ilikemy944

Ok... swapped an axle this morning, no more nasty nasty tranny eatin noises
Anyway, haven't driven in for about a month or so, so you can imagine my giddyness when I got it out of the neighborhood

So, should I start tearing apart the engine yet? 180K+ on original bearings/rings/etc, even the turbo is orig. What all should I replace in there?
I'm thinking rings, main and rod bearings, obviously every seal I can get my hands on, HG, and I have a much newer turbo to take the place of mine. So, lets say I have around 1500 bucks (I know, I'm cheap) think I can take care of it all?
Luckily I'm not doing any 'repairs' during this (no spun bearings or anything).

Anyway, this has to be done for the 'Fest ;P wish me luck

pikey7

There's an old saying: If it aint broke, dont fix it!

And, do you LIKE your 944 or LOVE your 944? Make up your mind

ilikemy944

I like my 944
I love my 951

You got the saying wrong! It's supposed to be "if it ain't broke, fix it till it is!"

And, I want to slap on a much larger turbo and all kinds of goodies over the summer, and doing that on 180,000 mile rod bearings worries me...

pikey7

In that case, budget on belts, tensioners, pan gasket & myswiss retainers, rod bearings, maybe a pan baffle update kit, motor mounts, WF HG set, Updated vacuum lines, new BOV, replace water/oil cooler gaskets and o-rings on OPRV. Then add the turbo, and then think how you're gonna control all that lovely power.

Can the chips be made to run with the turbo, or are you gonna have to go MAF/MAP? You're probably talking custom J-boot for the larger turbo inlet anyhow. What about boost control? EBC or MBC?

That should be $1500 well taken care of!

I think I prefer my saying, but live by yours......

ilikemy944

I just don't want to have to do the whole crank work thing after I spin a bearing ;P
I'm hoping for a vitesse kit to take care of all of the fuel stuff Have boost control sorted already

Your saying is better, but mine makes cars more 'interesting' (while I am in here... )

pikey7

absolutely. Hence my tip for the updated baffle kit aswell. Saves the No.2 bearing.....

Sounds like you're OK with that lot then. Just get the main engine bullet proof!

MichelleJD

If you're gonna mod it, rebuild it. I wouldn't want to start adding torque and hp to a 180K engine. You're just asking for trouble if you do. You can bet the next weak link will go once you do that: probably the HG or the rods. COme to the Fest, then rebuild. Or, do like me and freak out during your rebuild everytime Chris924s post his Fest countdown

ilikemy944

LOL, chris's countdown was making me freak out thinking I better get this done quick!!

Also, Mike, just to clarify if you didn't get my poor attempt at humor ;P "interesting" meant "more of a pain in the ***" lol

pikey7

Oh I got it. Been there, done it, got the T-shirt.....

May I suggest also doing this in one step. Getting the turbo out is about 1 billion times easier if the engine is out. Been there. done it.......

Michelle, That was my attempt, to say rebuild it. Basically if the engine is out, head is off, pan is off, and oil/water cooler is off, then you have no choice anyway! When I started my mods, I did it on a recently serviced, but 150k engine. Needless to say I had it blown within 6 months, and wouldn't recommend "my way" to anyone! Guess what I did when I found a spare engine......?

MichelleJD

User 41221

Here's a possible idea for you...

Look for an NA engine, preferably an early '83 as they a stronger crank, and a set of turbo pistons with forged rods out of an '86. Rebuild the short block to turbo spec's out of the car (basically, you just have to tap teh upper balance shaft housing for an oil feed line), and once its ready, pull the old engine, steal the head, the pan and the turbo mount from the old engine, and then put it back together. While you are at it, I'd also do the clutch work, so that you'd be 100% fresh when you are done with it. Its gonna cost you way more than $1500, tho I expect that what you were originally proposing will as well!

Regards,