my DIY engine rebuild

[78F350]

If you haven't already seen it, take a look at the video referenced here:
How to Build a 3.8L Porsche Track Monster
Maybe jump to about 8:20 and 12:00 to highlight some key points.

That shows all new parts going in, but makes me wonder if you can add in a new single rod and piston to the engine if you rebalance all of them across the engine.

There are used rods, but good idea? I don't know.



***EDIT:
A quick read on cracked-rod design/cracked cap technology makes me think that installing a used rod or even reinstalling your old rods/bolts is probably not a good idea. Look at some of the aftermarket products. They are probably better and cheaper than OE. ***

[Jamesp]

Great thread. Way down on post #67 you have a shot of the cam cover and commented that whoever worked on this engine used lots of grey goo. There is a small oil galley in the cam cover just inboard a bolt hole towards the top of the photo. If that galley is plugged with sealant, the end of the camshaft blows off and can take the green plug with it pumping the engine oil onto the ground. Something to keep in mind during re-assembly.

[hemonu]

Originally Posted by flaps10

I'm making a call to a local hot rod shop that has the capacity to do ultrasonic cleaning and do the polish work.

If it is a good shop you can trust, they may be able to polish and balance a set of piston rods at a reasonable price. That might allow to integrate a used one and strength and balance of the engine would be even better than OEM. For the damaged piston they also should be able to measure the wear of pistons and bore and than you can decide to change one or all. But after 120k and engine opened ...

I remember changing a single broken piston ring on the engine of my first car. I was young, still at school and had little money Only a few weeks later the next was broken ;-)

[Jake Raby]

I have a couple of seats left in the December 3-6 class.

[flaps10]

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

I have a couple of seats left in the December 3-6 class.

Jake,
Bad timing for me, as Dec 3 is my woman's birthday and we have non refundable tickets to Mexico. When is the next possible class? I'm sure I can get support to attend.

[Jake Raby]

Originally Posted by flaps10

Jake,
Bad timing for me, as Dec 3 is my woman's birthday and we have non refundable tickets to Mexico. When is the next possible class? I'm sure I can get support to attend.

The end of February,
email Kaley to get signed up. Kaley@rabyenginedeveloment.com

[spendy]

Are any intro classes planned in the near future? Don't presently see any listings on the Worldpac site.

thanks

[Jake Raby]

Originally Posted by spendy

Are any intro classes planned in the near future? Don't presently see any listings on the Worldpac site.

thanks

No, we are done for 2014. The WTI class may go away, so I can offer my DFI Porsche engine class through WTI. I can only do 12 classes/ year.

That said, I will offer 3-4 enthusiast classes at our facility next year.

[Jamesp]

How are you going to lift your engine into a stand? I built an overhead crane with a come along and a 2X8 bolted to the ceiling joists with angle iron. The truck the come along hangs from was made with iron strap and bolts. This was handy to lift the engine into a stand and to move heavy engine components from the engine to the bench and back in a very controlled manner. In this picture there is a second rope taking load on the cantilevered end of the engine to reduce the moment on the bell housing bolts. As is shown, I also used this setup to split the case.

[flaps10]

I haven't posted to this thread in some time because I've been in parts ordering mode and of choose life, work, travel,etc can slow down a project.

I'm writing this from a tablet so please excuse any typo, punctuation, spelling errors or spazzed out photo links.

First pic...


The above pic is when i got all my pieces back from being ultrasonic cleaned, my crank polished and magna fluxed

At this point i should stop and clarify that i am not actually "rebuilding" this engine but merely repairing the truly honked up parts.


Above is a box of parts that are not going back in my engine as of about 30 minutes ago. It is by no means complete.

One of the things i needed to replace before i could get very far were the oil spray nozzles. They look almost like small rifle brass and are located in the bearing carrier. You need to install them before you can install the main bearings and because i didn't really wrap my head around them i didn't have them on order early enough. Once again Pelican Parts came through with the best prices and super fast delivery.

They came the other day along with new chain guides for the IMS chain. Since I've been sitting on all new crank bearings, rod bearings, a used but excellent rod to replace my number six rod, and APC rod bolts i was about out of excuses.

So today I turned the bus around and started putting this bucket of bolts back on the road.


This shows the bearing carrier with fresh bearings installed, thrust bearings in place and the crank laying in place.

I temporarily installed the old bearing carrier bolts and tightened them in the proper order but only to 5 ft lbs so i could get a feel for how the crank felt and get an idea of what kind of end play I am looking at. Wow is it smooth. I have APC bolts coming for the bearing carrier and expect them in the next few days. I will replace the existing bolts before i torque any further and check that end play.


This pic shows the APC rod bolts next to the stock ones. They are not cheap so it seems a shame to hide them so far inside. The piece of mind in knowing i have reduced the likelihood of having a bolt stretch or bearing spin is worth it though.

