[mbardeen]

My latest adventure is to reseal my front balance shaft, investigate the cause of the incessant ticking in the top end of my engine (suspected cracked oil pickup tube), and replace the leaky oil pan gasket.



I've got a couple of questions for those that have done these prior:

1. Is it possible to pull the front seal and race of the bottom balance shaft without removing the back of the belt cover? Or do I have to remove the timing belt and backing first?
   
   
2. I've got 20 bolts out of the oil pan, 2 of those are long bolts. I assume the remaining 2 long bolts are back by the flywheel, but there is a foam material stuffed in between the pan and protective plate on the clutch housing that seems to be hiding them. Do I need to get that foam out, and if so, how?
   
   

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[MB968]

Don't quote me on #1, but I think you can get to the lower bal. shaft seal without messing with the timing belt.



On point #2, you might find it easier to just take the cover plate off that the foam is mounted to. I think there are 5 small bolts that hold it on. If you can't get to the bolts because of the foam, you can just remove the foam. My car was already missing the foam. It is no longer available from Porsche, but it's just for sound absorbtion, and it may also serve as a barrier to seal the gap between this cover and the bell housing.



Edit: Forgot to add that you'll probably want the cover off as it makes it a lot easier when you reinstall the oil pan, as it allow you to see the oil pan seal in the rear.

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[Lear35A]

As to #1, yes MB968 is right. The end of that balance shaft and its front seal goes through a fairly large opening in the back cover. See picture 1.

As to #2, again full credit to MB968. It's held on by 5 somewhat special M6 screws. Takes an 8mm wrench or socket to get it off. I would say you have to take it off to pull the pan. It's really not too hard. Picture 2.

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[mbardeen]

Great! Thanks guys. Got the plate out to find the two missing bolts, so a result there. It was fairly soaked with oil. I hope the pan takes care of that, but I fear the rear main seal might need replacing.



Now I'm going to press on with the pan removal tonight. Gonna be a fun balancing act with just me under the car. I'm curious to whether I'll find a broken pickup tube or not. I know for a fact the balance shafts were mis-aligned when I got the car.



Motor mounts were shot, so I'm glad I got the replacements in. Castor blocks and front bushings on the suspension look good, no rot that I could see. I'll be tackling the balance shaft reseal tomorrow.

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[mbardeen]

Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but is there some trick to getting the oil pickup past the plastic baffle? My pan drops about 2 inches and then gets stuck there. I've wiggled and jiggled for the past hour with no luck...

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[Lear35A]

You do have the oil level sensor out of the right side of the pan, right? If so, yes just wiggle the pan some more. If not, take it out...

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[mbardeen]

Ah hah! Yes. The oil level sensor. Not mentioned in the Clark's garage writeup, but it is necessary to loosen/remove it. Once that was done the pan dropped quite nicely.



Oil pickup tube looks as it should, I saw no cracks when I was looking. Not trusting myself, I took some pictures from various angles, again no signs of cracks. My fishing expedition has come up empty. At least the motor mounts and pan gasket are done.



Thanks!

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[Scott Collins]

That's great. How is the sourcing of parts going? Any trouble getting the stuff you need?



Cheers!



-Scott

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[MB968]

[quote name='Lear35A' timestamp='1356738285' post='136767']

As to #2, . . .It's held on by 5 somewhat special M6 screws. Takes an 8mm wrench or socket to get it off.

[/quote]

I found at my local hardware store that I could get a very similar 8 mm screw with the same combined washer/hex head that took a 10 mm wrench. I switched to 5 of these to minimize the number of sizes of wrenches/sockets I needed when under the car.

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[mbardeen]

[quote name='Scott Collins' timestamp='1356752848' post='136782']

That's great. How is the sourcing of parts going? Any trouble getting the stuff you need?

[/quote]



It goes well -- apart from the three week lead time with ordering stuff from the US. I've been slowly accumulating all the bits I need via Auto Atlanta and Paragon in preparation for the big push to get the car done. Car goes in for a respray first week of January and should be out 4 weeks later. By that time I should have the new top waiting to be installed. That'll take care of the exterior cosmetics and then it's new front struts and brakes, followed by finishing off the interior -- stereo, seat covers, etc.



The start of April will mark 1 year owning the car. I'd love to have it done by then!

