my DIY engine rebuild

[Nine8Six]

Great reading, thanks for that

Luck with the car mate

[flaps10]

Tucker (and everyone else who has responded either in this thread of via PM),

Thanks. I'm getting many supportive messages from people who are making the same decisions or at least want to know what they may be facing at some point.

Porsche owners really are turning out to be well grounded and non - ego driven. It's as if they're not compensating for anything

[JayG]

Originally Posted by flaps10

Porsche owners really are turning out to be well grounded and non - ego driven. It's as if they're not compensating for anything

unfortunately its not all Porsche owners, its most of the ones on this forum. go have a look at some of the other forums, especially 911/996/997/981 forums. Its a completely different atmosphere.

Thats not to say that there are not lots of great non-986 drivers that are great, but....

Its us Boxster drivers that are cool people

almost makes me not want to get a 996 for my wife

[BruceH]

Originally Posted by JayG

unfortunately its not all Porsche owners, its most of the ones on this forum. go have a look at some of the other forums, especially 911/996/997/981 forums. Its a completely different atmosphere.

Thats not to say that there are not lots of great non-986 drivers that are great, but....

Its us Boxster drivers that are cool people

almost makes me not want to get a 996 for my wife

Even if you get one, you still get to hang out here Definitely one of the most civilized forums.

[JayG]

Originally Posted by BruceH

Even if you get one, you still get to hang out here Definitely one of the most civilized forums.

Thy can pull my Boxster out of my cold dead hands

[mikeman]

Originally Posted by BruceH

Even if you get one, you still get to hang out here Definitely one of the most civilized forums.

lol kind of the same thought I have... keep eyeing a used 996 c4 for sale locally. ...winter is coming, after all.

Just don't want to start wandering over on those other forums. I usually need a shower after to get the stank off.

[mikeman]

Oh and thanks OP for the update ! good reading

[rp17]

Ouch! Not good but not too bad either. Complete failure was just avoided. Any longer and it would of been the marbles in the can failure which the engine consumes itself. Looks like just the bearing cage has shredded but not completely? Perhaps someone can chime in on how much material that is. Im guessing next step is clean up? Or possible tear down to do a clean up? There looks to be some grit in there but can't really tell. I suggest LN Spin On Oil Filter Adapter. Not a fix to get rid of the debris, but insurance to help minimize any further debris spreading after your clean up which ever route you take.

I've been following this thread with great interest and hope everything ends where your Box is back on the road. Good luck.

[78F350]

I've been following along with my '01 about a week behind. I'm glad that you at least found the easily identifiable problem. +1 on the LN spin-on adapter. It prevents oil from bypassing the filter.

A few suggestions to add for earlier in the thread:
I picked up a good wrench/bit for the transmission bolt at Lowes. It worked easily with a 8mm wrench and bar:


Also whenever I unbolt a transmission, I like to keep track of what goes where by sticking them in a piece of cardboard:



Also I had one driveshaft bolt that would not come out. Eventually it became stripped enough that the wrench was useless. The easy solution was to turn the shaft so that bolt was on the bottom, then grind off the head. With just a little prying the shaft came off over it. The rest of the bolt was easy to remove after starting it with pliers.

Thanks again for the thread and keep the updates coming.

[flaps10]

f350,
That wrench looks like it would work perfectly. If I don't put the hardware back right after removal then I typically will do the same cardboard piece you show in your picture. Given the nature of every bolt being different for the 986, it saves a lot of time. I arranged all of mine on the bench where they are still sitting and then took a phone pic of them just in case they get moved.

For anyone who messes up, Wayne did a bolt by bolt blow of the arrangement either in his book or on his web page for engine removal. Thanks Wayne!

f350, I also saw on another thread that you're the proud owner of a set of IMS tools so you really are close behind me.

rp17,
If anything the bearing cages seem okay but the bearing races both inner and outer are rough - ironically the inner one is rough for part of the way around and smooth for the rest of the way. The balls are also a bit pitted.