I used Joe Gibbs assembly grease on the rod bearings and the APC lube on the bolt threads. I made absolutely certain that the cracked interfaces on the rod bearing caps nested perfectly together before snugging them up. I spent a lot of time carefully wiping down the parts and really feeling how they went together.

The manual has you torque the rod bolts to 15 ft lbs, then 90 degrees more. The instructions with the APC bolts tell you to use a stretch guage (which i don't have) or going to 45 ft lbs. Having read up on the stretch guage idea i think i would go that way next time. Cool concept.



Above is the assembled bearing carrier as of just a while ago. Again, i spent quite a bit of time feeling each rod as they went together and I'm quite happy with my stopping place for the day

[rp17]

Nice job! What are your plans on the imx shaft? With the engine apart, there are few options.

[dcdrechsel]

Thanks for taking the time to document -really informative .What are APC bolts ?Familiar with ARP but not APC .
Thanks..............

[flaps10]

It is ARP, sorry. CRS is obviously creeping in too.

As for ims options they number a bit fewer for those of us with a dual row bearing.
There is stock which is probably the weakest option. I take that back, the pelican kit that installs a single row bearing and spacer is my least favorite solution.
With no plain bearing ever going to happen, this leaves the roller bearing by EPS as sold by vertex or the LN dual row ceramic.

One thing I haven't noticed on any of the various porsche forums that i frequent is anyone saying either product had let them down. Also, when presented with the diagnoses for my metal filled engine Jake asked that i not use the LN bearing, and rightly so for someone wanting to protect a company reputation.

I don't know that anything I'm doing here would change his opinion. That said, the bearing is currently still available to the consumer and is easily the most confidence inspiring option available.

So far no one has called me for having all six connecting rods installed. In real life bank 1-3 rods have the piston attached and are pushed through the case and the rod caps done after. I really wanted to get a feel for how the parts fit. The entire thing is sitting at low torque..Ive decided to go in for a stretch gauge before exercising the new torque wrench i received for Christmas.

[ultimate1]

Originally Posted by flaps10

It is ARP, sorry. CRS is obviously creeping in too.

As for ims options they number a bit fewer for those of us with a dual row bearing.
There is stock which is probably the weakest option. I take that back, the pelican kit that installs a single row bearing and spacer is my least favorite solution.
With no plain bearing ever going to happen, this leaves the roller bearing by EPS as sold by vertex or the LN dual row ceramic.

One thing I haven't noticed on any of the various porsche forums that i frequent is anyone saying either product had let them down. Also, when presented with the diagnoses for my metal filled engine Jake asked that i not use the LN bearing, and rightly so for someone wanting to protect a company reputation.

I don't know that anything I'm doing here would change his opinion. That said, the bearing is currently still available to the consumer and is easily the most confidence inspiring option available.

So far no one has called me for having all six connecting rods installed. In real life bank 1-3 rods have the piston attached and are pushed through the case and the rod caps done after. I really wanted to get a feel for how the parts fit. The entire thing is sitting at low torque..Ive decided to go in for a stretch gauge before exercising the new torque wrench i received for Christmas.

I also have a dual row bearing and on my second LN ceramic bearing and I added the TuneRS direct oil feed last year. Keep in mind that I drive my car a fair amount on the highway. I drive it like a Porsche was meant to be driven and I am at around 166k on the odometer. I do know that TuneRS has been racing their cars for several years using this setup. Here is the link. Plus you can use either the LN bearing, EPS bearing or the steal bearing just like the original one supplied with the Direct Oil Feed kit. I might add that the original IMS was not the reason I had to rebuild my engine at about 116k miles. The 5th and 6th cylnders had oil deposits. Another reason why you never follow Porsche corporate / dealership advice for oil changes every 15k or 7500 miles. Special thanks to whoever owned my car first for that. Anyway that ordeal taught me a lot about my Boxster.

Lubrication has always been the problem. I thing the EPS sounds like a good idea but I would feel a lot more comfortable if more people shared their experience with the EPS before I were to consider it in when I decide to drop in a 3.2 or 3.4 in my Boxster. Here is the link for you to check it out.

DIRECT OIL FEED (DOF) FOR IMS BEARINGS | TuneRS Motorsports

I am looking forward to your progress on this thread because I want to do the same thing with a 3.2 or 3.4 to have ready when I hit 200 or 250k on the odometer

[Smallblock454]

Hi flaps10,

i know you will not do a complete engine rebuilt. Don't know what is on you replacement list. I hardly recommend to replace all plastic parts on the chain ramps. They sometimes fail and can produce massive engine fails. As an exmaple: over here in germany we had a 996 with a broken valve case cause by a broken plastic slide part of a chain ramp.

