Engine Removal, Rebuild, and Re-installaion
 

This is going to be a real time thread so it will be slow when progress is slow, or more to the point, when I am. I am not a mechanic, I'm an engineer. That may make this whole process a whole lot more entertaining to watch. Comments are welcome from all corners as that's part of the fun. Just know I give as good as I get, maybe better. Here is my favorite picture of my boxster. I did not post it on the my favorite picture string because I'b be mistaken for a troll, well maybe not mistaken.

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Oh yeah, that's my new tractor pulling the Box, a 1979 8 speed Wheel Horse with 14hp cast iron Kohler. It was a uniform shade of rust when I bought it - nice ride.

To get the motor out I used to 101 Porsche Projects book. I highly recommend purchasing this if you are reading this string. 101 Projects step by step directions. It also has pictures for each step so I refer you to that text for pictures. Here is the engine out of the car

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This is one of many photos I took of the engine. Walk around the engine taking photos at about every 45 degrees, from a distance and then close up. you can not take enough pictures. I have tons, and as I peruse them I realize I don't have enough.

So here is an interesting picture. I decided to label everything with blue tape and a sharpie. I used this everywhere - a blue tape flag and a description of what it is - that made me go find out what everything was as I disassembled. I'm thinking that will help with re-assembly. I also used this with as many bolts as practical keeping the bolts taped to the holes in the component they came out of. Also as many of the loose parts and associated bolts are in their own labeled gallon ziplock bags as possible. Also, note the AOS is failing, plenty of oil in the intake. Apparently there was no white smoke, but look at the oil on the manifold between the alternator and AC compressor mounting location near the power steering pump.

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Note the overhead crane at the top of the photo. It is a 2X8 hung from the rafters at 90 degrees to them. There is a steel "A" frame hanging upside down with wheels on the legs of the "A" running on the top of the 2X8. A come along completes the set up and allows one person to slowly and carefully remove the split case halves, and remove the crankshaft and bearing block with a minimum of drama.


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Good show! :)

I'll be watching this closely. Thanks for sharing! :cool:
(Don't be stingy with all those pics you're taking)

Though the lower end looked almost new when it was opened up (including what appeared to be machining chips), due to mileage, and the failing AOS, there was plenty of oily carbon built up on the pistons. Cleaning it was a challenge. Various hydrocarbon solvents (Chem tool, carb cleaner, brake cleaner, lacquer thinner, etc.) were tried with limited success, the best success came with Chem tool. After doing a load of research a two step process seemed easiest. Buy an empty paint can and soak the piston in Chem tool overnight. After a little scrubbing with a plastic brush only a thin tan build up was left, which turned out to be water soluble. Scrubbing that with a hydrocarbon thinner has very little effect. Some soap and water (wrist pin and rings removed) with a little baking soda cleaned it right up. Rinse the heck out of the bare piston in hot water, dry completely with a lint free towel, Make sure water is out of every crack and crevice. Hit it with WD 40 just to be sure no water is left behind, then soak it with Mobil 1. Or the pistons could just be sent out for cleaning, but where's the fun in that?



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B12 is by far the best for this outside of an ultrasonic cleaner..

Meaure those cylinders with a dial bore gauge from different axis and at 3 points top to bottom and look for taper and out of roundness. Guilty until proven innocent!

Another tool to buy! One of the perks of doing anything yourself. Looks like a dial bore gauge will join the collection. Having the gear carrier and crankshaft out of the car its time to replace the main and thrust bearings. This engine was a daily driver, mainly freeway with 120K miles. The previous owner drove semi aggressively in Houston traffic and was a stickler for oil changes with the Porsche dealer. As the pictures show, the mains were shot with the babbitt missing in some spots and the backer worn clean through to the steel on at least one edge. The crankshaft mains were not scored and actually looked great so they got a light polish. My takeaway from this is the recommended lube results in worn out main bearings at 120K for a car driven mainly in top gear. The rod bearings, though not as worn as the mains, were also replaced.

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The IMS bearing failed on this engine. Using this and other forums, the cause of bearing failure appears to be related to loss of lubrication. The root cause of the lubrication loss appears to be due to differential pressure created by the IMS tube heating and cooling pumping engine oil through the IMS bearing. Venting the IMS tube eliminates this, and should allow the grease sealed in the IMS bearing to remain with the bearing. The "new" used IMS shaft is from Ebay, and the original bearing with buna-n seals was replaced with a Nachi 6204 2NSE sporting full contact Viton seals. The bolt is from the Pelican Parts kit. A vent hole can be seen drilled between the teeth of the camshaft drive sprocket. Another is drilled in the same place 180 degrees out from the first hole.http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1385344622.jpg
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Great thread- thanks for sharing. Is the replacement bearing a 'standard' bearing in all other ways and is it a single-row? Did the tractor really pull the car?