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[Scott Collins]

Matt,



Cool. What do you have left to do? (Or maybe, what do you NOT have to do, whichever list is shorter! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.png" class="smilie" alt="" />



-Scott



BTW - I think that the '95 Cherokee is a great choice for Zombie Apocalypse Response Vehicle. Something with proper, metal bumpers is a must. Little bumperettes, like on our 968's, just won't do enough damage, especially when they are in a frenzy for brains. One reason I don't lose sleep over this impending zombie disaster is this brains appetite. Even the contemporary undead, who can really sprint and jump like track stars, will ignore my house. No brains here!



Back to the Cherokee... Does it have a sunroof, so you could throw stuff at the zombies?

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[mbardeen]

No sunroof on the Cherokee, unfortunately. Only 2 doors which means that the rear windows are fairly large, so not that great a response vehicle. And not that modded either.. I've put OME shocks and springs on it so maybe only 2 inches in height gain. I've got my eye on some larger tires and rims to get it up a tad more. Mainly though I use it for trips to the beach, ferrying dogs to the vet, picking up materials for the house.. It did come with a factory optioned winch hidden in the bumper, it's 4wd, and is small enough to be fairly manuverable. Oh, and it's got the 4.0L six, which is enough for such a small vehicle.



Anyways, back on topic:

Thanks to all of your help! The engine is back together and running again. I'm happy to report that the ticking on the top end is gone (thank you Lear) and it sounds altogether smoother. There are no leaks evident either, and though I have not moved the car yet, I'm reasonably confident that there won't be once it moves. So, leasons learned -- the front balance shaft can be resealed without disturbing the timing belt. and the oil level sensor has to come out to drop the pan.

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[MLB]

Hi Matt,

I also want to replace my oil pan gasket. My Porsche mechanic is suggesting a bunch of stuff has to be removed to get the pan off, AND that the engine needs to be supported from the top! sounds like you're just saying that oil sensor needs to be out. (The car is currently in the shop getting the clutch replaced). Is the oil pan gasket is something I could replace with the car just on short jack stands?

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[Lear35A]

Your mechanic is correct. To drop the pan the front crossmember has to come out. That means a new alignment in addition.

The "while you're in there" list can include: rod bearings, oil pickup tube and motor mounts.

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[MLB]

Sometimes good to get a second opinion, I think I'm in good hands with this mechanic. But I still want to do some thing myself; just want to get this car in solid condition first, and I'm learning so much from this forum that it's building my confidence. Thanks!

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[Lear35A]

Didn't answer the other question. I have dropped my pan with the car on jack stands. It is doable, but a real pita. I'm not sure I would recommend it as a first 968 project. I would not recommend it if you need the car as a DD.

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[mbardeen]

Yes, I did mine with stands and I bought an engine support to hold the engine from the top. I think it took me the equivalent of a weekend to do the pan, mounts and tube, but I've had practice with oil pans before.



I still haven't gone and got my alignment yet, since I'm still slowly putting things back together. As this is the rainy season, I'm in no real rush.

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[MB968]

I purchased the three piece cross-member from Lindsey Racing. It makes it a simple task to pull the pan. Got poo pooed for doing it by some on this forum (as a structural engineer who's looked at hundreds of finite element structural models and fixed a lot of structural limitations, torsion, bending, stress, etc. on new prototypes I don't agree with the belief that the three piece design has any significant percentage loss of performance). So, if you don't mind spending a few hundred $'s, there is a solution to a difficult to remove oil pan.

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[MLB]

Hi, I'm up to my shoulders in the oil-pan-gasket repair - suspension removed, PS rack disconnected at the pump, engine supported from above (harbor freight support is much sturdier than the one my PM uses), crossmember bolts removed.

The only things holding the crossmember on now seem to be the steering input spline (bolt has been loosened) and the engine mount top bolts (bottoms have been removed).

Those top bolts for the mounts are a challenge for access, plus they're fastened really tight. Ive soaked all these with PBB last nite and will try again this morning, but does anyone have additional tips? Maybe there are other ways to try, like unbolting the upper mounts from the block (not crazy about that idea though)?



I'm replacing mounts with OEM, and will also do Koni front strut conversion and replace bushings with OEM while-I'm-in-there

--Michael

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