Thanks for your write up. I enjoy it.

Thanks for the DOF link, ultimate1. This looks very good instead of the LN solutions. Problem is that it is very expensive for poeple outside the US, because we have to pay shipping plus tax and customs on parts and shipping on it. So unfortunately it's very expensive - approx. 840 euros = 1025 usd at the moment. Plus eventually a new ceramic bearing which is around 250 euro = 305 usd. So in the end we end up at around 1330 usd.

Regards
Markus

[rp17]

Originally Posted by flaps10

It is ARP, sorry. CRS is obviously creeping in too.

As for ims options they number a bit fewer for those of us with a dual row bearing.
There is stock which is probably the weakest option. I take that back, the pelican kit that installs a single row bearing and spacer is my least favorite solution.
With no plain bearing ever going to happen, this leaves the roller bearing by EPS as sold by vertex or the LN dual row ceramic.

One thing I haven't noticed on any of the various porsche forums that i frequent is anyone saying either product had let them down. Also, when presented with the diagnoses for my metal filled engine Jake asked that i not use the LN bearing, and rightly so for someone wanting to protect a company reputation.

I don't know that anything I'm doing here would change his opinion. That said, the bearing is currently still available to the consumer and is easily the most confidence inspiring option available.

So far no one has called me for having all six connecting rods installed. In real life bank 1-3 rods have the piston attached and are pushed through the case and the rod caps done after. I really wanted to get a feel for how the parts fit. The entire thing is sitting at low torque..Ive decided to go in for a stretch gauge before exercising the new torque wrench i received for Christmas.

Perhaps the replacement shaft with triple row bearing from LN is not for sale anymore? Do recall not too many of those were being sold a year or two ago so it might be off the shelf.

Hope you had a good Christmas and got all the parts and tools you needed. Thanks for documenting this refresh/rebuild. If you have some spare time on your hands, here is another rebuild thread that you may like.


http://www.planet-9.com/987-cayman-boxster-service-tech/86847-engine-removal-question.html

[Jake Raby]

Lubrication has always been the problem.

Load has always been the problem.

[ultimate1]

Originally Posted by Smallblock454

Hi flaps10,

i know you will not do a complete engine rebuilt. Don't know what is on you replacement list. I hardly recommend to replace all plastic parts on the chain ramps. They sometimes fail and can produce massive engine fails. As an exmaple: over here in germany we had a 996 with a broken valve case cause by a broken plastic slide part of a chain ramp.

Thanks for your write up. I enjoy it.

Thanks for the DOF link, ultimate1. This looks very good instead of the LN solutions. Problem is that it is very expensive for poeple outside the US, because we have to pay shipping plus tax and customs on parts and shipping on it. So unfortunately it's very expensive - approx. 840 euros = 1025 usd at the moment. Plus eventually a new ceramic bearing which is around 250 euro = 305 usd. So in the end we end up at around 1330 usd.

Regards
Markus

Hi Markus,

I am not sure if these guys will save you on shipping and customs but might be worth a try as they are in UK

IMS Bearing Direct Oil Feed (DOF) Intermediate Shaft Retrofit Kit for Boxster 986 / 996 - 99610599602 | Design 911

[Jamesp]

On post 75 you have a close up of the missing section of oil control ring. That picture also shows the wrist pin clip is incorrectly installed. The bent tab of the wrist pin clip should be pushed against the radius of the piston. Using a cell phone to document clip installation as shown below works well. This picture was taken by positioning the camera into the adjacent cylinder during assembly.



A long, thin flat blade screwdriver bent at 90 degrees in the middle works well to push the clip tab onto the radius if it is not initially installed perfectly. 3/4 inch electrical conduit with a square notch cut into the end for the tab of the wrist pin clip coupled with an appropriate sized socket on extensions are cost effective tools to install the wrist pin clips. I marked the installation tool and the block with a sharpie to help with tab alignment.

[Smallblock454]

Originally Posted by ultimate1

Hi Markus,

I am not sure if these guys will save you on shipping and customs but might be worth a try as they are in UK

IMS Bearing Direct Oil Feed (DOF) Intermediate Shaft Retrofit Kit for Boxster 986 / 996 - 99610599602 | Design 911

Hi ultimate1,

thanks for the link. Yes, it's cheaper to buy in the UK for me. Less shipping costs and no custom taxes. Today the DOF Kit from the UK is around 700 Euro whereas from the US today its around 850 Euro. So that is a lot cheaper from the UK.

Main problem seems to be the weak Euro. Today less than 1,20 Euro = 1 USD. In April 2014 1 Dollar was around 1,40 Euro. So maye a good time for people in the US to buy european products. But not vice versa.

@ flaps10: Sorry for hijacking your thread.

Thanks & Regards
Markus