The replacement bearing is similar to the original bearing. Both are 6204 sealed bearings. "6204" is bearing speak for a single row deep groove ball bearing of a certain size. After that there are other things to consider. The original bearing appeared to be a 6204 "N", or "0", meaning a standard clearance bearing. The bearing code was partially outdated so decoding it took some guesswork. It was also sealed on both sides, but interestingly enough, reading the bearing number embossed on the side seals, it should have been sealed on only one side. Life's little mysteries. The seals (more choices) were Buna n full contact seals. Buna n itself comes with different material properties depending on the blend used to make it. The replacement bearing is a 6204 C3 which means it should have more clearance than an "N". The C3 clearance is used in high temperature environments to maintain clearance under thermal distortion. This bearing was also being marketed as a high temp bearing, so the grease inside should hold up to higher temperatures along with the Viton seals. The tractor can pull a plow, the car was no problem. So tonight new timing chains, a new timing chain guide rail, and a new timing chain pad were installed. :dance:

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Wow those chains look HD compared to what I've seen in other engines.

Wow, badass.. you have a lot of guts. Great thread!

Wow, brings back memories,.... neat car eh!
You were lucky to find a used IMS in good shape. If you put the vent holes in did you also pin the gears to the shaft?
I see your old IMS on the lower shelf, can it be salvaged? I was lucky, LN was able to salvage mine.

Is that the original IMS to Crank chain tensioner? Did any of your chain guides or tensioners fail?

The first Pic is a keeper. Maybe the Admin. would consider it as the opening Pic for this DIY Project guide! Its great.

This is a 3 chain engine which may be why the chains look HD, the IMS to crank was redesigned to a gear type chain instead of sprocket type in the 3 chain engines. Finding an IMS took forever, and then 2 in one week on Ebay. I've seen several others since, but none with a gear drive. I considered pinning the shaft, but weighing the risk benefit (loose pins in the engine) and my novice status as a machinist, I'm staying away from that. The old IMS shaft took it on the chin and now has 0.015 wobble in the gear. It's dead. Maybe I can stand it up with a base under it and make it into a trophy. That is the original tensioner arm. The IMS gave up the ghost at idle there was only one chip out of the plastic on a tensioner that looked related to the failure. There were metal chips embedded in all the tensioners. They will all be replaced. And I'd be honored to have admin use that first pic as an intro!;)

More parts have come in so there is progress. The block half was tilted down and cleaned with brake cleaner. It didn't need much
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The bearing carrier was installed in the block half

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and pistons were installed

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:D

Finally got a few hours free to make a little more progress.

On to pistons 1,2,3, so I'm taking credit for "making" this tool too, since I wrapped painters tape around a 3 inch extension and snapped the rest together- it worked great!

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Instead of using a mirror to check the piston wrist pin clip, I put my cell phone in the adjacent cylinder and snapped a picture.

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next the head and valve train goes on:

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I finally understand the valve timing. Took me long enough. ;)

Then the valve cover

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More to come:cheers:

Love the pics, great progress!

Progress?
 

Your project looks good (just saw your 12/23 post)!

I have a 2001 Boxster S with IMS failure ... trying to figure out what I should do!

Thanks for all of the pictures and information.

I too am enjoying the great pics!

More progress made now that I can take a little time off work.

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Two things I would do differently are 1) Take many more pictures. I took maybe 50 during disassembly, 3 times that amount would have been better. Wide shots of the whole engine from every possible angle, and close ups of everything before it is taken apart. 2) More blue tape - I labeled every bolt and put them into ziplocks for each item removed and labeled the items for general assembly, but I did not label every connector in the wiring harness. I'd strongly recommend doing that for assembly. I finally figured it out but took a most of an afternoon to do it. I also tried to cheap out and reuse the brittle plastic vacuum balance tube. Crack! Pelican Parts, here I come. :ah:

After receiving and replacing a few items over the next few days, it will be time to put the engine back in the car.

Here are "before" pictures

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Note the oil on the manifold under the power steering pump and all over everything else in that area

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I intend to post pictures of the installation as well.:cheers:

I've learned a lot in this process - The members in this forum have been great and I appreciate all the advice and knowledge they gave to me. If you have the time, space and money to rebuild the engine, it is worthwhile if you have that interest. I drew the line of rebuilding at whether or not the valves hit the pistons. If the valves contacted the pistons it would be time for a different engine. I would make that same decision today.

Congrats!
You accomplished something that many professionals are afraid of, and even more try and fail.

I would think that after this accomplishment you have a new found respect for what it takes to work with these engines at an in depth level everyday.

Love to see people tackle issues and win!

So after chasing down and correcting a wiring error and a related missing standoff / clamp, the clutch alignment tool ordered over a week ago, with two day shipping, finally arrived. It says "Ford 03" on it, what a surprise. Additional progress has been made:

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I'll be installing the engine in the coming days. I have identified 18 connections between the car and the engine and made a checklist. after I have verified it, I'll post it for future reference.

Engine has beem installed in the car, cranked, failed to start, members of this forum identified a valve timing issue, engine removed, retimed, and who knows, maybe it will start when it is installed again. I've learned a lot, and if this motor fails, a 911 motor goes in, or maybe I branch out to an LS1. The main thing is to keep on learning.

