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Only a couple weeks after my gearbox broke and I replaced it, my headgasket decided to start leaking.
However, instead of just pulling the head and replacing it, I've decided to go all out with a full engine rebuild. I'm doing this because she has over 200 thousand km's on her and I want to have more peace of mind for track days. I also want to prepare the engine for more boost that will come once I have a better turbo and VEMS pnp.
This will be my first time rebuilding an engine and I expect it will be a huge learning curve. I figured it will help if I put up a build thread to share any problems that I may encounter on the way, and get advice from those more experienced than me.
Things I want to do are:
-New standard bearings, rings, seals and gaskets etc
-Cometic MLS head gasket
-Take block and head to machine shop for cleaning and facing.
-Also get bores lapped, and head refreshed with new valve seals and guides if needed.
-Also have shop weld in oil pan baffle and oil pickup ring
-Lindsey steam vent kit
-Crank scraper
-ARP head studs
-ARP rod bolts
-New motor mounts
-Clean exhaust manifold and cross over pipe. Heat wrap all the way to turbo
-Delete A/C system and relocate alternator with A/C delete bracket. Possibly upgrade to Nissan Quest alternator or similar
-Delete fuel evap system and charcoal canister
-Unrelated to the engine build, but I will also rebuild my control arm ball joints and replace my front wheel bearings.
Other things that may be on the cards, depending on how much money I have:
-Get shop to machine windage ports
-Upgrade rods
-Upgrade turbo
Anyway, hopefully everything goes well and I end up with a nice reliable refreshed engine, ready for more boost and lots of driving. Any suggestions and advice would be highly appreciated.
Here's a picture of the engine before work started. My next post will show the progress made so far of pulling the engine out.
So, work began on Saturday by removing the intake system, radiator, exhaust and unplugging everything else that goes into the engine. I was sure to take lots of pictures to reference when everything goes back together. I also labeled any disconnected vacuum lines.
After that, we attached the crane and started lowering the engine down with the cross member, steering rack and control arms attached.
Once the engine was out, we lifted the car with the crane to have enough clearance to drag the engine out.
After we dragged the engine out. I removed the bell housing and clutch, and lifted it onto the stand. Ready for disassembly. Hopefully I'll have it all apart next week, ready to send the block and head to the machinist.
Good start. I think you should really get your list together nice and tight. Now's the time to do stuff that will only cost you more later when you realise you should have done it this time. By that I mean not just all the 'normal' stuff, but some other custom work. ie offset crank, custom rods/pistons etc.
Sometimes the easiest way of doing this is working backwards. What is the ultimate goal for this car? Figure out what that will take as far as hp/tq and then you can work out what sort of build to work at.
If it's mostly road with a bit of track then refreshing the engine and just buying a Vitesse kit will get you a long way towards your goals. Food for thought.
Thanks Patrick, solid advice. I am trying to keep this build at my means for now, as I am just a uni student with a sh!tty part time job. Ultimately I'd love to just skip to the end game with a ***** out 16V 3L turbo build, but that will have to wait a couple years.
This is my first engine rebuild ever, so I'm looking at it as more of a learning experience and practice for bigger better builds in the future. All I want from this engine is around 350hp with the broadest possible torque curve...and reliable enough to be a daily driver that I can take to local sprint sessions every month or two. I think that can be achieved with this rebuild and a Lindsey Super 38, or Vitesse Stage 2 turbo, a tial38, and VEMS pnp tuned for E85.
I will try to do as much "while I'm in there" stuff as my wallet will allow. One of my main concerns for this build is oiling and not having the headgasket fail again. I already have a big oil cooler and run good 20w50 royal purple oil. That will be supplemented by internal mods such as the gated baffle, pickup tube ring and oil scraper. Maybe also windage ports. To avoid blowing another headgasket I am upgrading to the cometic mls, installing the Lindsey steam vent kit, and I will invest in proper tuning.
As for rods, I was thinking of going for Pure Performance Motorsport rods...I think it was actually you who recommended them in some old thread I was reading through. Do you still think they are worthwhile checking out?
You sure you want to delete the a/c? I could never get it working properly with my 951 but not having it was way worse than semi solid engine mounts or urethaned gearbox mount comfort wise for me.
Yeah, pretty sure, as I have already sold it haha. It was never blowing very cold anyway, and my previous car didn't have ac either. So it's a luxury that I have never gotten used to needing. In summer I just wind the windows down and sweat... a lot.
I'm doing something very similar to what you are doing and it is my first build. I'm pretty close to finishing up mine. You are off to a good start. Do you have a close-by machine shop to do the lapping/ other machine work? Windage ports are a good idea, I wish I knew about those before I had the machinist do his work. One other expense I recently ran into (which I didn't fathom would be as pricey as it is) is the turbo downpipe. If you are upgrading your turbo and the turbine outlet is bigger than the stock downpipe then that is an obvious restriction. Those run on the market from $350 to $500 for a bigger one. I think a shop could fabricate one, but something to look out for.
Good points Tim. I have have been following your thread with interest. Hopefully your rebuild works out well.