I cleaned out the inside of the intermediate shaft and the debris seemed to be contained near the bearing and it was clean as it went past 1/3 of the way back.

For f350 and those following, when I first got the bearing cover off and touched the bearing it seemed "okay" with only the tiniest amount of roughness detectable (which always means the bearing is toast). The center bolt did have a bit of slop so I knew I was uncovering something. I just had no idea until the bearing was in my hand and the glitter was all present that it hit me just how far gone it was.

[flaps10]

It has taken me a few days of pacing about, soul searching and even laying awake at night trying to plan my next move. I really wanted to believe that I had dodged the big one and that I might be able to install a new IMS and do some oil changes.

I also wanted to believe that Santa was real. I had a number of "what if's" going on in my head.

What if there is scoring on my crankshaft, or my main/rod bearings? What if I take the short cut and get my car back together and it makes it 1,000 miles and it ends with a clunk? What if I got it all back together including the new AOS, and still got a blinking oil light? What if I did get a clean bearing installed and my crank was fine but there was a hand full of glitter waiting in my oil cooler or oil pressure relief valve just waiting to contaminate a perfectly good bearing and then score up my crankshaft?

Would I ever really trust this engine to take my car on a road trip 500 miles from home, trashing a canyon somewhere 40 miles from the nearest tow truck? Not really.

I miss driving the car but I can't allow that to cloud my judgement and then end up with a smoking boat anchor.

When I shared my thoughts with my woman she said "You should tear it apart. You know how, you enjoy working on it and you bought the car as a hobby".

I had also recently queried Mr Raby to see if he had plans to do a plain bearing for those of us who own two row cars. He sent a quick reply telling me that the market isn't large enough to justify it, and also to please not install any LN products in my engine. That was a pretty direct statement. I'm guessing he doesn't carefully peel bandaids off either.

Damn that Santa Claus anyway.

So I'm going to proceed with the complete tear down. I will hold every part of this engine in my hands before long. I will get down to a bare crankshaft which I will need to have polished and checked for straightness. Jake also urged me to have everything cleaned ultrasonically to make sure every bit of debris is out.

That decision made, Chapter 2 begins this week with removal of the engine and the beginning of the tear down.

[BYprodriver]

Good call, do it nice or do it twice!

[Chuck W.]

Originally Posted by flaps10

So I'm going to proceed with the complete tear down..

Out of a purely selfish position, great. I didn't want to see this thread end.

I can change my oil and do my brakes. Anything over that & I am pushing it. I marvel and respect folks like you. I look forward to you progress.

Regarding Mr. Rady's comments, I can understand where he is coming from. I am guessing he fixes a lot of mistakes that folks like me make. Then we blame it on LNs products. And the fact that he is blunt is part of his beauty. You always know where he stands.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by flaps10

It has taken me a few days of pacing about, soul searching and even laying awake at night trying to plan my next move. I really wanted to believe that I had dodged the big one and that I might be able to install a new IMS and do some oil changes.

I also wanted to believe that Santa was real. I had a number of "what if's" going on in my head.



I miss driving the car but I can't allow that to cloud my judgement and then end up with a smoking boat anchor.

When I shared my thoughts with my woman she said "You should tear it apart. You know how, you enjoy working on it and you bought the car as a hobby".

I had also recently queried Mr Raby to see if he had plans to do a plain bearing for those of us who own two row cars. He sent a quick reply telling me that the market isn't large enough to justify it, and also to please not install any LN products in my engine. That was a pretty direct statement. I'm guessing he doesn't carefully peel bandaids off either.

Damn that Santa Claus anyway.

So I'm going to proceed with the complete tear down. I will hold every part of this engine in my hands before long. I will get down to a bare crankshaft which I will need to have polished and checked for straightness. Jake also urged me to have everything cleaned ultrasonically to make sure every bit of debris is out.

That decision made, Chapter 2 begins this week with removal of the engine and the beginning of the tear down.

