Ah, Why didn't you get the mount thats already in the aluminium housing? I just replaced one on a customer's car.

Because it costs 5 times more than the insert only :)

Variocam test
 

There are plenty of threads here on how variocam operation can be tested with the durametric or similar diagnostic tool, but I wanted to make sure they work before putting the engine back in the car. So I used a simple borescope camera to capture the switchover of the variocam units while the engine was driven by the starter on my work bench. I inserted the camera through the hole for the green plug over the intake camshaft, on the scavanging pump side. I used 12V to switch the solenoids on. Here are some pictures, looks like they both work fine :D

Ths is just for guidance if it`s unclear what we are looking at:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1601444305.jpg

Variocam at bank 1-3 at rest:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1601444337.jpg

Variocam 1-3 actuates:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1601444354.jpg

Variocam bank 4-6 at rest:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1601444366.jpg

Variocam 4-6 actuates:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1601444377.jpg

The video is available here, if interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmNduI2lRbA

For next time, mount insert removal is easy if you cut the rubber out and then use a hack saw on the remaining aluminum. saw a couple of cuts and the aluminum comes out in a couple of pieces. About 30 minutes total.

Thanks for the tip, but the mount insert on this car was made of steel. So was the replacement. Steel insert in an aluminum housing. I can`t see how it`s possible to cut the insert out easily without damaging the aluminum bore. Scroll back, only the core part of the mount is aluminum, then rubber, then steel. And the steel shell is pressed into the aluminum housing. Maybe there are different versions? :confused:

I had same dilemma last year. Purchased the engine mount bushing only and attempted to change it to the aluminium housing... plenty of fight on this stage and I finally ended up ordering a new housing with new bushing installed. I stil have the ole housing and the separate bushing waiting for next round :D

Just read the entire thread. All posts and pictures. Well done and thanks for taking the time to post the journey!

Wow, that`s a lot of reading :) Thanks for stopping by!

I’ve done this twice....one on my car and once for a friend. It wasn’t tough to do at all and I didn’t score the inside bore of the mount. Just used a hand tool hack saw. When the cut was almost through, I used a screwdriver and hammer to chisel out the weakens, cut area.

I would have given up if it was hard to do!

Thanks, I`ll give it a try next time! Not too soon though, hopefully this one will last for another good 100k miles! :cheers:

I had some time over the weekend to prepare the engine bay for the power plant. Poor thing was quite abandoned in the past two years. I was gonna put the engine back on in a couple weeks, lol.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602562101.jpg

Back of the coolant tank. Someone else has been here before me, who replaced the spring clamp.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602562219.jpg

Oil filler tube. Doesn`t look right.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602562137.jpg

I pulled the coolant tank if I was there anyway. Probably it`s replaced somewhere in the past. No sign of cracks, I`ll just put it back.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602562156.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602562169.jpg

Almost there :)

Nice work you could put a 987 airbox in there before you put the engine back in!

I think the Porsche design for the coolant tank is terrible, especially considering that these fail. I had to change the tank (like many others) with the engine in the car and I can say without hesitation that I would rather redo my entire suspension that do the coolant tank again.

I think you might benefit by installing barbed quick connections at the bulkhead to allow for simple future tank replacement. Certainly you have the a ability to do so now pretty easily.

I was thinking about doing that, but then I didn`t bother. It`s replaced already, so it should be ok for a while. Or maybe not... we`ll see! Too late now, the engine is back in the car..

Hi, thanks, but it`s too late, the engine is back in the chassis :ah: Why is the 987 airbox better than the 986?

Better airflow, the 987 air filter is about twice the size of the 986 filter. Porsche started putting it in the 2004 986 550 S edition. You work fast!

Also, I`m cheating, the posts do not always reflect reality in time :) In fact, these pictures were taken 3 weeks ago, i just had time to post them now. Here are a few more recent ones:

Levitating boxster engine:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602741622.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602741645.jpg

Perfect time of the day to put an engine back :)

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602741670.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602741688.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602741705.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602741729.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602741759.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602741776.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602742155.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602742175.jpg

The annual meeting of Pittsburgh jacks:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602742194.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602742213.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602742264.jpg

A/C is back.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602742298.jpg

Switching gears is also possible now:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602742327.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602742358.jpg

SHAFT :)

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602742400.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602742874.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602742911.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602742944.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602742976.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602743002.jpg

Getting this far in a day means lying down and getting up about 2 hundred times, equivalent with 200 push-ups.. good workout! :D

Very nice built and great that you post us the updates to learn from! You'll be on the road in notime with this rate of rebuilt speed:dance:

Thanks! Yep, it`s getting there, although newer obstacles keep coming up along the way... I managed to start the engine the other day, it ran for about 2 seconds then died. Kept cranking, no response... I pulled the outlet fuel hose off of the pump and shorted the fuel pump relay. Gas was flowing but i could easily stop the flow with my thumb. That`s certainly not enough...

