Ahmet

Hello fellow rennlisters...

My car caught on fire again saturday, it was nothing big, quickly put it out with a fire extinguisher.

This time I'm leaking oil onto the cross over pipe from the headgasket. I'm planning on replacing the headgasket, getting a headjob, various seals, con rod bearings/piston rings/belts/rollers/water pump, etc. I do NOT have money to replace the turbo however, if anybody has a turbo they can give me for cheap I'd appreciate it as mine burns a lot of oil. I'm planning to upgrade it at some point but I'm stumped with classes this summer, and probably won't have time for a job and I just moved out, etc. etc.

Anyway, I'd appreciate any help.
Thanks
Ahmet

Perry 951

Ok... so what is the deal. What is leaking and causing flames?

Unless you want to see it go up one of these times, I would park it and fix it. Why do you need a turbo?

Ahmet

Perry I hit enter accidentally before I was done with the whole thing, I have edited the post for the complete story.

PS: It was leaking from the cam tower cap gasket (rear of engine) previously. I fixed that, took it for a drive, and the rest is posted above.
Ahmet

Perry 951

That was strange. All I got of your post was "My car caught fire again.. it was no biggie."

Now I cannot edit my post. Hope this is not a sign of bad things to come.

Anyway, you can have your old turbo rebuilt from Majestic for a few bones. Better to find a way to do it while it is all apart. You don't want it puking it's guts and having to pull the head again!

Perry 951

How much do you have budgeted? Oversized pistions are no less than a grand, and about another grand to do the block work. I would budget about $3500 for a proper rebuild.

Ahmet

I'm going to try and do it at a friend's shop. I'm not getting larger pistons. All I'm replacing is coolant hoses, crank case/headgasket kit (nearly all gaskets), front seal kit, belts, rollers, water pump, con-rod bearings, piston rings, send the head out (replace anything out of spec up top), and any other MINOR things that may be there. I have about $600 in the bank, and $900 on my credit card. I have just moved into a condo, and am collecting rent from my room mate (~$300/month after all bills -cable/internet), but do not have a job, and probably won't get one this summer as I'm taking a full load of classes (starts in two weeks, and I'll need my car by then).

Everything was falling together, I have very few loose ends left with the car but I wasn't quite ready for this...
Ahmet

Perry 951

Ok.. $1500 should be able to swing it.

IMHO.. I would work a few nights at the local gas station for a week or 2. That will pay for the turbo rebuild. Quit as soon as you have the cash. If you only knew how many times I have had a **** job for a month to make ends meet! I'm telling you, it is worth it.

Ahmet

OK, I've ordered:

Cylinder Head Gasket Set
Piston Ring Set
Connecting Rod Nut
Rod Bearing Set
Cam/Balance belts, rollers, tensioners
Oil Pan Gasket
Water Pump
Engine Seal Kit

All of that cost me $504 through the shop, and I have a few hundred dollars left over. I'll start a new tread with this actually...

Anyway, I found a turbo at another board. Thanks for the attention.
Ahmet

951carter

Hey Ahmet,
Are you sure it is your headgasket and not your cam tower gasket?
If memory serves, you changed an oil pan gasket in your 944, so you know how to do that with the engine in place. All that would be left is popping off the head to change the rings. When you remove the rod nouts you can just slide the piston/ring assemblies out of the top. If you are going to service the turbo though it may be easier to just drop the whole engine. I have a place here that will rebuild the turbo for $350. They do a good job and are quite familiar with these turbos. They do not do any custom work though. If the turbo is that bad i would probably be scared of it coming apart and ruining all your hard work, Murphy's law and all.
I do not think that your time frame is very realistic, especially if you are going to send out the head. I have been promised ALOT of 1 week turn-arounds, but i have never seen one.
It is my own opinion that if you are going to go to the trouble of taking it apart, you may as well address all of the issues, but i doubt that is what you want to hear. If your time and budget constraints are not flexible at this time, it may be alot less trouble for you to find a beater to drive until you can fix your car proper, i know, you didn't want to hear that either. The last time i took my head off and planned to be driving it the next week, the car sat for 6 months waiting for parts that i was promised in a week, namely my re-worked head.
I can get your cylinders bored for $100 per hole, $400 for all 4.
I may be interested in a red hood, i found all the parts i need in white, but extras never hurt. How faded is it and how much $ are you looking to get?


EDIT: I am sure the work can be done in that time frame, as long as the parts are delivered/returned as promised.

Ahmet

Hello Carter, thanks for the reply.

It doesn't appear to be the cam tower gasket, but everything in the area is soaked in oil, so it's kind of hard to tell. Hopefully that won't be the case anymore after this 'rebuild'...

Anyway, I'm doing the whole thing with the engine in place. It looks like I found a used K26 for free, and I think I'll install that (and put gobs of anti-seize on everything to replace the turbo when I have more money). The head turn-around should take 3 days max, this is the place that the shop deals with and I don't think they ever promise a day on which they can't deliver, we'll see (I won an auction on e-bay with Huntley about a week ago, payed the same day and haven't heard from them since, you're not the only one having bad luck with them!)... Hopefully the cylinders will not need any work (compression was 138 +/-1 across), and I think I'm replacing enough stuff while I'm in there... I'm getting original Porsche belts and stuff, I have not ordered an oil pan baffle, hopefully mine's not broken. If it is than I'll have to see what I'm doing then. Anyway, catch is I'll be working on my car only after business hours/on weekends, but I will have the help of 3 mechanics (friends I used to work with). I've never done a head job by myself, but can't imagine it being that hard. The only trouble I can forsee is how to support the engine when both the head, and the oil pan is off... I'm thinking jacks under the engine mounts (which I'm also replacing BTW). I'll try to take a lot of pictures. If you can think of anything else, let me know... My sister is buying herself a new car soon, and I'll get one of my cars back from her in a month or so that I let her use, but I don't want that Honda Prelude to be my only car (you know how it goes ).

Anyway, the red hood is not mine it's been sitting at the shop. It's completely straight, out of a 85.5+ car (with the heated jets, etc.). I'll ask about it tomorrow morning when I get my car over there.

See you around Carter, and take care.
Ahmet

951carter

Take the head off first. this way you can see the cylinders and what you have to work with. then you can use the head studs and two nuts to sandwich a chain link, in the front and back on opposing sides. the pan gasket is a harder job than the head in my opinion. good deal on the turbo! best of luck and godspeed to ya!

Danno

Yeah, the head takes about 45-minutes to take off, but the oil-pan & gasket is about 2-3 hours depending upon how you hang the engine.