ribs

I finally got the exhaust studs and intake manifold bolts I've been waiting for for two weeks today from the Por$che dealership today, so I can start throwing this thing back together this weekend. I still have to get that broken bolt out of the block (if I can find a thin nut with the same thread pitch, there is enough of the bolt there still left that I can use the jam nut technique to get it out) and finish scraping off the old HG, but everything else is in order (I even got the tie rods on...it was real easy, but you need a 32 mm wrench which was like $25 from sears, or a large adjustable wrench which I used).

Questions:

1 - After getting all of the old gasket material off of the block, what kind of prepping should I do to the block deck? The guy at the machine shop said to go over very lightly with 800-1000 grit sanding block and make sure to keep it even. Is there anything wrong with this/better I could do?

2 - What is the best way to clean out the bores and coolant area of the block? There is old head gasket material in the coolant area of the block, and all kinds of dust, dirt, and shreds of gasket in the bores. There is also lots of carbon deposit on the pistons...is there anything I could/should do about those? Should I just use a shop vac to get all of the loose stuff out, then spray it out with a hose, or is there a better way?

3 - Is there any kind of lube (the head was already lubed upon reassembly by the machine shop) I should use on any parts of the inside of the motor?

4 - Is there anything I should know putting the head, HG, timing&bs belts back on that isn't covered in the clark's garage write up or the shop manuals?

I got special instructions from Danno concerning his HG, but as AFAIK I put the HG on w/ copper gasket spray, drop the head on with the exhaust manifold loosely attached, follow the inner to outer bolt torqueing method for the head studs, attach the coolant bungs to the head w/ appropriate gaskets, attach the headers to the y pipe, tighten the headers to the head, drop the cam carrier on with the gasket, torque that down, attach the distributor housing, put on timing and b/s belts, tension, and re-assemble the rest of the car. This sound about right?

5 - I was kind of dumbfounded by the eccentric tensioner on my car. What is the method for adjusting this? It doesn't make much sense to me.

Thats all for now...I have everything I need so I should be able to get most or all of this done this weekend and possibly have a running p-car again! Thanks in advance...

Cass944

make sure to torque the bolts in the right pattern order. or your HG could be useless. to clean out the coolant area, me and ian cyphened out the old coolant. I think we had some luck with the "sponge on a stick" too.

ribs

*Bump*

Brett,

I have so much crud in the coolant area that I think I will blast it out with a hose (and plug up the oil passages). I got the rest of the gasket scraped off today and went over the deck with some high grit sand paper to remove what the scraper couldn't get. I didn't get the whole thing shiney, but I have it perfectly even as best I could tell. I installed my new exhaust studs today and painted the head and cam carrier. The head was already painted aluminum from the machine shop, so I just clearcoated it, and the cam carrier I did the standard black with red "PORSCHE" raised type, then clearcoated it. I did it with plasticoat quick dry and I think it came out pretty good (but not perfect...this isn't a show car, so who cares?).

Now...all I have to do is put it all back together now I have everything I need...hopefully it won't take me more than saturday and sunday to do it. I was going to do this like two weeks ago, but I've been waiting for parts to come in. It would be really cool if my car was running on sunday. Wish me luck.

ribs

*bump*

Come on guys. I know you have the answers.

ribs

*bump*

johne

yeah your procedure looks about right. Be careful not to rush the job though. There's nothing worse than finishing a HG job just to find out that you did not clean the surfaces enough or did not torque a bolt properly and havingto do the job again. Good luck though, I too cannot wait to drive mine.

John

Mike S

Another option with the head gasket install is to use copper spray. Danno recommended it for me and I've not had any problems. You can find it at Kragen and its basically just copper adhesive that you spray onto both sides of the head gasket before torquing it down. It takes up the small imperfections or surface variations on the block and head.

OZ951

You can use a razor blade as a scraper ie held 90 degrees to the block surface to remove old gasket material. It goes without saying (so I am saying it) that you need to watch what your doing so you dont gouge the deck. You can also use scotch brite to scrub away old gasket material, it may be a better choice than an abrasive. Other than that a shop vac and compressed air (if you have it) should be sufficient to clean out the passages.

nickhance

If I can do a HG job in 12 hours, hungover, without a bite to eat all day, it shouldn't be a problem for you

I've done a couple of these jobs now, just make sure you don't forget anything.

sharky47

Hey OZ, havn't talked to you in a while, is the yellow beast up and running yet?

Danno

After you've scraped away all the old gasket material, you can use some acetone to clean off the remnants and any oil that may be on there as well. I've found the thin narrow vacuum cleaner attachment I have will just barely fit down into the coolant passages on the side of the cylinders to suck up all the dust and scrapings.

Also after dropping the headgasket down onto the block, lift up the top layer a little and make sure the thin figure-8 inner rings aren't overlapping the surrounding middle layer.

Peckster

It's a little late for this suggestion, but I'd pack all the open areas on a block with cloth or paper towels to prevent crap and sandpaper particles from getting inside the engine while you are working on it. If you lightly oil the cloth smaller particles will stick to it when you remove it. You don't want sandpaper grit circulating in your engine.

I just use acetone and a scraper.

Scrape the carbon off your pistons with something softer than the alloy (plastic?) to prevent gouges. Do it at tdc, vacuum, than lower the pistons to clean off the carbon than sticks to the walls.

An oiled sponge on a stick sounds like a good way to clean out the block after you vacuum.. Take your time. You don't want a piece of gasket blocking an oil line.

OZ951

G'day Sharky, I just started getting back into it after some trips away. Here is the latest Thread

Thaddeus

Man, I would not use sandpaper. No way. You're going to get grit into that engine. Use a scotchbrite or something else that will not leave tiny stones sifting into your crankcase.

ribs

Thanks guys! I'm off right now to buy a mini shop vac, and I will heed all of your advices. Hopefully I will get the head and cam carrier back on today, and I can get the rest of the stuff back together tomorrow (intake manifold, etc.). I had to order a krikit tool from NAPA and it won't be in until monday so I will have to wait until then to properly tension my timing belt/bs belt. For your viewing pleasure, here are some pictures of stuff I did.

Here's the cam carrier that I painted in the standard red lettering and black rest of it:


Here is the bottom of the head all pretty from the machine shop:


Here is the top of the head that was painted aluminum from the machine shop (I didn't want them to paint anything, but whatever), and I just used the plasticote clear on it (as well as the cam carrier):


After a visit to my FLAPS, I will get to spinning wrenches. Thanks again.