Pic of Cylinder 6 Bore Scoring

[Simon]

That's the video I watched that put me off Porsches. Son in law had a Boxster with bore scoring, wasn't put off and now has a Carerra 4s............fabulous thing
Simon

[Eggbert]

I forgot to mention, I found the valve timing for Bank 2 to be spot on, however for Bank 1, it was out 4.4 degrees (8.8 at the crank). An assembly mistake as far as I can tell. Not enough to be one tooth off and nothing slipped that I can see. I expect the initial adjustment was done prior to one of the chain tensioners being installed.

[Eggbert]

The "collywobbles"? Is that your own term Simon, or is it just a British term I havn't heard before? Regardless, I have no doubt what is meant by it. The plethora of plastic bagged parts sitting in cardboard boxes boggles the mind. Someone said there's around 260 fasteners to be undone to dismantle the engine. I didn't count, but there's a lot to be sure. I've taken some pictures where it's not so obvious where things might go back together.

However the part that makes most people nervous (including me) is the assembly of the second bank of pistons (remember it's a flat 6). Crank goes in a carrier which is then bolted to the Bank 1 half of the block. Those pistons go in normally with the rod cap added after the piston and rod are inserted. Then the other half of the block is bolted on. No access to the rod caps then, so you bolt the rods in first. Now you have the block together, Bank 1 pistons in, and Bank 2 with the rod ends in the cylinders, but no pistons. Then you insert the pistons and through a very small access hole in the end of the block, you use an alignment tool to match up the rod with the piston wrist pin hole and then use a tool to insert the wrist pin. Gravity is your friend here as the engine must be oriented 90 degrees to get the rod to stay centered in the cylinder. But it gets worse. Next you use another tool to insert the circlip. Easy to mess up and it's possible to lose it inside the freshly assembled engine which requires that case half to come back off again. Plenty of Youtube videos on it... just Google Porsche Bank 2 piston installation if you want to experience the collywobbles yourself.

My current issue, and one I hope to resolve today, is that the website for the Canadian Hartech representative has mysteriously vanished. These engine block halves are cast aluminum and relatively fragile. Shipping them is risky. Shipping to the USA for an alternate company to do the sleeving is more risky due to the number of times the boxes would change courier vehicles. I can just see a lazy person use a forklift and put a fork through the side of a casting. New ones are no longer available. So do I insure the shipment for the cost of a used engine just to replace damage block halves?

I will call them today and hope they're still in business and just changing their website. They've been in business over 15 years and have a very good reputation.

This whole engine rebuild issue is painful, yet somehow satisfying as each little step gets completed. One of the most annoying jobs was disconnecting the electrical connectors. Different designs but all require to be squeezed to release the locking mechanism. Always a fight. Never easy.

Once out of the car, the engine work seems so easy. In the car, no room to work at all.

[JING]

Unfortunately, I got hit with the same thing with my 996 4S. It was painful....

[Simon]

Just looking at the YouTube videos of porker engine rebuilding and the specialist tools required gives me the collywobbles!

[Dek]

Ouch! That looks expensive John. Good luck to your wallet.

[Eggbert]

Engine almost completely apart. Ready to split the case. But thought I'd take time to take a pic of the bore-scoring. Just a warning to stay clear of 1997 to 2008 Porsches including the 911, 996, and 997 as well as the Boxster, Cayman, 986, and 987, unless you want a major project. I'm actually having fun though...not so much when wallet opening time comes.... you know, parts and block sleeving, etc.