early Sept. Drove it up from the gulf coast of MS to St. Paul, MN and it was going strong for about a month. Head gasket blew sending plumbs of white smoke into the atmoshphere. Put it in storage as i didnt have the funds to fix it right away. I finally had it towed to my shop(audio install bay) and purchased a head gasket kit as well as water pump/tb/isb while i was at it.

Well...armed with the documents from Clarks Garage and Haynes...and only the NA version of the workshop manuals (the Turbo supplement is not working on the site i have..) and a whole lot of willingness to learn and do this myself...I can't even set the engine to TDC..I've found the window up front for lining up, but can't find the window at the rear of the engine...plus I'm confused as to if i should have anything pulled off to begin with to set TDC..
My determination is still there, but jeez that's disheartening when I can't even complete the very first step to a head removal.

Any help is EXTREMELY appreciated. Thank you

Christian

special tool

If you are not changing it, just get some white-out and mark the belt and the gear in 3 places. Then tie the belt with tension to the fender out of the way.

35thSLP

Since you are going to do the water pump take the belt covers off, the fans out, the cross pipe off, the distributor cap and roto off, take the cover off of the cam gear. now you should be able to see clearly the TDC mark on the cam gear. turn the crankshaft clockwise until the cam gear mark aligns with the make on the housing. then check the window at the back of the motor near the sensors on top. you should be able to see the TDC mark on the flywheel. If you don't then turn the crank 180 degrees (one full turn of the cam gear) and check the window again. you should see all the alignment marks lined up (the cam gear, flywheel, and both balance shaft marks). once you get TDC aligned your flywheel lock will slip right in no problem.

ANORXIC'51'

Thank you both so much. It was frustrating and embarrassing that I couldnt even do that without help..Thanks again...im sure I'll be back with more questions.

Chris

IceShark

Chris,

The TDC mark on the flywheel can be really tough to find the first time, or the second time for that matter. But since you haven't pulled the cam belt off yet at least you know where it is supposed to be if you align the cam sprocket with the mark on the cover.

It is hard to see in the rear inspection hole and the flywheel is usually rusted which gives great camoflage for the mark. Move the hoses and wires out of the way so you can get a good line of vision into the hole and use a good flashlight on narrow beam to shine in there. A regular trouble light doesn't work very well.

And if you ever do a clutch job paint the flywheel line and "OT" with some white or blaze orange paint for next time. Makes things a lot easier.

ttwirz

Hay Christian,

I have done a head gasket on an NA, kind of (long story) I am local to you Lino Lakes. If you need some help let me know. I usually don't have a ton of free time but I can carve some out for a fellow pcar owner. PM me.

spedracer18

hey there

fellow minnesotan could help. I as well am new to the 944 series but have the full engine tool set from bruce (www.arnnworx.com). I could help out if you need it as well...

pcarfan944

Minnesota wrenching party!

ANORXIC'51'

Thanks for all the replies and input...was able to at least set the engine today!!!..in between having to get 6 cars done today.

Darn right we might have to have a wrenching party..lol..shop is next to a Boston Market and Subway..with a liquor store in the next strip behind us.

Again, thanks for all the help. I didn't want to seem like a bother, but could not find anything on how to get started on Google searches and Rennlist searches...

spedracer18

id be up for that. seeing as how every other area has a wrenching party of some sort, minnesota should be no exclusion. if we are going to have a wrenching party, itd be cool if it was after May 14, since my finals at the U end that day.

theedge

A year ago when I got my 951 I had never had to do an oil change. Right now im going to go rebuild my control arms, and the engine is spread all over the place. I have always had an impressive mechanical knack (according to family, teachers, etc ) but still, as long as you persevear, DONT RUSH, dont get too frustrated or mad, and most importantly search on here and ask questions, then youll be fine. You have a large resource right here on this forum, and local people willing to help. Asking questions is only a bother if you ask the same exact thing 3 times in a row because you didnt learn the first time If everyone didnt want to be a bother by asking a question, this place wouldnt exist and wed all be sitting in our garages beating ourselves with torque wrenches trying to figure out TDC, or torsion bars, or parking brakes, or timing belts, or turbo removal, or clutch jobs, or clutch hydraulics bleeding...

If you want any pics of anything, ask. Many people here have lots of pics, and I have hundreds from my current project and projects past. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words when trying to figure something out.

ckathens

Wow i'm so glad to see all the Minnesotans crawl out of the woodwork. At least I know that if i ever decide to move back, i'll have people to wrench with. I grew up in St. Paul and did my undergrad at the U of M.

pcarfan944

I'm sure you don't miss not being able to drive your Porsche year round.

I think there's a few more Minnesotans out there lurking, maybe they'll speak up here and we can put something together for the summer. If anyone has any get together or wrenching party ideas, let me know and maybe we can orchestrate something

daniel951

i will be heading toward MN on my way back from 944fest. we plan on going to mall of america. if u guys still need help maybe i can stop by and help since i have done 4 headgaskets jobs now on a na and turbo

SSchulze

If a MN wrenching party is going to happen count me in-bought a 90 S2 cab today that will need belts, control arms (ball joints) and radio repair just for openers.