Living with a Porsche 944

The exhaust manifolds on the S cars are quite different to the 8v. As I'm fitting the later versions I wanted to cover them in heat wrap before installing. After soaking the heat wrap in water, it was simply a matter of winding it around the manifolds - I used a 5m length for each. The ends are secured with stainless steel ties - I found using a vice grip made it easier to tighten them up. Not the prettiest looking stuff but the idea is to keep engine temperatures down as much as possible - plus it's something I wanted to do.... Getting the manifolds in place proved to be impossible until I lifted the right hand side of the engine with an engine hoist - so it tipped towards the opposite side of the car. Loosen the engine mount bolts on the right hand side! I attached the engine hoist loop from the alternator bracket using the threaded hole for the water return rail. Remove all the engine studs also using the double bolt method as it makes movin...

The alternator had been rebuilt not long ago but it was in need of a refresh cosmetically before going into that nice clean engine bay. So I gave it a degunk, and wire brushing before applying a coat of high temp aluminium spray paint... But before fitting it into the engine bay it was attached to it's nice freshly powdered alternator bracket! Then, and only then, did it seem right to fit it! It's looking good in there!

This is the most exciting bit so far - finally dropping in the engine. It's a Milestone celebrated with some champagne! With the engine on the hoist, it was time to do the final prep in the bay - I removed the radiator to make a little extra space, and decided that things would be so much easier with the bonnet off too - an extra pair of hands made that a simple task (I marked it's position for ease of reassembly)...the underside of the hood needs some attention so it's much easier to do that with it off. T he new clutch friction plate was inserted into the bell housing after giving the lightened pressure plate one last clean with brake cleaner: The new hydraulic engine mounts were next - interestingly the holes for the engine mount bolts are threaded so there's no need for fitting the fiddly nuts underneath... I secured the rerouted wiring harness so as to avoid any damage from the nicely cleaned engine mount brackets - clean parts rule! In...

It seems like the end is insight now with the front end rebuilt and refreshed! After resealing the balance shafts the next task was to fit the new rollers and belts. Firstly all the new rollers were easily bolted up and torqued down. I sourced most of the parts from GSF. First order of the day was to refit the crankshaft gear - I bagan by heating it on the oven to make it expand so it would slip over the crankshaft easier: Be sure to fit the splined insert correctly or the washer and gear won't sit flush with the oil pump, then gently tap the key back into the recess on the crankshaft. I smoothed mine of with a small file to remove the burs. Remove the gear from the oven and slide to onto the crankshaft - a little lube helps this fitting process too. With the crankshaft gear fitted the rest goes on fairly straightforward. I'd had the tensioner media blasted and refreshed with some high temp paint - looks a darn sight better than the rusty thing...

When I removed the bell housing on this engine, there was evidence of a leak from the rear main seal. To gain access it's necessary to remove the flywheel first: Which I sent off to have lightened and balanced along with the pressure plate. With the flywheel removed you get access to the rear of the crankshaft with the main seal and pilot bearing into which the drive shaft is inserted. There's a small rectangular recess at the bottom of the seal below the crankshaft - there was oil in there which lead me to believe that's where the leak was originating from. Reading various sources about rear main seal leaks and fitting replacements, it appears to me that the reason this particular one was leaking was because the seal it's self wasn't seated against the machined surface behind it, leaving a small gap for oil to escape from, primarily from the small rectangular hole. That's my theory.  Anyway I decided I would remove it and replace it, in...

When I started refreshing this 16v engine it was obvious to see where the oil leaks were originating - the rear of the balance shaft housings...on both sides! As you can see from the image above - and this was after I started to clean it - the engine was caked in oily grime with fresh pools of oil behind the rear balance shaft seals. It's taken a lot of elbow grease but the engine cleaned up nice enough to begin, what I perceived to be the most arduous task - stripping off the balance shaft housings and resealing them. With all the necessary new seals ordered up, and Loctite 574 located on eBay (as this was specified by the Porsche workshop manuals I decided to hunt some done) - it was time to tackle the flanks with vigour! Not having any special Porsche tools meant I had to be a bit inventive with removing the balance shaft gears - they need to be locked in place while the bolt is removed. With those out of the way then came the dreadful looking cambelt tensioner...