1988 Porsche Carrera Project Car: Part 1 Engine Teardown

Engine Removal
After the Carrera had sufficiently cooled down from the dyno runs, Nick began the task of removing the motor and transaxle. While the entire process of removing the motor is beyond the scope of this article, the procedure is well documented for DIY wrenches in "101 Projects for your Porsche 911" by Wayne Dempsey. Nick expertly disconnected or removed anything and everything needed to safely separate the engine from the chassis, and it was not long before the 3.2L was resting comfortably on a floorjack. Nick then detached the G50 transaxle from the motor and removed the clutch assembly and flywheel. The 3.2L motor was then placed on a pallet and driven over to B. Precise Machining where Steve was waiting with a 911-specific engine yoke and stand.

Teardown
The best part of the entire process is the teardown. Although you still need to be careful and inspect various components as you are removing them, you have the luxury of knowing that if you happen to break something it probably won't be the end of the world as there is a good chance it will be replaced anyway. "How to Rebuild and Modify Porsche 911 Engines," also written by Wayne Dempsey, is an excellent resource for the DIY mechanic or interested observer and goes into much greater depth than this space allows.

Once the case was securely fastened to the engine stand's yoke, the first order of business was to remove the exhaust system. I removed the Dansk muffler independently as it is the heaviest single component of the exhaust system and then proceeded to remove the heat exchangers, crossover pipes and Dansk pre-muffler as a complete unit. Pre-soaking all of the exhaust nuts with a penetrate like Liquid Wrench can make a potentially frustrating job less stressful. The large metal oil line that runs under the motor was removed.

Next up was the engine sheetmetal, including the motor mount bar. The various pieces were detached individually and sent out to be powdercoated in a semi-gloss black. The sheetmetal will return looking like new and will add a strong visual appeal when the motor is reassembled.

Steve recommended I remove the Motronic injection system as a complete unit for convenience, even though we need to completely disassemble it at a later date. If you are not planning on changing fuel hoses or modifying the intake plenums, the best plan may be to simply clean the exterior parts and then place the entire unit in a large bag to keep dirt and moisture away.

If you will be disassembling the injection system, be sure to take plenty of pictures as it can be confusing trying to figure out where all of the hoses and vacuum lines are routed. In this instance, the intake plenums were sent to Extrude Hone to be flowed, polished and flowed again. The throttle body will be bored out and the aging rubber fuel lines will be replaced with braided stainless-steel pieces. After the injection was off, the fan assembly, alternator (which is located behind the fan) and engine shroud could all be removed, leaving what is known as the long block.

Energized that I was now working on the "meat" of the motor, I eagerly removed the engine oil cooler from the front of the motor and then the cam oil lines and the chain housing covers at the rear of the motor, leaving the pressure-fed chain tensioners (introduced on the Carrera in 1984) chains and camshaft sprockets exposed. The Carrera-style pressure-fed tensioners are a popular update for all earlier 911s as they protect against disastrous chain tensioner failure better than earlier methods.

The upper and lower valve covers were removed, allowing me to see if there were any broken head studs. After unbolting the chain tensioners and removing the chain ramps, the chains can be lifted (but not removed until the case is later split) off the camshaft sprockets. Porsche tool P9191 is needed to hold the cam sprockets steady while removing the large bolts that retain the cams. Since these were on unbelievably tight, Steve held the tool on the three holes of each cam sprocket while I used all the leverage a breaker bar would provide to loosen the 19mm bolts.

The next step is one of the areas where close attention must be paid. When the rocker arms and shafts are removed from the cam towers, it is strongly suggested that each rocker arm and corresponding shaft be marked from where it came out of the motor.

Dwain, Steve and a host of others swear that reinstalling the rocker arms and shafts in their same location can help eliminate oil leaks. If the motor has high mileage and the rocker arms and shafts will be reconditioned or replaced, marking the orientation is not necessary. When the chain housings and rocker arms and shafts are removed, the camshafts should slide out of the cam tower assemblies with a minimum of fuss.