Blue boxster resurrection project

[Homeoboxter]

I was gonna stop with the teardown at this point, since i found the culprit for the engine failure and I thought after rebuilding the heads and the timing everything can go back on and the engine is ready to go. Yet, I thought it would be a mistake to reassemble the motor without knowing what the piston rings and rod bearings look like, especially because the valves were touching the pistons. So I decided to go more deeply into the engine if I got this far. First, I removed the IMS cover:



This is still the original dual-row bearing, the original grease has long been replaced to engine oil that`s flowing out from the IMS cavity. The bearing looks in great condition though.



Splitting the cases after removing a bucket of nuts and bolts:



Apart:








I think it was a good idea to remove the pistons: the rings are stuck into their grooves with gunk. Oil change wasn`t a too frequent practice here. I don`t think those rings were sealing too well..



This chain guide is badly worn too. Seems a bit undersized for this job. Note that the four other rails for the timing chains were in perfect condition.

[Homeoboxter]

Bearings and bearing journals show no wear:

[Ottomotion]

Damn possum did more damage than the chain pad letting go....
Does most look savable? Did it bend valves?

[Homeoboxter]

At least the car was used for something for 11 years All look salvagable, I`ll only need a few things, like the variocam actuator, pads, new IMSB, etc.. The valves don`t seem to be bent, that is a bit surprising. I think after some lapping they can be reused.

nes

Originally Posted by Ottomotion

Damn possum did more damage than the chain pad letting go....
Does most look savable? Did it bend valves?

[Homeoboxter]

Cracked rod design:




Camshaft actuator-damage:



Side-by-side:



This pad remained in one piece but was very close to its end:

[Racer Boy]

Thanks for posting the pictures, I'm enjoying following your progress!

What mid-70's bike is that in the background?

[Homeoboxter]

Hi, I`m glad you like the post! That`s a `73 TX750 Yamaha, my other project, been restoring it for about 3 years. It developed an oil leak somewhere that I`m trying to spot, that`s why it`s sitting now on the table. Here`s another pic:

Originally Posted by Racer Boy

Thanks for posting the pictures, I'm enjoying following your progress!

What mid-70's bike is that in the background?

[Homeoboxter]

Little more progress today with IMS bearing removal with a blind hole bearing puller:

[Ottomotion]

Cool. I have not seen one of those before. Looks like a perfect alternative to the specialized tools. Very resourceful....

[Homeoboxter]

Originally Posted by Ottomotion

Cool. I have not seen one of those before. Looks like a perfect alternative to the specialized tools. Very resourceful....

Yeah, it`s a complete set with 11 different sizes of pullers and a slide hammer, for $55 it`s a pretty good deal and you can use it for many other tasks. I had to modify one of the pullers to fit the IMS bearing though.

[Homeoboxter]

Made some progress with parts cleaning.

[dachrist]

Beautiful! What are you using for the cleaning?

[Homeoboxter]

I got soaked the large parts in diesel oil for days, then oil mud comes off easily using a brush. Burnt oil gunk and grime on the pistons came off using Barryman carb cleaner.
This is the best stuff, it`s expensive though, so I couldn`t get soaked everything in it. Barryman also pretty well intermixes with water, so you can just wash it off with pressurized water even in the sink, so you get a very nice and clean surface to work on.

Originally Posted by dachrist

Beautiful! What are you using for the cleaning?

[dachrist]

Thanks! I am trying to figure out what the best method is for cleaning the exterior of my transmission.

[Homeoboxter]

Pressure washer after soaking in some strong detergent would do it. Good luck!

Originally Posted by dachrist

Thanks! I am trying to figure out what the best method is for cleaning the exterior of my transmission.

[Homeoboxter]

I started working on the head last weekend.
Valve removal:





Few more parts cleaned:



Luckily my wife didn`t see this mess I made at the sink

[maytag]

Originally Posted by dachrist

Thanks! I am trying to figure out what the best method is for cleaning the exterior of my transmission.

I use oven cleaner with a pressure washer.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[Ottomotion]

Go, man, go!

[Smallblock454]

Originally Posted by dachrist

Thanks! I am trying to figure out what the best method is for cleaning the exterior of my transmission.

The brown material on the engine and transmission from the factory is a corrosion inhibitor for the alloy.

[Homeoboxter]

Reassembly of the short block is coming along slowly, got the spacers for the IMS from the machine shop. Finally I ended up using just the small ring and not the large spacer. The bearing is a dual-row ceramic hybrid which is narrower than the orignal dual-row, that`s why the spacer is necessary. The bearing will be held in place using a snap ring.



The bearing went in easily after heating up the shaft with a heat gun and putting the bearing in the freezer for a few hours. I put the IMS assembly together just to see if all works fine.








I plugged the dipstick back in as I wanted to see how the oil level relates to the IMS.



Here`s the end of the dipstick in the sump. The wrench is placed roughly at the maximum oil level. The oil level is over the the IMS. Note that it`s upside down.



Max level shown from the IMS side:



This level belongs to the minimum mark on the dipstick:



The cavity of the sump and in the center cavity with the IMS share the same oil level as they are connected through these holes:



I might be missing something, but what this suggests is that the IMS runs in oil even when the oil level is at the lowest mark. This might be obvious for many of us, however, it came as a surprise for me, since there`s been suggested that the IMS bearing is lubricated by oil vapor after the original grease filling is gone. Apparently this is not the case and a dual row bearing with removed oil seals should work fine as a replacement of the original.