Although I resisted, I am now in the process of having an engine rebuild to resolve oil leaks that were noticeably increasing over the past year. When I bought my 964 a little over two years ago, I only needed to add a ½ qt every 1000 miles or so. Recently, that had worsened to about 1 qt every 750 miles. When I had a suspension upgrade in March, the mechanic told me the oil problem was very serious and dramatically insisted on a rebuild. I didn’t believe him. So I took it to another guy, who I have since gained a huge amount of trust in, and together we agreed there were enough indications to drop the engine. One of the other reasons was a big reduction in firmness in the clutch, which would be much easier to replace with the engine out.

My Targa is a 1992 with just over 80,000 miles. Since I plan to keep the car indefinitely (I’m very loyal), I just figured I should go ahead and get this over with. My leakdown results were all pretty close to 90% (almost 10%). Cylinder #1 had a significant leak at the seal with the case, and my chain boxes were big leakers. There was also a very good chance that the front main crank seal was leaking. My garage floor was getting messy despite my oil mat, and I was concerned about oil on the exhaust.

I went by today to see the progress. Engine is out and breakdown is underway. I got to see the clutch come out and it was obviously ready for replacement. Like a dork I forgot my camera – I had wanted to get pictures and post them. Mechanic pointed out a number of minor related issues; fortunately, the flywheel was in good shape. He explained how he would fix the notable degradation in the fork, pivot shaft, and spline.

Well, I’m “in” (top end rebuild and clutch at least). I have a short list of “while you are in there” upgrades planned, but nothing too major. BTW, my mechanic is not in favor of head porting and prefers a modest cam upgrade instead. Comments?

So, I’m taking a financial hit while suffering without my all-time favorite toy just when the weather is begging for a drive. I hope to have the car back in mid-June. Can’t wait! Will also get the suspension readjusted (correctly this time).

Wish me luck! Any comments/suggestions are always appreciated.

 

RS clutch and flywheel.(and chip upgrade)
Had mine resealed this winter...The new clutch transformed the car.
Dwane

 

I'm on business in Silver Springs on Tuesday. Who's rebuilding the engine?

tom

 

Redo / reinforce the engine mount bar thing ?
Redo the engine mounts with the wevo mounts ?
Redo the heat pad over the engine ?
Redo the oil lines on the motor ?
Redo the fuel lines on and around the motor ?
Get the engine tin powder coated ?
Upgrade the valve covers ?
Flow bench the butterfly ?
Get into the engine compartment and clean / detail it ?
Take out all the tail lights and clean up and paint ?
Take out the oil tank and clean it and repaint it ?

 

slave cylinder & slave cylinder hose?

 

Glad to hear the dramatic difference with the new clutch. Hope I see similar improvement. I'm not planning on the RS clutch (how much more $?), and I'm concerned about the potential for LWF stalling issues (although many have said the SW chip resolves that). I guess I have to restrain myself since I had not anticipated the rebuild quite this soon.

Actually it's not in Silver Spring, MD, where I live. Being done by Taylor at German Auto Group in Springfield VA (just below the "mixing bowl" off I-95).

Hmm

Thanks very much for your great input!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_flow_bench

Painting behind the tail lights ? Sure you can do it .
Painting the tail lights ? Sure you can do it .

 

I don´t understand why a rebuild at 80.000 miles, my 964 has 100K miles and it´s very healthy still

 

+1 and change out the ISV. You should have very few stalling issue.

 

Good question. You have a 93, which may have an updated seal between the cylinder and case, which is where I have my most serious leak that compels dropping the engine. I believe that sometime in the 92 model year, or later, this OD seal was moved outward to just under the head of the cylinder. I may be wrong - I am trying to recollect an explanation made to me. Anyone, please chime in if you know better. Mine is an Aug 91 build.

Beyond the strictly technical elements, there are more subjective aspects to the decision of spending the time and money to drop a 911 engine. I don't see it as necessarily black and white unless something drastic has occurred. To me, there were enough factors, not the least of which was - I want to keep and enjoy the car, so I wanted to get this behind me.

 

As part of this rebuild, I'm strongly considering having the mechanic remove the A/C. He seems to disagree with that though. However, as a Targa owner I really don't use it, which is kind of a no-no for the seals and such. I just see that big unused blob of weight back there and want to chuck it (although I would certainly save it). Any comments to tip me one way or the other? Thanks!

 

I'm going to have to disagree on this one. I have the RS LWF and clutch and I also bought a brand new ISV (after several clean out attempts on the old one) and I have now been through three different Steve Wong chips. Result? My RS America still sometimes has a tendency to stall at lights or in traffic if I have the AC running. I'm not saying not to do the LWF and clutch mod. It really wakes up the throttle response and rev matching and it makes the car a whole lot more fun. But just be aware that it may come at a cost of having to manage the stalling tendencies. Everything is a trade off.

 

I have a targa with A/C, and find if driving it in heavy rain, the only way I can keep the screen clear on the inside is to use the A/C. I want to reduce the weight a bit, but my A/C is staying.

 

Greg might be right. I'm not running any A/C.

 

Just remove the compressor and the line. They just unbolt. Leave the compressor mount. You can probably also remove the front condenser. Again, they just unbolt. If you ever decide you want AC again, just bolt everything back in and re-charge it. Easy.