rsabeebe

About to do the dreaded oil pan gasket with stock cross-over pipe and subframe. With everything that will be apart - top and bottom - what are other good upgrades/maintenance items to do at the same time? Car is being prepped for track use.

divil

Definitely replace the rod bearings while you're in there anyway. You might as well replace the oil pickup tube too.

You could go down a deep rabbit hole with this, but removing the oil pan is a big enough job on it's own that I personally didn't do anything extra other than these things^.

You'll have the steering rack and control arms removed, and you'll probably have to get an alignment done afterwards. So you might want to think about tie rods, steering rack bushings, control arm bushings etc.

You'll also be pretty close to having the turbo out. IIRC I had to remove various bits of plumbing from the turbo to access the crossover bolts, so it might be a good time to remove/inspect/rebuild the turbo. If you do that, then replace the air-oil separator seals since that can only be done with the turbo out.

wildcat077

I would recommend you install a three piece crossmember from Lindsey Racing ... it makes replacing rod bearings a lot easier and you don't
need an alignment every time , unlike with a OEM one piece unit which has to be removed to drop the oil pan !
With a three piece unit , you only need to remove the center section and your suspension settings stay intact.

Mike Goebel

How many people have had failures with the cast aluminum/welded 3 piece part?


Thanks
Mike G.

rsabeebe

this is a clear concern as the budget could easily jump multiple grand, depending on what I choose to attack. i am considering the turbo, but then i'd likely consider a larger exhaust, a new wastegate, and likely new software. the access makes you want to take advantage of the timing, but that's a dangerous thing.

rsabeebe

absolutely considering this also. curious if anyone has ever had a failure with this piece. looks solid enough - certainly the welds - but what about the 2 connection points with 3 bolts?

any direct experience here with the 3pc subframe? longevity?

considered the 2pc exhaust crossover pipe, but they only modify supplied pipes. i'd have to inquire on the turnaround time on that.

wildcat077

Mike,

The only isue i've had in five years of racing is some slight rubbing on the oil pan from the left side of the three
piece crossmember ... i had to grind down one of the corners for clearance , but other than that i'm completely satisfied , it makes
the yearly rod bearing change a piece of cake !

rsabeebe

do you know of specific failures or is that more of a general question?

Mike Goebel

General. Welding cast aluminum can be tricky. Since the cross-member is usually used it needs to be cleaned thoroughly because you know that 944's leak oil . haha

Thanks
Mike G.

Mike Goebel

I was thinking mines only a street car so maybe every 100,000 miles for Rod Bearings.

Thanks
Mike G.

wildcat077

I can assure you that the Lindsey Racing crossmember is a solid piece , just like most of the stuff from Lindsey Racing , it's high quality !
Over the years i've sourced a lot of parts from Mike and Dave and i've been completely satisfied.

Cheers
Phil

gruhsy

My three piece cross over is a fantastic piece of work. Never had any issues with it.

As with anything on cars it just needs to be installed properly. I feel like sometimes the mechanical failures of products is usually the fault of the installer not the products providing a part is a quality piece which the 3 piece cross over is very good.