Paulyy

Can reuse studs. or go with ARP ones.

and yes, baffle and pick up mod from LR.

hinton

I am using ARP head studs and a cometic gasket for this build. Also, using a LR baffle kit as well as an IJ crank scraper and pickup tube support.

hinton

Here is another small update, and a little more info on the block filler. Probably elementary for many but i am trying to document everything!

hinton

For those who have built a 944 engine in the past, anything I need to know before I start assembling the short block?

From my reading, it sounds like you need to put Loctite 574 on the bottom of the girdle, and bolting up the oil pump allows proper girdle alignment. Is this correct, any other oddities I need to know about?

refresh951

Make sure you clean the oil passages in the crank thoroughly. Torque all bolts prior to applying 574 to make sure you have no bad threads, especially the smaller bolts, in case inserts are required. I generally install the oil pump to make sure front surface is aligned. Do not skimp on 574 but do not apply so much that it gets in the mains. I apply to both surfaces. IIRC Van had some good info on this.

hinton

Awesome, thanks for the info!

944crazy

Also, the 574 doesn't need to cover the whole mating surface of the girdle, only there where it's required to seal the oil passages in the girdle, so it shouldn't really be anywhere near the main bearings.

hinton

Gotcha, thanks!

Dave W.

IMHO it's more important to have the upper and lower halves of the thrust bearing aligned with each other. There's other ways to seal the oil pump.

hinton

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind as well. Not used to building motors with the oiling system the 944 has, nice little change of pace.

hinton

Here's another update, fitting the crank scraper!

hinton

Another update!

blown 944

Looks like a good build. I havn't watched all the videos yet.

In regards to the small end of the rods. I have had my engine apart 2 times now for a bad valve seat years ago and a refresh a couple years ago and the pins and rods are still floating perfectly. This process was used for years back when aftermarket rods were scarce. Obviously it is a better idea to use custom pistons and just retain the bushings, or upsize to the chevy bushing size, but it does still work fine without them.

Looking forward to watching the videos and the progress. Would love to see the hybrid strokers become the normal rebuild on these engine,s and I am very proud to have shared this concept all those years ago.

hinton

I'm so glad I went this route and can't thank you and Refresh951 enough for all the valuable info.

I did just run into one issue and would love your input:

I finished the rotating assembly and after turning everything over a few times I got a couple of metal shavings, almost like a hair, from around the thrust bearing. I have .004" of end play which I believe is in spec but it worries me. I did not have the oil pump bolted up when I torqued down the main girdle but K did try to make sure the thrust bearings halves lined up.

Thoughts before I pull it back apart?

blown 944

You better take a look at it. You should not see anything with just hand rotations. I always use the oil pump to pull the cradle forward before torquing the girdle down. Better to find an issue now rather than after its installed. Could be a mis aligned main cap that walked. or ?? Also make sure the thrust surfaces of teh crank are polished as well as the journals. It has been missed in the past.

Also I watched a couple vids and the clearance you are wanting on the piston skirts is .0045 to .0055. I would also look into the torque spec on the rods. From all the ones I know of it is 43 pound ft with those rods and bolts.