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Well today is a milestone, unburned MAF installed, engine running on eight cylinders and after some fiddling we even managed to get the hood on (mostly) straight. Took it out for a drive and yeah, that's what it's supposed to feel like
Only issue left is a rattling at idle, sounds relatively the same from the front and rear of the car, maybe slightly pronounced from the rear at the exhaust. Torque tube and converter carrier bearings replaced about 20k miles ago, front flex plate bolts and clamp bolt re-torqued with no change. Was going to check the rear pinch bolt and was tapping around when I noticed the cat rattling a bit when tapped. Not normal right? I don't believe it was doing this prior to the engine pull, but considering the state of the engine at that point I'm not sure I would have noticed it. Thoughts?
Cats should not rattle. Original Porsche cats are extremely durable. I have not seen a broken or melted matrix, but that could happen. Might be the missing piece of valve rattling around. It would be worth removing the cat section and having a look-see. You can see the matrix from the rear. Also, point the front down and see what might fall out.
Went back under and saw that the air pipe had been bent slightly so that it was barely contacting the bottom of the cat. Bent it back and the higher frequency rattle is gone, which was what I was mostly hearing before, but there's still a lower frequency rattle that continues for a half beat after the exhaust goes silent and the engine is coming to a stop, so thinking that is indeed driveline related.
I've never been able to separate the cat from the rear exhaust - I really should have taken the opportunity while it was sitting on the floor in the garage for several months to do so as dropping the entire exhaust is a pain in the ****.
Looks brilliant, great job. How many hours in total do you think you spent?
I wont ask about cost ;-)
I easily have 200 hours into it from start to finish. I lost track of the cost a long time ago but I'd guess $5k or so including the spare engine I bought from Mark but didn't use and the MAF I set afire by miswiring the connector.
Getting a bit of seepage from the trans cooler fittings that I rehabbed with Greg's kit. Looks like I'll need to go back in and make sure the fitting connections are completely clean - is it safe to apply a bit of Loctite 574 to the mating surfaces?
Need to check the rear flex plate pinch bolt as I'm still getting a faint rattle that can be heard distinctly at shutdown.
I spent 8 hours last night trying to get the new from Roger chin spoiler installed as I had the grill out to do the transmission cooler lines, finally gave up at 1 am and will give it another go tonight. Any advice on the lower front fender studs? I can't seem to get enough clearance to fit a nut and washer on the stud, especially on the driver's side.
Re-assembled the trans cooler line connections, this time with a bit of Loctite 574 on the mating surfaces and that seems to have cured the leaks on both lines.
Also went checked the rear pinch bolt, and it was quite loose, torqued it back up to 66 ft/lbs and the rattle is gone
Was able to finish up the chin spoiler and drive it to work for the first time since December. The bumper cover needs to be resprayed but I'm in no mood to take things apart again for a while so I'm going to put on a Colgan bra in the meantime.
Re-assembled the trans cooler line connections, this time with a bit of Loctite 574 on the mating surfaces and that seems to have cured the leaks on both lines.
Also went checked the rear pinch bolt, and it was quite loose, torqued it back up to 66 ft/lbs and the rattle is gone
Was able to finish up the chin spoiler and drive it to work for the first time since December. The bumper cover needs to be resprayed but I'm in no mood to take things apart again for a while so I'm going to put on a Colgan bra in the meantime.
Looks great Kevin. Well done! Take life one Bwaaaaa at a time.