Blue boxster resurrection project

[Homeoboxter]

Originally Posted by maytag

Homeo, you do nice work, my friend. I'd let you work in my garage any time. (If there were room, of course, haha)

I am usually so pressed for time to get the current project completed (either because I need the garage for another project, or I'm trying to hit a track day, or whatever) that I rarely take the time to do these types of "just because I'm holding it in my hands already" items.

Kudos you you. Patience, perseverance, attention to detail. All good skills that are too rare at my house. Haha


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Thanks! I just check everything on the way as I don`t want to pull apart everything again when it turns out something failed and I missed it. This engine design doesn`t seem to allow you to fix anything easily with the engine in the car. And I have a tendency to get lost in the details that just makes all my projects last forever

[Homeoboxter]

Ok, so I`m still stuck finding matching rings for the car. First here are some pics of the ring gap measurements I made:



I pushed down all the rings all the way to the bottom and meaured the end gaps with a feeeler gage.
Here`s the result:



I couldn`t find specifications for this particular car, but based on other German cars with similar bor size (e.g. BMW) they are way out of specs. The side rails for the 3rd rings look pretty badly worn in particular:



I`ll do proper measurements for the wear with a bore gauge once I receive it from Amazon. The bores look fine though, and I think a fresh ring set will make a big difference. Problem is, I can`t get one for the 2.5L engine. There are available aftermarket sets for the 2.7 engine, but they are listed as non-matching for the 2.5L, and I don`t really understand why, since the two cars have the same bore size (85.5mm) and the thickness of the rings seems to be the same too (1.5; 1.2; 2.0 mm):





Can someone confirm they are identical?

[Homeoboxter]

I didn`t like the idea that the IMS is air-tight sealed and the only way for depressurization is through the bearing. Also, the engine shouldn`t allocate energy into spinning about a liter oil got caught inside a tube. So, I drilled a hole through the IMS. Here the pressure can be released and the oil that got stuck will be drained by centrifugal force.

[Homeoboxter]

Still no progress on the engine at all, I`m waithing for the rings to arrive. Fortunately this car has many other things to tackle with so I don`t get bored. The alternator made this not too healthy squeaking noise when spinning so I decided to rebuild it. In retrospect, it wasn`t worth the time, but if all goes well I`ll have a refurbished original BOSCH alternator.







Few Philips screws hold the back panel.


Could`ve been useful to spray the bolts with WD40 or similar.. Result: one broken bolt and one with stripped head. Next time!



The two halves came apart anyway:



I can counterhold the shaft with this bit but how to get access to this silly recessed nut?



After a quick visit to the hardware store I came up with this:



Unpullied:



What a disaster..

[Homeoboxter]

Drilling out the broken bolt:



The threads didn`t survive the removal so I drilled them through, tapped and inserted two helicoil threads in.





This is the rebuild kit I`ll throw in. Not a bad deal for $25.



I also invested into this ($8):



Works pretty well for the bearing on the back.



For the front one I needed some additional tools and I had to remove the outer race:



Leftover of the old slip ring now can come off:



Reassembly is coming soon.

[alynch]

I love your write-ups. It makes me want to tackle those projects I’m always hesitant to start. Thanks for taking the time to document all your efforts. BTW, you must have some workshop and supply of tools!

[Homeoboxter]

Originally Posted by alynch

I love your write-ups. It makes me want to tackle those projects I’m always hesitant to start. Thanks for talking the time to document all your efforts. BTW, you must have some workshop and supply of tools!

I`m glad you enjoy reading this project, I hope it`ll help others as well to do a similar job with fewer mistakes than I make I just work in my garage, I accumulated a bunch of tools for other projects over time and just order new ones along the way.. That`s why it`s taking so long!