[Lear35A]

[quote name='RS Barn' timestamp='1341332933' post='128877']



It is nice to have the factory tools...

[/quote]

I would be nice to have a pro with all the tools do the whole job. But as M. Jagger said "you can't always get what you want..."



re block weight. It's not too bad to hand carry the bare block. However, it starts getting pretty heavy if the crank is in it. Almost fully assembled I think it would be tough for even 3 guys to hand carry it.

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[flash]

i was actually quite surprised at the block weight. a lot lighter than i thought it would be.

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[Nosferatu]

A bottle of Pisco will make it easier to transport <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/beer.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> . I guess it will be very doable with 3 or 4 people as long you've it on an engine stand. Two can grab one end of the engine stand and two or one the other end.

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[tamathumper]

Get a wheeled engine stand, two sheets of 4x8 plywood, and two friends (to move the plywood end-to-end).

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[mbardeen]

mmm.. Pisco :-) Have to make sure to give them it afterwards though. I don't want any (more) accidents with my engine.





I was contemplating the same solution, Tama. A ramp for the step up into the room would be good too. Yes. I can do this. Now just need to procure an engine hoist, load leveler, an engine stand, and some willing friends.

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[Cloud9...68]

Re: cam blocks. If you have access to tools that can shape sizeable chunks of aluminum, they shouldn't be hard to make. I had a guy at work make a set for me out of maple, and I attached some thick metal strips to the tops of the blocks to help disctibute the force. For the clamps, I had another co-worker weld a pair of threaded rods to a pair of spark plugs, from which I removed everything but the threads.



Unfortunately, the guy who made the blocks cut them in the "wrong" direction relative to the grain, and they both cracked about 3/4 of the way through the job. But they held long enough to help absorb the stress of the valve springs. Seeing the solid maple blocks crack definitely gave me some pause - there really is a significant amount of force applied to the cams. If this were a straight six, I think the blocks would be indespensible. But obviously, since so many have R & R'd their cams without the blocks, I would rate them slightly on the side of a nice-to-have, if you've very, very careful and extremely patient. I removed my cams without the blocks, and, being the coward that I am, it must have taken me over an hour to complete the job, turning each nut about 1/64th of a turn each time!

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[tamathumper]

Ah, so you're the "maple guy" I was referring to in an earlier post. Wood's strength is greatly dependent on its grain orientation - sorry to hear your friend fabbed them up incorrectly.



With aluminum it would take me some time, but given the correct dimensions, I could crank these out all day.

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[mbardeen]

Maple is incredibly hard to come by here. Best I could do is pine and I suspect that's not strong enough. I'll find someone that sells block aluminum and go from there. Do you still have the dimensions that you used for yours Cloud?

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[tamathumper]

There are so many kinds of "pine" it's hard to say. Saying "Pine" to a woodworker is like saying "grape juice" to a wine lover.



But you're in Chile - you have access to much harder woods than most of us in the U.S. Even your Eucalyptus is much harder than Maple.



Google the "Janka Scale" - or look it up on Wikipedia for a nice list of wood hardnesses.

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[Cloud9...68]

I'm pretty sure I've tossed mine, but I'll check.

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[mbardeen]

I received my compression tester today, and of course, promptly used it to check the Porsche.



Procedure:

I ran the engine up to temperature, basically until the fans came on. Then I let it sit about 10 minutes. I took out the DME Relay and then, one by one tested the cylinders, by pulling out the plug, checking its state, testing the cylinder, replacing the plug. The tester has a hold so I could see the highest measurement while doing this myself.



Edit: I did not have throttle wide open.



The measurements I took were:

165 160 160 170



Is this within range for the car? If I do have a head gasket leak, it's a consistent one.



Is it safe to start test driving the car to see how it behaves?

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[mbardeen]

This morning I took the car for an extended spin of around 45 minutes. I took it up a couple decent size hills, including one that was about 10 minutes of constant uphill driving in third. One of the previous owners installed an aftermarket water temp guage, and after the big hill it read around 205. That was the highest it read during the entire time. Acceleration was good, no hesitation or misfires that I could tell.



I will check the coolant level when it cools down.



Perhaps I was overly hasty in fearing the worst.

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[Nosferatu]

The compression looks good, consistent all across the cylinders is always good. If one cylinder have a problem the reading will be off by a good amount. The absolute number is hard to judge due to the quality of the gauges used on compression testers. I have two Chinese "special" and one will give me readings close to 190-200 and the other one around 170-180.



With that said the best test for a blown head gasket is a cylinder leak test. This involves pressurizing each cylinder with shop air and look around for air leaks. If the head gasket is blown you will have air bubbling on the radiator expansion tank. You can use the adapter from the compression testing kit you got and add a compressor fitting at the end of it.

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[mbardeen]

Thanks, based on what I read that was my impression of the compression results as well. Absolute numbers can be affected by weather, level above sea level, and of course, as you mentioned, quality of the tester. Mine's a chinese special as well, but seems to be reasonably decent quality.



The leakdown test is what I'll perform next, just to be on the safe side. I checked the coolant level yesterday after my nice drive and it seemed like it hadn't dropped very much, if at all, but I'm not going on any long trips until I know everything is completely fine.

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[tamathumper]

Just to be on the safe side, aside from the relative levels, have you also checked the oil and the coolant to make sure one isn't getting into the other?

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[AJG]

[quote name='tamathumper' timestamp='1341334445' post='128879']

Is this the magical tool? It doesn't look that hard to make...





[/quote]

Is that a bought item or home made?

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[Cloud9...68]

Yep, that's it. If you have the capability to machine aluminum stock, it shouldn't be hard to make. For the hold-down rods that screw into the spark plug holes, I bought a couple of cheap spark plugs, knocked off all the ceramic insulator and the electrode running through it, leaving just the thread, and had a co-worker with a welder weld them to a pair of threaded rods.

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[Lear35A]

Maybe I am stubborn, but for the life of me I cannot see the difference between pulling the cams down with these two bridges or by the bearing caps themselves. By difference I mean easier or less stressful on the cams or less prone to damage the cams. I just don't see it. But hey, if you like making or buying tools (and I do plenty of both), go for it.

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[mbardeen]

[quote name='tamathumper' timestamp='1342381357' post='129393']

Just to be on the safe side, aside from the relative levels, have you also checked the oil and the coolant to make sure one isn't getting into the other?

[/quote]



Yes. I'm running plain water at the moment (mainly because I'm draining and re-filling fairly frequently), but I have not seen evidence of oil in it after I've drained it. I just re-checked my oil to be sure and it's a nice honey brown, still a bit transparent as it should be with only 50 miles on it.

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[tamathumper]

I'd really like the measurements of that tool, if anyone has one they could take them from? I could make them out of aluminum or wood and steel.

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