So I went ahead and pulled the pump assembly:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602991159.jpg

This hose snapped right away:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602991239.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602991266.jpg

Removing the pump from the bottom of the tank took me quiet a bit of time, it was really stubborn and the grip of my hand was not strong enough to twist it. Finally I got it off using an oil filter wrench.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602991282.jpg

Ok, so here`s what I think happened: the pump was totally fine (it was replaced some time before because the original is not exactly like this), but the connecting lines became very very brittle and fragile, and broke immediately after being pressurized. The car was sitting for 13 years with the tank 3/4 full of gas. I think gas goes bad over time and somehow becomes aggressive to various materials, like plastic.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602991298.jpg

Insulation of all the wires are destroyed too, on the pump and on the sending unit as well.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602991314.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602991328.jpg

The pump by the way is a VDO unit, same as for Audis and VWs.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1602991348.jpg

Are you gonna replace the hoses with some OEM plastic stuff and the crimp clamps?

I have a low pressure pump sitting in my frunk for when my OEM pump gives up the ghost. I think I'll just replace my internal hoses with rubber fuel line and worm screw clamps.

Yes, I had replaced those with some fuel lines I found in my garage but only for temporarily, till the other pump arrived, because I wanted to start the engine. I wanted to replace the pump anyway because I had dropped it by accident and the outlet port broke off which I glued back with epoxy. But the hoses worked totally fine. Here`s how it looked:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1603075940.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1603076368.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1603076453.jpg

Pretty ugly, but worked for 5 days :D
When I got the new pump I swapped them.

Here`s a shot of the new pump when arrived. It`s a genuine pump with low miles, identical to the pump I had in the car before, and the label says it`s for the 987... It fits perfectly though. It also looks better built than the original 986, it`s a more sophisticated design: here the pump is sitting in a separate housing and suspended on rubber dampeners. If you scroll back, you can see the rubber suspension in a previous post.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1603080803.jpg

I wanted to see the condition of the pump that I replaced. It`s not servicable, because the aluminum casing is crimped on the motor, so I had to peel that off destroying the pump housing. Doesn`t matter because the output port was broken off anyway.

Here`s the rotor with the actual pump unit. It`s basically two pumps on the same shaft: a low pressure pump and a high pressure pump. If I understand correctly the low pressure plastic pump is there for filling the pump chamber with fuel. This probably helps maintain a steady pressure regardless of the fuel level in the tank, also keeps gas around the motor all the time for cooling, even when the level in the tank is very low.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1603080914.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1603081017.jpg

The high pressure pump is a trochoid pump with steel rotors spinning in between ceramic plates. This pumps gas upwards through the electric motor all the way to the injectors and from there back to the tank.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1603081035.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1603081060.jpg

Everything looks pretty good, except for the commutator being pretty worn down.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1603081091.jpg

Interestingly the carbon brushes look barely worn.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1603081123.jpg

If you ever wondered what`s in the top section of your fuel level sending unit, here`s the answer: a big steel ball. I assume the function of this is that it closes the breather line in case the car is upside down to prevent gas spilling all over the car. Good to know i don`t have to rush out from the car next time when i flip it over... If you have a better explanation for the role of this let me know.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1603081168.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1603081193.jpg

I had to rewire the sending unit because the old gas stripped the wires almost completely.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1603081224.jpg

Long story short, the engine runs now with the new pump. The car is still jacked up on the driveway, I need to change all the fluids and I need to buy four new tires because the old ones all got oval.

I'm amazed with this thread, as always!

Can we have a video of the engine starting up and running? :D

I bet there are a lot more of these out there than people realize, which is why the motors are so nasty inside. I’m guessing mine is like that after only 70k miles by the oil vapor smell I frequently pick up. Sad they couldn’t use a better material. I could fix it but don’t feel like digging just yet, wait for a bigger problem.
Love the thread, thanks,

And more importantly, the engine will run rough because it loses vacuum through the filler tube. It`s a common failure point on these older cars where plastic parts become brittle.

I uploaded one here a while ago when I was tackling the idle control valve issue, I have a separate thread about it somewhere:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C2ZBcO4WZY&t=4s

I`m at 1000 miles at this point after the rebuilt, so far so good :)

Thanks!

For some reason, it sounds a bit different than the one I have (Boxster S 2002), although mine also has a nasty sound when starting it up when it's cold... I hope it's just the starter motor grease going old :confused:

Anyway, thanks for the thread! I'm sure this will push me on fixing some of the issues I currently have, and doing some more maintenance on it :)

End of story
 

Two years and 12000 miles later:

http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/82477-engine%60s-gone.html

wow if all this work is, as in his words (an armature hobby mechanic) i think im at least 30 years of hobby mechanic experience away from being able to do this to THIS extent. I did also follow up on that post with the failure.

Truthfully it was not even at fault to your own which was the hugest downside. A lack of online information regarding the rings really does make all the more difference between a very successful rebuild and catastrophic failure. An unfortunate ending but a very successful process i will be using towards one day taking out my current 2.5L and swapping a used one in

I don't think the rings were he real problem here, it's more like a combination of overheating and the previous repair involving new liners installed that I missed. Yeah, this much work for a 20+ year-old car which can fail any time for some other reason is not really worth it. Regardless, I'm just about to do another rebuild like this which makes me an idiot for sure.