Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hi, good to hear that things are progressing. When I did my engine overhaul I also found that parts of a previous tensioner pad (and bits of tensioner ) were in an oil gallery. However, as the engine is inclined and the oil comes up at the highest point and then returns to the sump via the lower galleries, I found my debris in one of the return galleries....this is probably the same in your case? Anyhow, the oil feeds to the tappets are bored into the head and cannot get 'big stuff' in them. So, your tappet noise will probably not be sorted by removing the tensioner pad bits...mine certainly wasn't.

A new set would be a good idea as you have it all to bits at the moment...I wish I had done that, as I will have to 'get back in there' at some point soon, as the tappet rattle is driving me crazy, and a Porsche should not sound like that!

There are several ways to clean the top of the pistons however, always ensure you devise a way to stop crud from getting down between the piston and the cylinder wall, as some of this stuff can be pretty hard and abrasive. I used some cardboard to fit into the gap (gently), then cleaned the top of the piston with petrol on a brush to remove most of the oily carbon deposits. Harder stuff can be carefully removed using a soft implement - do not use anything that would score the piston top surface. But, I guess the more experienced engine rebuilders will have alternative ways to do this, as my method was somewhat crude - but effective...

I guess £350 sounds OK for that work, maybe others have an opinion? Always check that the machine shop understands the skimming tolerance for the Porsche head. I think it is stated in the WSM, as well as the valve guide tolerances, etc.

Keep the updates coming!

In the past I used some thick string coated with grease around the top of the piston when decoking the piston crowns after an overnight soak with good old fashioned Redex. Some decent kitchen roll, tape over the block holes and borrow the Hoover but don't tell her indoors. A stiff plastic trim removal tool should do it without any scratches. Check the water jackets for crud, the flow at the back of the block is a bit sluggish and a leaky gasket can cause corrosion due to steam pockets. Iirc Hartech used to machine the water jackets a bit deeper there to improve cooling.

That technique for the pistons sounds good....but the final piece of advice 'borrow the Hoover but don't tell her indoors', I have to say could be potentially dangerous and you could end up seriously injured and bent into all kinds of shapes . It is just not worth the risk (she will find out )...buy a cheap Hoover and avoid the mayhem that might occur!

Got a stiff paintbrush and some petrol, this seems to have worked quite well and cleaned most of it off, I'll use the same hoover i used to suck the broken tensioner pad out of the oil gallery

number 2 has a score in the wall and a small indent where it looks like it has worn through the coating, bummer

However im throwing to the wind that in it's rebuild 30k and 20 years ago, it was due to number 2 rod bearing and that wear has been there since, either way, she uses no oil and therefore i'll put it back together, and when it does go, i'll strip my block and bolt all the bits on to a late 8v block which i have seen going for only 70-150 quids i managed to figure out how to restore my tdc orientation on the cams (they rolled a bit when i put them down)

i'm going to ask them to rebuild my lifters, this will be £100 cheaper than buying a new set and i would expect a good few years of longevity out of rebuilt lifters?

There are sets of 16 Audi A100 lifters on eBay that are the same size for 45 quid

Gotcha on the lifters but not sure i want to risk replacing them as just being the same size afaik is not enough to say they will work efficiently.

Either way, just heard from the machine shop, apparently my head has corrosion and cavities on the mating face... fgs.

The head dimensions also did not match what i gave him which were 147.x new and x wear, he said it currently sits at 150mm...

i'm also looking at a cracked exhaust valve and at least 3 dead exhaust valve guides so all guides being done too.

this car has never had a job go smooth. I'm about 4k in already, i clearly bought the wrong car.
question is, do i put another 2k into it and make it a great car.. what choice do i have -_-

I have attached photos comparing old to new lifters,

i don't think the old ones were original looking at them, however these new ones the oil groove is in the same place and all the dimensions are the same, i cannot measure the depth but dropping them both in to the engine they seem to sit in the same place,

The only difference is the location of the oil hole, however i am under the assumption that if the oil hole is in a groove which the grooveis in lin eiwht the oil hole, this will not be an issue.

let me know what you think

I had the same on my head, cavities were too big for skinning so we chucked it in the bin

I was lucky Jason,

The cavities weren't as bad as originally expected, they cut it down and it was only cosmetic areas anyways so i opted to get it all refaced and welded anyway and V happy with the result, excellent service from them too, if anyone needs any machine work doing, i'd recommend them.

I did manage to break my torque wrench though.. so now i am awaiting one which has been amazon primed today and hoping to do the rod bearings over tonight/tomorrow.