A strong first day tearing down our 914-6 engine. After doing some basic organization of workspace, tools, and documentation, we got to work. Following the guidance in How to Rebuild and Modify Porsche 911 Engines 1965-1989 we were able to get down to the long block. Which means the camshafts and heads are still in place.
Nothing catastrophic was found. Yea!
While it appears mostly original, the engine has clearly been torn into previously. The list of tells include:
- Bolts where there should be studs with a nut
- Crankshaft pulley is incorrect
- Oil breather lid may not be correct (i.e. threaded port for a sensor / switch that I can’t find a part number for in the 914 or early 911 parts catalogs)
- Oil cooler appears to be a modified 911 cooler
- What appears to be teflon tape on threads
- Liberal use of orange sealant, perhaps RTV?
The valve covers appear to be original magnesium. At least one of the uppers should be replaced, due to a chip on the edge that doesn’t leave much sealing surface. To my surprise, the nylock style nuts for the valve cover studs appear to be correct. The lowers may be warped, but rather than replace with aluminum “turbo” covers with reinforcement fins, we may just have the existing ones resurfaced flat. That will save a couple hundred bucks.
I was not looking forward to attempting to remove the cam nut. The book emphasized many time that you need special tools, or you will be sorry. And even with those tools, be prepared for fight that two people will not enjoy. Some videos of people trying to remove them reinforce this idea. My dad bought the Stomski Can Nut removal tool. It’s a nice piece of hardware, if a bit pricey. It allows you to position a single tool rather than two. That said, it will not work on the left side (911 orientation) cam tower if the chain tensioner is still in place. So luckily, I had located used Porsche tools P203 Crowfoot and P202 Cam Nut socket to get that side off. With two of us, it still required a makeshift cheater bar (i.e. floor jack handle) on a 1/2-inch socket wrench. No one was injured. It wasn’t as bad as I thought.
