Slipstream - August 2013

Cliff’s Ramblings: Still Ramblin’ Along
By Cliff Blackshear
So the dog
days of
summer
are here, and I
had a life changing
experience
in May. Yep, still
ramblin’ along.
The 991s are proving to be bulletproof.
The new Cayman is here,
and folks seem to either love the
new body style or cannot stand
it. Few want to go to the track
cause it is just too hot out. And
work is just as interesting as ever.
Thank you all so much for the
concern and kind words after my
recent heart attack. It was minor
pain-wise, and my little technician
mind found it interesting, while
alarming. Thirty-six hours after
visiting an ER, I found myself
driving back home with a 2.5 x 15
mm stent in an artery. Amazing. I
have come to the conclusion that if
you maintain good health all your
life and nothing like this happens
to you prior to age 65, the insurance
companies should have to
refund you enough money to buy
a new GT3. It seems fair to me.
Anyway, we have a very unusual
engine repair in the shop. A 2009
997 Twin Turbo with low miles,
and the check engine light is on
due to constant cylinder misfiring,
plus the owner is reporting excessive
oil consumption. Brian draws
the job and finds the #2 cylinder
on the bank one side has huge
leak-down numbers. Leakdown is
usually under 5%, but this cylinder
is over 90% through the exhaust
valves. A borescope is inserted
Photos by the Author
through the sparkplug hole and
oil can be seen dripping off one of
the exhaust valve guides into the
combustion chamber. That was very
surprising. One of the two exhaust
valves for that cylinder is heavily
carboned and no longer seating.
So out comes the engine and the
bank 1 cylinder head comes off. Lo
and behold, a valve spring keeper
Valve guide seal with
rogue valve keeper
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20 August