I have some exhaust shops near by so I think I can get a dump pipe made up easily enough if I upgrade my turbo. I was also thinking of taking my cross over pipe somewhere to have them modify it to be two piece, to make any eventual clutch change a bit easier.
I have been in contact with a machine shop that is a convenient 15 minutes away from me. I haven't asked him about the windage ports yet, but I'm hoping he can do them as they seem to be a worthwhile modification.
Be careful with those bores, The entire block is alusil and there is a special process prepare the bores for use. They arn't like the usual cast iron block where you use a hone and give it a good cross hatch, that will ruin your bores. Unless your actually going up in piston size or you find that you have some scoring best to leave them be
Regards
Sean
Be careful with those bores, The entire block is alusil and there is a special process prepare the bores for use. They arn't like the usual cast iron block where you use a hone and give it a good cross hatch, that will ruin your bores. Unless your actually going up in piston size or you find that you have some scoring best to leave them be
Regards
Sean
You mean the lapping with the felt pads and paste hey? I think the machinist is familiar with the process, but I will definitely double check that, and make sure he has the right equipment. I would prefer to have the bores lapped so that the new rings can seat properly and quickly.
I watch this video a while ago on the lapping process for Mercedes alusil blocks, it is the same for the 944 block right?
Thanks Patrick, solid advice. I am trying to keep this build at my means for now, as I am just a uni student with a sh!tty part time job. Ultimately I'd love to just skip to the end game with a ***** out 16V 3L turbo build, but that will have to wait a couple years.
This is my first engine rebuild ever, so I'm looking at it as more of a learning experience and practice for bigger better builds in the future. All I want from this engine is around 350hp with the broadest possible torque curve...and reliable enough to be a daily driver that I can take to local sprint sessions every month or two. I think that can be achieved with this rebuild and a Lindsey Super 38, or Vitesse Stage 2 turbo, a tial38, and VEMS pnp tuned for E85.
I will try to do as much "while I'm in there" stuff as my wallet will allow. One of my main concerns for this build is oiling and not having the headgasket fail again. I already have a big oil cooler and run good 20w50 royal purple oil. That will be supplemented by internal mods such as the gated baffle, pickup tube ring and oil scraper. Maybe also windage ports. To avoid blowing another headgasket I am upgrading to the cometic mls, installing the Lindsey steam vent kit, and I will invest in proper tuning.
As for rods, I was thinking of going for Pure Performance Motorsport rods...I think it was actually you who recommended them in some old thread I was reading through. Do you still think they are worthwhile checking out?
Fair enough. Yes, I had heard of those rods before but don't have any direct experience with them. I spoke to that guy some years back and I'm pretty sure he had a bit of experience with the 944 but possibly more the n/a models. Might be worth a call.
Having said that, for what you want and the budget you have, perhaps stick with the stock rods and bores (so long as they're not damaged). Agree with Sean that you're better off leaving them untouched if there's no major damage to them. You could put together a nice motor that has 350bhp with stock components and the money you save could be put into suspension for example? I know you probably want to do some "While you're in there" mods or prep for further mods in the future, but you can still get the build experience using stock components, still achieve your power goals and be driving the car again probably a lot sooner. Leave the big hp build for another time. Even do that slowly in the background by buying a 3ltr block and gradually getting parts needed for that motor. That would be my suggestion for someone in your shoes. Speaking from experience.
Originally Posted by thingo
You sure you want to delete the a/c? I could never get it working properly with my 951 but not having it was way worse than semi solid engine mounts or urethaned gearbox mount comfort wise for me.
Yeah, I'd be wanting good A/C in Brisbane too.
Originally Posted by JET951
Be careful with those bores, The entire block is alusil and there is a special process prepare the bores for use. They arn't like the usual cast iron block where you use a hone and give it a good cross hatch, that will ruin your bores. Unless your actually going up in piston size or you find that you have some scoring best to leave them be
Regards
Sean
While the local machine shop might think he knows how to lap the bores...if he doesn't and makes a mistake then you're fck'd. Take a pic of your bores and show us.
Yeah, I'll put up some pics of the bores for you guys to look at when I have opened the engine. If I can get away without needing to lap the bores, then even better, I'll save 160 bucks. Sticking with the stock rods, but still upgrading to ARP rod bolts will save me about 500 bucks. Like you say that money could be spend elsewhere, such as suspension.
Be careful with those bores, The entire block is alusil and there is a special process prepare the bores for use. They arn't like the usual cast iron block where you use a hone and give it a good cross hatch, that will ruin your bores. Unless your actually going up in piston size or you find that you have some scoring best to leave them be
Regards
Sean
I asked the first local engine builder in my area if he could handle an aluminum block. He said the following, "Yes, we can handle it. We have a flex ball hone of many sizes."
Make sure you are specific with them if they aren't familiar with your block or head. Give them info from the manual when you drop it off. When I left my head to be refinished, I told them explicitly to not over machine it due to wear limits listed in the manual and gave them the sheet from the WSM. They did a great job (different shop though).
03-22-2016, 02:14 AM
Timm's 952 Build Thread
While the local machine shop might think he knows how to lap the bores...if he doesn't and makes a mistake then you're fck'd. Take a pic of your bores and show us.