SKILLR

Autox season is over now its time for the winter projects. im starting this post for general help tips and extra know how on the to do list.

General Car info 1987 951 with 87k and new timing/balance belts, water pump, brake master, all water/vacuum/brake/clutch hoses, turbo water pump, cam tower and oil cooler filter thingy gaskets, motor mounts, front wheel bearing, front rooters and countless other little parts

to do list
not so goodies
1. oil pan seal, so I have heard I need to drop the sub frame out to do this one. also should I replace my bearings will i have the pan off?

2. rear main seal. I believe I have to drop the tranny for this one is this correct? also should i do a clutch job while I am down there 87k original

Goodies
3. suspension I'm in a toss whether or not to just go with helper struts and springs or full coil-over. originally I was thinking just helper stuts and springs in case I ever needed to sell it so I could easily put the stock back onto it. but now that I have so much vested into my princess and the fact that the rear will be dropped anyway for the rear main seal I'm leaning more to full coil-overs.(75% of the cars use is autox and DEs but still like to have it as my, nice going out car)

4. other general performance parts for the next autox season. def racing seats but what else to recommend?

That I believe is all for now thanks for any input it will be greatly appreciated. seriously

Dougs951

Are you addressing the suspension bushings?

For a car that is mainly a autox/DE car I would make the leap to coil overs.

SKILLR

yea i forgot about those little rubber things will do bushings too. recommendations?

numbskull

#1-2, those are not easy or fun jobs, interested how they go! Why not add rear wheel bearings

Crackership

For bushings, I'd recommend Powerflex if you want to go poly. I've had good luck with them. otherwise, you can replace the front control arm bushing with stock, and then the castor block with a 968 piece, but I'm pretty sure you'll spend more going that route than you would with poly. Then, of course, there's the option of spherical bearings. Lots of guys swear by them, I have no personal experience though.

Honestly, I'd almost consider pulling the engine to do the pan gasket and the rear main. Pulling the engine is time consuming, but not all that difficult... doing a pan gasket with the engine in the car, on the other hand, is very difficult.

If you do pull the engine though, be ready for "while you're in there" stuff. Like AOS seals, filter plate seals and really, any seals that haven't been replaced in recent years. Everything is just soooooo much easier to get to with the engine out.

Also, as to your question about rod bearings - YES! replace your rod bearings any time you have your pan off. They don't cost much, they're easy to do once you're there and they could prevent failures. Always a good idea.

Good luck!

SKILLR

thanks for the insight crackership

I would most likely go with poly for the cost

pulling the engine out def seems like a good option. would a cherry picker be the only really special tool i would need

Also are there any write ups for these major jobs?

convinced on the bearings

slap929

Hi, Skiller. Welcome to rennlist. A good website to take a look at for these jobs is clarks-garage.com, if you havent already. There are the write ups that you are looking for.

zerMATT951

You'll need a pair of 5-ton jackstands for height in the front (the motor comes out the bottom), engine crane, and an engine stand to hang the motor from while you do the work.

Crackership

You'll also need a step stool, unless you're 9' tall. Otherwise, you won't be able to reach into the engine bay while pulling the engine. As you can see from Matt's photo, said step stool can be customized with many colors and design option so suit your personal taste