924Board.org

[rOOkie]

1981 924 Turbo...sitting for ~7 years...lots of exhaust problems...

Discovered that one of the exhaust manifold studs is broken in the head.
I can't imagine trying to deal with this problem without proper access, thus:

Should I pull the engine or remove the head?

If I remove the head does the camshaft have to come out first? (Haynes says yes, but then shows head install with camshaft attached???)

If I pull the engine will there be problems with the needle bearings in the flywheel (due to driveshaft removal) falling out? (or are they caged?)

Any other pointers/ideas/condolences...

thanks

[CMXXXI]

You can pull the head and manifold as a unit with the cam still in the head, and engine still in the car. But, you have to all-but-remove the turbocharger (remove exhaust, loosen all turbo mounts) to get the head of. So, with that said, you might consider pulling the whole motor and doing additional work while it is on the stand (no worrys with pilot bearing, it is sealed). I guess what I'm getting at is, the level of effort to pull the head is almost what it would take to remove the whole engine. The bonus is that you have easy/free access to everything.

Evaluate what other work you might want to (or should) do, examaine your time, finances and facilities before making and executing your final decision. You'll kick yourself if you pull the head with the motor in the car and decide to replace those broken mounts (or have to replace the clutch) shortly after you reassemble things.
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'79 Eurospec 931

[johny42]

I just finished doing the head pull in the car and it is a PITA. Weird thing is once I did it and figured out how to get to everything it wasn't so bad. but, I spent lots of time getting on and off the floor looking for more tools.

Make sure you have sockets with swivel joints for the exahust and turbo bolts, a rocker extension worked good as well. it can be done, but if you need to do any other engine work, pulling the whole thing would be the way to go. Don't worry about the cam, leave it on. I found Haynes, Chiltons and the Porsche manuals singularly unhelpful.

As an outline:

Disconnect Battery;
Line it all up for No. 1 TDC
Drain oil and Radiator;
Remove the air cleaner and fuel dizzy;
Remove the alternator;
Disconnect the wiring harness at the intake;
Remove intake (not mandatory, but makes it easier to handle the head w/o breaking things
Remove oil cooler lines and oil filter
Un-bolt turbo and exhaust
Pull rocker cover
Remove timing belt
Unbolt head - follow the torque sequence
Lift and separate;

One note, the re-torque in Haynes and the NA P-car book are different than for the turbo. If you don't have the P-car turbo manual, I can digi the page and send it to ya.

John
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Johny
80 931 (all in boxes)
82 931 - making me crazy
84 928S - leaking radiator
86 951 with cam off

[john h]

I had the same problem with my GT a couple of times. The first time I removed the had and replaced the stud. The next time I decided I didn't want to do remove the head as I didn't really want to repalce the headgasket on muck around with cam timing etc.

The time taken to remove the motor and repair the stud and replace the motor was less than what it took to do by removing the head.

I'd recommend you pop the motor - makes it a lot easier than doing in place.
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Remember a Porsche is not just for Christmas,

if you take it to pieces slowly it can provide anguish all year long!