It's alive!!!! bu wa! ha! ha! ha! ha!!!!, Got the engine re-installed and cranked it up. Cranked and idled smoothly at first, then the idle fell off and got thready, a little gas to keep it going and then 3 bangs and I shut it down quick. I was sure that was curtains and the CEL came on. It threw an O2 sensor low voltage, a "random misfire" and misfires from both sides of the engine. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I fired it back up. Much less drama this time. It was still searching for idle, and all the oily hand prints were buring off the engine. So I shut it down and cleared the codes. It fired right back up again and I let it get warm at idle, took it to 2000 rpm (very smooth) then back to idle for a bit, 2500 rpm then idle for a bit, 3000 rpm, then idle all smooth. Idle was much improved but not perfect. Gauges seemed proper, no warning lights and no more CEL. BUT, when I put it in gear, and let the clutch out, it made a noise like clashing gear teeth. My thought was it sounded like the flywheel just touching the starter gear. It did that twice and then quit. Ideas?

"When I put it in gear, and let the clutch out, it made a noise like clashing gear teeth. My thought was it sounded like the flywheel just touching the starter gear. It did that twice and then quit. Ideas?[/QUOTE]

Just to clarify. Gearbox can be engaged/disengaged ok, all gears are selectable with engine running and clutch in, but when clutch out bad noise and no drive to wheels?

Turns out when you let the clutch out, the car moves, and you may, or may not turn the steering wheel. If like me, you are low on power steering fluid, you may or may not get the clashing noise directly in your right ear. Affter topping up the power steering fluid, the problem was resolved.

Great thread!

Yippee! A fantastic accomplishment. Thanks for posting.

Very impressive, well done and excellent thread!

Details of the rebuild:
Everything touched was cleaned and repainted as necessary
Heads sent out .010 out of flat corrected, new seals installed, valve job
All timing chains replaced
Chain ramps replaced
Main Bearings replaced
Thrust bearings replaced
Rod bearings replaced
Clutch disc replaced
Clutch pivot in transmission replaced
Engine seals replaced
Air oil separator replaced
Pistons and rings cleaned. Original piston rings reused
Plastic balance tube replaced
Intermediate shaft replaced with a modified IMS to reduce the chance of IMSB failure
Pelican parts IMS bolt/sealing parts used
Nachi high temp Viton sealed IMS bearing installed
New connecting rod bolts
New front motor mount

Non engine items:
New horns
Both window regulators fixed with the bicycle cable adjuster trick
Birds nests and other trash deleted from the front radiators
Broken plastic tabs on the rear wing plastic cover glued with epoxy and plastic cover re-installed
Headlights polished to remove yellow haze
Car detailed

Wow just saw this thread, congrats on the rebuilt I wish I have the guts to do this one day! I am pretty sure its an awesome learning experience and you probably end with a different view of the car when driving it.

I was asked to bump this thread and report out how it turned out. 14,700 miles later this is still my daily driver and it just doesn't get old. Top down, wailing flat 6 every day, very nice. I hit redline at least 4 times today - I need to pick that up a little. I have to say that the forum was super supportive during the rebuild. It would not have come out nearly as nice without everyone pitching in, with a special thanks to Jake Raby and the other professionals on the forum for giving their encouragement, knowledge and advice. :D I planned to take the IMS bearing out at 15, 000 miles to inspect it just to see if my modified IMS shaft worked then replace it with new bearing for grins, but now I'm thinking more like 20,000 miles... Thanks to all.

Interesting that this thread came up again today, as I was just thinking about doing some major surgery on my 3.2. I have had the engine out once to do the chain guides ( mine's a 5 chain) but I've not gone deeper. It is a very rewarding as well as educational experience.
Congratulations on you successful endevour and thanks for posting your update!

Awesome. I did a rebuild to a Fiat 124 spider years ago and it was a similar "get your feet wet" learning experience. The original engine in that car had a connecting rod failure that went through the side of the block at about 105k miles. I beat the snot out of that car...driving 90mph on the freeway on a long drive to work. Replaced it with an engine from a coupe that had a low 60k miles which I tore down. The valves were coated with a this layer of "coke." I used a wire wheel to remove the carbon build up and replaced the valve seals.

So the original owner got 120K out of the car before the bearing failed? Do you know what oil the original owner used? Do you know his oil change interval...ie. 5k, 10k?

James, Quite a project to take on, glad everything worked out. Could you possibly explain in short what it takes to actually get engine out? Mainly, how high the car has to be for it to drop down.

Jamesp! Why did I have no idea you had an engine thread on here? I knew you'd been inside for sure but didn't see the pictures or get the story behind the tear down.

One thing I cringed for a moment on was when I saw that pic of the wrist pin clip. The phone pic was very clear but it looked to me like the clip wasn't seated properly (some sticking out at the top). Could be the angle I guess. Obviously it's in just fine if it hasn't popped out in all this time.

Your main bearing description sounds identical to mine, at about the same mileage.

The thread came in handy to look at some hoses after I pulled my intake off.

I found higher is better. It really depends on the jack used to lower the engine. I took out the rear crossmember after carefully marking its installed position with spray paint for reassembly. I then took out the entire drive train. There are many connections between the engine and the car. I suggest using the 101 projects book as a guide.