poorporscheturbo

Crappy day... My headgasket just blew...
Car started running hot, and the fans didn't
even turn on... temp needle's approaching red.

I pull over and shut her down. There's mustard/mayo in the oil filler pipe, dipstick...
you get the idea.

Anyhow... How bad is this? Have I fried my engine?

I've got 3 options now.

1) Pay a shop to diagnose/fix... probably $1500-$2000 if I'm lucky.

2) Try to fix it myself... how hard is this for a relative novice? What other special tools do I need other than the belt tensioner? $300? How do I get all the gunk out? I saw florida951's post. He makes the job look somewhat feasible.

3) Dump the car. Anyone interested in a white 1987 951 w/ 128k? that needs a new head gasket?
Located in the CA SF/Bay Area?

What should I do? I'm poor and I'm cheap.

Also, I've been trying to figure out how it blew... old age? The only think I can think of is that the coolant system wasn't properly bled? and that somehow caused it to overheat? The car is chipped... detonation? argghh???

Twinspool

Well, a BHG is not catastrophic as long as the high temps didn't warp or crack the head. Have you ever done internal work to your car? If not, I wouldn't recommend starting with this. With 128k on the clock it's at the point where valves, lifters, springs, and bearings are due for a checkup. I'm not trying to discourage you but it's something to consider. If you do it yourself, I would let an Aluminum head specialist magneflux it.. Be careful if they want to plane it. Many times if a head is slightly warped and then planed, the surface that mates to the block will be straight but the cam saddles can still be out of true. (Think of a banana laying on a table with the bottom cut off)

Danno

Only takes about 90-minutes to remove the head from the car. Then take it to a machine-shop to have it measured. The results will probably help you decide what to do next. Good luck!

P.S. Do I hear a call for another Barn Raising Session?

special tool

Danno - holy s--t that is quick. How many times have you removed a 944 head?

RedS2

Valve Job and All-

I live in the Bay Area and I am just about finished with all prep work necessary for the valve and turbo rebuild on my 88 Turbo S. This is not a 90 minute job.

If you pull the head, clean the manifolds, refresh the turbo, rod bearings, this takes nearly a full week done right.

I have 4 944's and I might be interested in yours. Feel free to mail me and come over and see the job in progress.

KW951

Danno is just talking disassembly, and I agree with him. If you are focused and know what you are doing this can be done very quickly - pull the fuel rail, pull the intake manifold, detach the headers, pull the head.

Russ Murphy

The head probably won't go very far with the cam tower still on it with the timing belt attached. Kinda forgot to mention those didn't ya?
Hey PPT,
don't despair. You could get a rebuilt head from Garrity (with yours as a core exchange) for about $680. While it will take you longer than Danno to pull it (holy crap! 90 minutes), to give you some perpective, I just did mine and and it took about 3 hours of working steadily but not hurriedly to remove and it was the second time I'd had the cam tower off.

Danno

Hey Russ, how'd you like your Garrity head? Noticeable improvements? Or did you do other mods at the same time so they're all lumped together?

poorporscheturbo

All,

Thanks for the support and the info. You guys are great.

Hey, what are the chances that I'll need to change my rod bearings too?

KW951

I consider all of that part of the head. But anyway, it still doesn't take all that long.

[quote]Originally posted by Russ Murphy:
<strong>The head probably won't go very far with the cam tower still on it with the timing belt attached. Kinda forgot to mention those didn't ya?
Hey PPT,
don't despair. You could get a rebuilt head from Garrity (with yours as a core exchange) for about $680. While it will take you longer than Danno to pull it (holy crap! 90 minutes), to give you some perpective, I just did mine and and it took about 3 hours of working steadily but not hurriedly to remove and it was the second time I'd had the cam tower off.</strong><hr></blockquote>

keith

Hey KW951, what does the W stand for?

(just curious, I am Keith Walters with an '86 951...)
and it's red!

cowinkydink?

Russ Murphy

PPT,
Good Luck with the head. I'm starting on rod bearing replacement right NOW! I'll let you know how ugly it is.

Danno,
I like the head. I got his killer studs too. It's a winner by the seat of the pants dyno. It's the only mod I did at the time. I actually had to raise some of my rpm/fuel values (like 2750 and 3000) and some of my map/fuel values (idle, and -12 and -14 inches). First gear seems to be more useful now (not boggy).

tecart

hey i blew out my head gasket 3 times over the last 8 years from lots of testing, racing and boost, and no the engine was never damaged at the same time, the gasket may just need replacing like mine, with new seals and nuts as you replace it, good luck, i doubt very much the bottom of the motor has any damage

Danno

poorporscheturbo, what's the status of your car? Have you been able to check out the headgasket? I got a top-end rebuild seal-kit from my local Porsche shop. About $200 and it included the headgasket and ALL the top-end seals (valve-stem seals too).

poorporscheturbo

Hey Danno,

The car's currently sitting on my driveway, resting before surgery. I think it's nervous because it's about to go under the knife with with the equivalent of a "do-it-yourself, cheapo" med student. Maybe I should give it some nitrous before?

I've tried the head gasket on an 4age (mr2) before, but gave up when I found out I could swap in another used engine for $1000.

I'm hoping the SOHC 951 will go better. I've bought that shop CD off ebay and will have at it this weekend. I'll probably be posting tons of "help me!" messages by Sat Not looking forward to draining the mayo out of there.