On the LWF, I agree that if you aren't tracking the car, it is of no real benefit on the street and can possibly lead to stalling issues. Mine doesn't stall at every stop light, and I can manage it about 80% of the time by riding the rpms down to 1000 before pushing in the clutch pedal. But that remaining 20% is annoying, and the hotter the day, the more likely it is to stall (AC running, oil cooler fan running, etc). Mine is the RS light weight flywheel and clutch. But I also have a cat bypass, open airbox, secondary bypass, etc. Not sure if that aggravates it or not. And as I said, I've been through 3 different steve wong chips as he worked with me to address the issue. And I even bought a new ISV just to eliminate that variable. Still the same result.

I'm not trying to scare anyone away from the LWF mod. On the track, it is very worthwhile and it really wakes up the throttle response. But as someone else said, it's a crap shoot.

 

1990-964, J richard, and TR6:

I appreciate all your responses about the LWF since they are not one-sided. For me, it comes down to the fact that I can't justify spending more money on upgrades that are not a "sure" thing. It's enough that I have to cover the expense of a rebuild - I do have to constrain myself beyond that (i.e., I really don't need the latest graphite/titanium driver since I can't hit it straight 300 yards anyway). I'll upgrade where I can and just look forward to getting my car back! Is there a worse time of the year to be without?

 

You mention the fact that you have a new ISV, does that mean you still have the old one left somewhere? As an experiment, take your old ISV and remove the resin covering the adjustment screw with a small sharp blade screw driver.
Next take the appropriate allen key and screw the adjustment screw inwards until you get a 3mm gap on the opposite side of the ISV slider.

Install the ISV without connecting the electrical plug and fine tune adjustments until you have areasonably steady 950rpm idle. Next connect the wiring loom and hey presto, no more stalling!!!

It works perfectly on mine and is one of those mods that really improve the driving experience since stalling s*cks big time.

Rgds,

Harald

 

Good luck with the rebuild, I have a 91 964 with 145,000 miles and I suspect may need a rebuild soon. I have no idea what a rebuild would cost. I am curious as to what you estimate the total rebuild would cost?

 

I'll let you all know in a little while. My "estimate" will surely be surpassed by the final price.

 

I would like to echo the statements of those who encourage the LWF.

I installed an RS flywheel very recently into my '94 Carrera 4. Prior to my doing so, I was very concerned about stalling issues also, having read all the input on this board. (I even considered ordering Andial's lightweight flywheel, which has some additional weight added to to an RS flywheel.) In my opinion, it has made a dramatic difference in the way my '94 Carrera 4 drives. Without any other changes to the car, the throttle response is much improved and the car pulls in every gear with a new eagerness that was lacking before. The car feels much quicker and is much more fun to drive. Consider again the RS flywheel or the Andial LWF. It makes a big difference, even on the street.

 

Man, you're killing me! How am I going to resist these improvements if you guys keep selling me on how well they've worked for you? I need more negative input if I'm going to stay solvent financially.

Thanks, hkiang

 

If you are really wanting to beef up the engine, do stiffer racing valve springs and titanium valve spring retainers. The factory valve springs and retainers are a weak point of the 964 engine. For the average street car, it's probably not a big deal, but if you are going to running it constantly at redline on the track, the oem springs/retainers aren't up to the task for an extended period of time.

 

Thanks, Greg. Although basically a street car, I would still consider the upgraded springs/retainers along with a camshaft upgrade. I'll talk it over with my mechanic next week (we missed each other this past Friday).

 