While the IMS is out you can send it to LN for their Triple bearing upgrade.

Early bicycle chain style IMS w/ triple ceramic bearings & pinning inc. core charge. LN Engineering

[BFeller]

I selfishly agree that following Jake's advice is a good call. I installed his IMS Guardian. If it ever alerts the same advice he gave is what will be followed. Because you have the skill and have proven that you can and will document the tear down and rebuild your work will be my model. I have the dual row and wish that there could be an oil feed solution for the dul row. I understand totally that the market has to be there for the investement return FlatSix needs to do the design.

[mikefocke]

BFeller:

Dual row cars are older, less desirable, worth less and have a ~8x lower failure rate. Where is the market considering that LN already offers an upgraded bearing?

The dual row LN plus splash and vapor oiling have proven in thousands of cars to be good for well beyond the LN initial cautious estimates.

Put in a dual row LN and it will probably last you 'till the cars are 20-22 years old.

[BFeller]

Originally Posted by mikefocke

BFeller:

Dual row cars are older, less desirable, worth less and have a ~8x lower failure rate. Where is the market considering that LN already offers an upgraded bearing?

The dual row LN plus splash and vapor oiling have proven in thousands of cars to be good for well beyond the LN initial cautious estimates.

Put in a dual row LN and it will probably last you 'till the cars are 20-22 years old.

I apologize if my post appeared to be negative. I understood the market dynamics involved and intended it to be a supportive post.

[JayG]

Flaps,

A stellar job of documenting your steps!

You should write a book, "DIY Boxster motor rebuild"

I have a feeling this thread is going to be one of the top ones on the forum by the time you are all done. Already almost 2500 views

[flaps10]

I appreciate the thought Jay but I don't feel like I'm breaking new ground. Hell if I worked in a Porsche shop I would have been fired already for taking too long. Or smiling too much.

Besides, Wayne already wrote the book which I've found to be super helpful. The Bentley manual does cover engine removal and it was really great to have another reference. Past cylinder head removal though, the Bentley manual goes dark.

I'm mostly writing to add to the database of "how to" and things I learned along the way.

I guess now would be a good time to confess a couple of mistakes I've made. A sort of "confessions of an idiot with tools" section. In no particular order...

1) The dip stick tube is not flexible. The book says to guide the tube down as you lower the engine, and I'll swear on a stack of "Excellence" magazines that somewhere it says to push the dip stick tube and wiring harness into the engine compartment.

That is one brittle piece of plastic, so DO NOT push it. That tidbit will save you about $57 on your next Pelican order. Last night I noticed that there is a disconnect on the tube, so either no one noticed that in time, or it's not accessible until after you get the engine out. I saw reference in another thread today about someone else who broke his but was going to fabricate a new one. That would be tricky to do and still get an accurate oil level reading, so I hope that poster has all the pieces and can measure carefully. Certainly not an impossible feat, you would just have to think it through.

2) There is an instruction that tells you to drain the coolant using the coolant drain plug and the picture is a bit vague. I still don't know where the coolant drain plug is, but I do know where the oil pressure relief valve is. It's right were a coolant drain plug should be.

In my case I had it scoped out, and shoved a big metal tub under the car to catch the coolant, blocking off much of the light from my drop light. My typical trick when draining fluid is to crack it loose before shoving the catch pan under it and then spin it quickly and let it fall in the tub to be fished out later.

I remember thinking it was odd that not a whole bunch came out. Later I thought it was also odd that I was getting so damn much coolant out of every hose connection I broke even though I had already drained the coolant.

Imagine my surprise when I pulled the tub of clean coolant out with some oil floating in it, and WTF was a spring and piston doing in my coolant drain?

No harm done really, but like I said "uh. you're fired". Other than that, it has been smooth sailing.

[JayG]

its precisely the little things that you are figuring out that would be very useful to someone rebuilding their engine.

That stuff is not documented elsewhere