Mez Forums

ant · Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 11:50 am Post subject: Porsche 944 S2 project car

I was offered a solid S2 and did a deal where no money exchanged hands. However the engine is dismantled due to a cam tensioner issue, rather than rebuild it (hideously expensive) I decided to source a replacement engine & ended up buying a complete, fire damaged car. The first thing I did when it arrived was a leakdown test and unfortunately cylinder 3 showed a 40% loss. The air seemed to be escaping into the coolant system which was no big deal as it would be getting new seals & gaskets anyway (headgaskets tend to rot away on these engines after 20 years).

So out came the engine looking slightly melted -

I removed the cam cover to check the state of the chain & tensioner (which look ok), the watery oil would suggest a headgasket issue.

A quick peek in the belt cover revealed a horror, the balance idler seems to be missing the outer roller & the belt teeth are worn to nothing! A result of poor workmanship.

But the worst horror was the cylinder head. A fracture between cyl 1 & 2 is a serious problem, however the cause is a mystery at the moment. It appears to have been caused by something coming up and cracking the material but it is positioned right between the cylinders, above the water jacket. I'll pull the head in the next couple of days & have a closer look.

_________________
THE guide to personal plates, VW Golf engine swap and megasquirt
http://www.conrod.co.uk

ant · Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 4:26 pm Post subject:

The head is off and its good news (sort of). The block & bores look absolutely fine.

With the head off I could have a better look at the damage

I decided to chisel the damaged parts out so I could get a good look inside, the head is scrap anyway.

I'll spend more time inspecting it tomorrow but my initial thoughts are that the coolant has frozen and caused the cracking (anyone have any other thoughts?). Confusingly, however this seems to be the only damaged area. Coolant must have literally poured into the engine from the crack giving the same symptoms as a (very, very bad) headgasket failure. I still haven't found the cause of the poor leakdown result from cylinder 3, but the headgasket is well past its best...

_________________
THE guide to personal plates, VW Golf engine swap and megasquirt
http://www.conrod.co.uk