Visited my car today at the engine rebuild mechanic shop. Here’s what he has found out:
1) Strange epoxy sealing of two case bolts (picture below shows one of them). Suspect this is to stop leaks coming through bolt hole passages? This will possibly lead to splitting the case since I don’t like the looks (or background/potential issues) of epoxy blobs on the engine!
epoxy blob.jpg epoxy blob 2.jpg
2) Intake valves and guides look good - nice and tight and smooth. Standard regrind and cleanup will be fine. Exhaust valves are a bit mashed in the seat area and will need replacement. Guides are done too - too much wobble/play. Expected this (thanks, RL).
exhaust valve.jpg
3) Cylinders and pistons look good.
4) Will have heads lightly flycut (matching depths for all). BTW, this 92 engine does have gaskets. Light wet sand (with dead flat surface) the cylinder tops (right term?).
5) One cam is pitted - so now I just have to get a sportier regrind, right?
cam pitting.jpg
6) Chain ramps are worn - expected to replace anyway.
chain ramp.jpg
7) A few rocker shafts are worn and will need replacement. Got a picture below, but I’m not sure you can see it. Also a few have screws which seized. Mechanic regularly adds RSR o-ring in the grooves (OEM has none). Ever heard of that?
rocker shaft.jpg
8) Leaking cylinder sleeve found - does have the later version of face type o-ring under the “head” (?) of the cylinder, which is supposed to be better but apparently still failed.
9) Mechanic recommends against 3.8L upgrade since cost (minimum $2K for JE’s plus bored/plated sleeves) is not worth the 4% displacement increase. Have to agree… but if money grew on trees ….

That’s all I could remember for now. We meet next Friday to make the final decisions so he can really begin to work towards completion and getting me back on the road! Any helpful comments? Thanks.

 

Visited my mechanic today to review the final push to finish off the engine rebuild. Turns out this is his 100th engine rebuild. Half have been Porsche engines. I wonder how that ranks with most mechanics? I'm thinking the average wrench cannot dedicate himself to engine rebuilding since the work is not steady enough. Very happy with him - I will let you know how things end up for those of you in the DC area. I hope to have the car back in less than a month. I feel more anxious now than when our kids were "in the oven". Can't wait to get my car back!!

Case was split and the crank is finished magnaflux (no issues, as you might expect) and polishing. Mechanic told me the o-ring was missing on the two case bolts which were epoxied over to stop leaks, perhaps due to an attempt to remove the bolts with the engine still in the car (not possible, right?). 993SS regrind cams are ready. I am going with the true 3.8L P/C's from LN Engineering (JE's and Nickies). Requires a flycut/grind of the heads to ensure flatness for optimal cylinder sealing. Very minimal deck height change so should not impact CR. I must admit being a bit puckered over these new P/C's and recognize that a number of RL'ers have their justifiable doubts about this. We will see....

I'm ditching the FabSpeed cup airbox and K&N filter. With the rebuild, I don't want to take any chances with contamination coming in the intake. Also, the more I've thought about it, the stock snorkel looks like it grabs cooler air anyway. Will be selling the cup airbox frame on RL for cheap.

Bought new ARP 4206 head studs and EBS valve springs/seats/TI retainers. Turns out one of the injectors would not pass muster during cleaning / recal - had to buy a new one and recal it with the others. Makes me wonder the effect I will feel when all are in concert together!

Rennline engine brace + WEVO blacks. About to order my custom Steve Wong chip. New clutch ready to go. New plugs and wires. Final suspension readjustment will be done after reassembly since I did not like the last setup by another shop.

Sorry to blab on. Happens when you're anxious to get your car back. When it's all done, those who are interested can PM me on the cost. Cheers to all.

 

I see from page one of this thread that Taylor is your mechanic. He's my favorite wrench in the DC metro area. I'm looking forward to the finale of this rebuild, though not nearly as much as you.

 

Thanks, Jim. Yes, I am looking forward to it. Maybe I'll hoist a beer as big as the one in your picture.

 

Stopped by today for a check-in with my wrench on this project. He told me an interesting technique for removing valve guides (my exhaust guides were shot) that I thought worth passing along. He told me that just hammering the guide out can risk cracking the head (sounded like he learned that first hand). What he does is run a tap into the stem side and thread a bolt up into the ID of the guide. Then he hammers on the bolt end thru the ID, thus sort of pulling the guide out instead pushing it out (which makes it want to swell and bind). Maybe that's common knowledge, but I thought it clever enough to share. Certainly would hate to see someone damage/ruin a head for lack of using this approach.

Bottom end rebuild is complete, he'll do the top end next week and then hopefully my car will be ready soon after! Boy, do I miss it.

 

Wow, over 6 months to do an engine rebuild. You're a patient man.