Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Bad news to report ,,,,my car the headgasket is gone !!!, a misfire developed over the last few weeks , well i investigated the cause (bought home a borescope form work) took out the plugs checked all cyls ..found coolant dripping into No 4 cyl ..you could see it VERY clearly with the camera ...its actually steam cleaned the top of the piston and around some of the combustion chamber !!..It drives ok when the misfire clears from an overnight stop... i.e once the coolant in the cyl has burnt off you would'nt no its the headgasket, no return of the misfire whilst driving ...only misses when i leave parked for a while and the pressuried cooling system causes the colant to drip into the cyl...oh well shes gonna come off the road and head off time ..never mind hope to get it on it vsoon..any tips on from someone who's been there and got the t-shirt etc

cheers

Oh bu@@er, this sounds exactly like the symptoms I was just about to write a thread on. I have to use the car every day and with a second baby imminent I have absolutely no funds to fix it. I assume its going to be an expensive job, and I only had the belts/seals/rollers changed recently as well! The wife is not going to be happy!

If I was to keep a check on the oil and coolant levels would it be safe to drive or am I risking an even bigger bill? I may not have a choice in the end as the MOT is due next month and I'm pretty sure it won't pass an emissions check with smoke pouring out the back.

Its looking like my Porsche owning days are severely numbered.

Best advice I can give is order a full top end seal set first, when I did mine I wasted lots of time and postage waiting for seals I had forgotten.
A long 7mm allen key is needed to get the cam tower off. It was a straight forward job doing the gasket, the hardest part was not dropping the cam tower bolts into the housing. A bit of grease on the allen key helped. a little bit of grease on the hydraulic lifters stopped them falling out on re-assembly.
I followed the workshop write up on clark's garage website.
If I remember correctly it was around £100 in parts and a total of a day with me doing it and the 944 was the first time I had changed a headgasket. With the right tools all the parts to hand I think it would be a quick(ish) job
Oh some patiance is needed bleeding the coolant

Hi, this may be a bit of a long shot but this might be worth a go for you

http://www.steelseal.co.uk/index.asp?fu ... AGE&page=2

i never gone this route and being a sparky...i'm prepared for flaming for even recomending it waiting for an expert to come in on this

cheers

Bad luck
Personally I wouldn't try it, if you keep driving it, then you'll erode the ali & end up with either a lot of welding or engine swap.
I've not done it, but from those I know who have it's not a bad job to do & not expensive if you can do it yourself.

Yep though so !! just rang europarts the do a headset for £80, not bad ,,,, what about other parts that are must do while you are in there ...headnuts etc ??? any tips

cheers

Others will confirm but I believe headstuds etc are reusable. I'd replace cam belt as they recommend that if slackened they should be binned.
I'd replace exhaust studs/bolts as they die when you take them off.

Yep belts are a good idea unless very new and exhaust manifold hardware. But the head studs/nuts don't need changing.

I'd also recomend some new allen headed bolts for the cambox (stainless) unless there in very good fettle. Mine had been overtightend & were stuffed. Also Lindsey racing do a rubberised gasket for the cambox which is lots better than the stock one. (Can be arkward to seal) It's an easy job by '44 standards as you working from above & it's all easy to get at. Check the oil cooler while the head is off as it's much easier to get at without the exhaust manifold in the way. Any sign of a leak I'd do it while your in there. Could be a good time to change the water pump if it's never had one
Don't even think about bodging it.
Comiserations guys I've been there before you! (If the wife gives you a hard time just work out how much it will cost to borrow money to buy somthing rubbish like a fiat panda & then calculate the cost of replacing it in three years when it's dead. Works everytime for me )

That's wicked but I did point out when the 944 cost £2k last year for an MOT it was oaround 6 payments on the Jag

Cheers for the morale booster guy's ..need um,) am trying to get the job set up (parts gathering and info at the mo)..will let you know the progress...

cheers

Don't think I'll be driving it much longer as its now having trouble turning over so I don't want to damage it. Next time I drive it will probably be to Jon Mitchell's.

I've used the depreciation argument many times, usually works but after spending £3k in one hit less than a year ago on the cambelts, water pump and steering rack I think I'm in trouble. Although I love driving it I really wish I'd had the car checked before I bought it as I've spent more than double I paid for it in less than 4 years! Just about everything has gone wrong and unfortunately I'm not very good at getting my hands dirty.

I'll let you know how I get on with the car & the wife...

Dalton 3K in 4 years doesn't sound so bad. My sisters Punto blew up when it was 4 years old! (80K) And she laughs at the fuel economy of my '44. Small engines don't last. There flogging away near to capacity all the time & everything is made so cheap & nasty to keep it light & make you get another every three years. A new small car would have cost you more than that in depreciation alone. Cars are just expensive full stop. If anyone can sort it out Jon Mitchels your man! Shouldn't be a big bill even if the head needs a skim. (I've spent more on mine in 18 months!) Take her out for a meal & break it gently.

Make sure you don't get hydraulic lock on one of the cylinders, it's not unknown to bend a rod.

£3k was in the past year, it adds up to just over £7k since I bought it four years ago for £5k. It looked in such good condition and seemed to drive well but I'm slowly but surely having to replace everything, brakes, dampers, bushes, cambelt, the list goes on. Jon Mitchell has been brilliant, I only wish I knew him before I bought the car. Anyway, its booked in for the 30th so fingers crossed its just the head gasket.

Wish I had the guts to do it myself, good luck Derrick, let us know how you get on.