freak

i am getting conflicting stories...some say if im doing a headgasket(it blew out-i had a machine shop check the motor and head, and they're ok)some say if the coolant and oil have mixed at all that the connecting rod bearings need to be replaced...is this true? it seems a bit much for a headgasket job...the car wasnt run or overheated or anything like that when the gasket "blew"...it was towed to a garage where it is now being worked on (by me)
help! im confused

Perry 951

Are you sure that you blew the head gasket between an oil and water passage? That is rare in the 944. If you just blew the fire ring at the oil and cylinder or water and cylinder, then you should be ok.

Were you losing the cylinder pressure into the water or oil passages? Knowing where it broke can tell us what damage has occoured. If for some reason you blew a water passage and had a *lot* of water flow into the oil system, and drove it, then you should change all the bearings and clean the Crakcase Pressure/ Emissions sytem. At the very least pull apart the bottom end and check all the bearing for wear and pitting.

If you just burned the fire ring then just put a head gasket and seals on it (water pump too) and belts and rollers. Chage the oil and filer after 500 miles. You will be good to go for another 100k.

The easy quick check for water intrusion is to see if the oil became a milkshake. Drain it and see. If you shut it off right when it blew, then you have nothing to worry about other than a normal head gasket replacement.

freak

thanks...it seems to me that the fire ring(if that is indeed the metal ring surrounding the cylinder itself)has blown out...there is a section of it burned right out of it...i drained the oil, and although it had some minor discoloration, i dont think it was all frothy and white...when i did start the car before removing the head, i removed the cap on the resivoir tank, and it was puffing like a chimny...so you think im ok with just a basic headgasket job(if you can call it basic!)???thanks again.
*looking forward to driving my "new porsche"*nullnull[*]null [img]null[/img]

jim968

Just a second on Perry's opinion; if you've got much water mixed with the oil, it emulsifies as it goes thru the oil pump, and develops the appearance of gray latex paint...(BT,DT[1]). If the oil looked pretty normal (for oil)when drained, you've probably got no problem that doing an early oil change won't fix.

(1: Never trust bos'uns mates not to park the motor whaleboat with the new engine right under a helo-deck deck drain for a rainy weekend.... then bail the boat out and start the engine!)

Jim, this lesson brought to you by your friendly local US Navy recruiter....