Slipstream - August 2013

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Destination Restoration: The Dreaded “While You’re In There . . .” By Ash Seidl-Staley In a previous Slipstream issue I described the smoke problem I had on my 944, and I am happy to report the problem has been fixed, but man did it take a lot of time, patience, and GREEN! Turns out that as time went on, the smoking got worse and worse, and eventually the leak got so bad I was able to see that oil was seeping from the exhaust manifold port at the cylinder head. I had feared for quite some time that my cylinder head gasket was failing as it would constantly overheat, had liquid forming at my muffler, and had the infamous “frothy milkshake” showing in my oil system. My suspicions were confirmed after a quick compression test when it was determined that not only was the gasket blown, the cylinder head itself was warped! Immediately light bulbs and alarms went off in my head. The difficult-to-describe characteristics of the smoke were because the car was leaking a mix of oil, gas, and coolant over the hot exhaust. Not having an engine stand equipped to do the job, or a large enough jack available to work on the car at my apartment, I sent her to a Plano-based import shop. I would like to tell you that it was repaired and back on the road lickety split, but the reality is that it took exactly a month and four days until I was able to drive away. I came down with a bad case of the “while you are in theres,” and though I had to sacrifice time, I practically received a brand new 944 ready for another 25 years of life on the open road! So what was done, you might ask? To start, the list was small; get the cylinder head out of the car, get 10 August Shiny new cylinder head in place Photos by the Author it re-surfaced, and checked for proper port sizes and valve clearances. Luckily there was still enough of the head left for the shop to resurface it, and nothing needed to be done with my valve seats. Next on the list included giving the shop my new head gasket set from Victor Reinz, which I had on hand, and beginning the daunting task of cleaning the main block. A further inspection determined that the rest of the engine was mechanically sound: the bearings were in phenomenal shape, the pistons held firm to their positions, and there was not a single oil leak in sight. Though, unfortunately, while Right down to the pistons the cylinder head was out, the repair list grew even longer: we replaced the balance belt, timing belt, thermostat, two tensioners, and all the studs, bolts, and washers associated with the top half of the engine, as well as making sure everything was cleaned, tied down and torqued properly. Once the head was back in the car I added more to the list, giving the green light to replace all vacuum hosing, worn out fuel lines, and to inspect the engine wiring harness. Close to the end of April I received a call to come down and test drive the car. Hearing her fire up was extremely exuberating, but before I even took off out of the parking lot I knew something was wrong. With the newly found power being pumped to the rear wheels, the engine mounts couldn’t handle the stress. The car violently vibrated nearly to the point where I was afraid of shattering my hatchback glass. Another trip up on the stands proved me right, the rubber on the engine mounts didn’t even exist anymore, and the engine was basically bolted in, metal on metal. A good $200 later and some new rubber exhaust mounts (why
not, right?) and the 944 purred like a vicious kitten. The entire endeavor wasn’t cheap, but being able to help, and supply my own parts, resulted in all the repairs being done at a fraction of the intended cost. All that I have left to do is to meticulously tighten every bolt and screw on the car so it can handle the new lively “S” spec 10.9:1 compression ratio! Just a little elbow grease is all it takes. Would you like to have your restoration project featured in an upcoming issue of Slipstream? If so, contact me at ashseidlstaley@gmail.com so that we can put together an article about it. 2700 B WEST PIONEER PKWY (125 FEET S. OF PIONEER, ON THE W. SIDE OF CORZINE ST.) ARLINGTON, TEXAS 76013 817-366-1678 11
Page 1 and 2: http://mav.pca.org Upcoming Events
Page 3 and 4: http://mav.pca.org Volume 51, Issue
Page 5 and 6: • Expert maintenance and repair s
Page 7 and 8: Carey On... By Carey Spreen, Managi
Page 9 and 10: Remember that our Maverick Region S
Page 11: Performance • Track Set-up • Ex
Page 15 and 16: ©2013 Porsche Cars North America,
Page 17 and 18: Co-Rallymeisters Carey Spreen (far
Page 19 and 20: trophy range. Travis Howard took a
Page 21 and 22: tiple racing and passing lines thro
Page 23 and 24: WHEN IT’S TIME FOR SOMETHING SPEC
Page 25 and 26: June Happy Hour: Mac’s Steaks & S
Page 27 and 28: Advanced Teen Driving: Notes from a
Page 29 and 30: continued from page 25 Now, the ski
Page 31 and 32: mph. Hors d’oeuvres will be serve
Page 33 and 34: New Wheels By Susan and Tom Froehli
Page 36: Hiram Saunders, Slipstream 155 Jell

Slipstream - August 2013

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?