C4S Engine Project

I started this thread to document the rebuild of my 2004 C4S Cabriolet engine rebuild. Unfortunately I fell victim to bore scoring with only 78K miles on the engine. I'm am going with a 4.0 rebuild and having LN Engineering installing the Nickies liners. I purchased and watched the Raby video and am confident I can do the rebuild. Below is a list of what I am planning on doing and replacing let me know if you see something I am missing. Upgrades (I updated this list) LN Engineering Nickies liners with matching pistons and head gaskets LN Billet IMS to Crankshaft Tensioner Blade Paddle LN IMS Shaft Rebuild including pinning LN Chromoly Oil Pump Hex Drive IMS Solution UAOS ARP Crankshaft Carrier Bolts 997 Oil Pump Piston LN Engineering 160F Low Temperature Thermostat K1 Rods from LN Engineering 997 3.8S Engine Balancer Replacing Porsche Main Bearings Porsche Rod Bearings Porsche Thrust Bearings All 3 Timing Chains All Chain Guides All Gaskets Oil Cooler Bank 2 Tensioner. They all looked good, but Bank 2 is a major job to replace if it goes bad in the future. The rest are simple Crankshaft Position Sensor. (Old one was stuck and would only come out in pieces) Exhaust Lifters (All the intake and exhaust looked good, but I already had purchased Exhaust lifters on sale) Coils Spark Plugs Oil Pump Spring Camshaft bolt for vane cell adjuster Intake cam bearing sleeves Intake cam washers Spark Plugs Water Pump Flywheel Clutch Throwout Bearing Pilot Bearing Flywheel Bolts Injectors Here are some pictures of the progress. Here is the engine out sitting on my Harbor Freight table and trans jack Engine without transmission Car without Engine and Transmission Cylinder 4's Bore Scoring. This was the worst one. Number 5 was bad as well. Crankcase Carrier with pistons A close up of Piston number 4 The Crankcase Carrier apart. Everything looks great except for a few pistons. Block is packaged and off to LN Engineering a few weeks ago

Here is what everything looks like as of today.

Cool - I love these threads, I would be curious what the bill comes out to be if you would feel OK about sharing. Are you using the gapless ring setup ? I would replace the injectors also while you're doing such a thorough freshen up. Good luck, look forward to following along.

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I�ll share the bill. I�m keeping track on a spread sheet Not sure which rings come with the LN pistons. I�m going with what is in the kit. I�m planning on doing the injectors. However; they are back order indefinitely right now. I�ll update my original post.

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Awesome dude ! Good luck again, I'll definitely be watching. The gapless rings are pretty cool tech.

Awesome, I�m rooting for you! What about metal spark plug tubes? I heard/read those are a nice upgrade over the plastic ones that become brittle over time. I guess it�s not really an issue until many years pass on the plastic ones.

The 3.6 engine doesn't have spark plug tubes. They changed the design.

Thanks for posting the build. Looking forward to seeing it as it happens and hearing about it.

Nice project! Maybe a stupid question, but what did you notice on the car that made you suspect bore scoring and feeling the need to rebuild? was it driving badly? smoking badly?

If you are going up to a 4.0 liter displacement, it is recommended to upgrade to forged rods

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Soot on the left tailpipe. A ticking noise that kept getting louder over time.

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I was concerned about this as well. I checked with LN and they stated the rods were only necessary if I was going to track the car. The major concern with the rods are the factory rod bolts. I am upgrading them to ARP bolts. The 4.0 shouldn't put out any more torque or HP than the 3.8 engines in the 997S and they are using the same connecting rods. Also, the 4.0 pistons are lighter than the 3.6 pistons so they factory rods should be good for street use.

Good job. When time comes to put the engine and transmission back into the car, save yourself the headache, remove the clutch slave cylinder and installing it onto the transmission before putting the whole thing back into the car.

I see a 70-73 Camaro back there - I had a '73 in high school that was originally a 6 cylinder with a factory tach and floor shifter! It had been swapped to a 454 (455? or was that the Olds engine?) before I got it for cheap because it didn't run, I replaced the distributor and it was fine. It was rather a rustbucket even though it was only about 12 years old and one of my buddies from work ended up buying it from me.

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It's a 73 RS Type LT. I built a Pro Touring car out of it. It has an LS6 and T56 from a 2055 CTS-V. I also have a lowered suspension and C5 Corvette disc brakes all around. Here are a pair of pictures from the photo shoot a few years ago.

Very nice. Mine was a plain jane secretary's ride with a big block swap which was all the rage then. I sold it in 1987 long before the LS or the restomod movement existed.

Sweet ride!

That is sick!

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Thanks. The build took me 6 years to get it on the road. Then another 5 or so to get it basically to this point. I documented the whole build on my website. http://www.apiem.com/camaro

I will check that out. Love the rear/taillights took me a long time to appreciate split bumpers

Love this, Good luck!! I just went through the exact same build in my garage a few months ago. The 4.0 is an absolute blast. Let me know if you have any questions!

Quick update. Last week, I brought my heads, crank, crankcase, rods, and new bearings to my machine shop. After speaking with my machinist, I have decided to upgrade to the K1 rods for some peace of mind. Here is a picture of some of the parts before they were loaded and brought to the shop. The waiting on the block is killing me.

�The waiting on the block is killing me.� It�ll all be worthwhile! Good things take time...

Since the engine was out and the car would be off the road for a while, I took the opportunity to paint the backs of the hard back seats body color. I had some 2K primer, 2K clear and have a compressor and Harbor Freight HVLP gun from other jobs in the past. I used the following post as a guide, https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...k-removal.html 1. The first step is to remove the rubberized coating once the seats a disassembled. I used a grey scotch brite pad and alcohol to remove the coating. 2. The next step was to use a wax and grease remover over the entire seat back and scuff the whole seat using 320 grit paper. If I did this again, I would use 600 grit paper since they are made of plastic. Here is a picture before shooting primer 3. The next step was to shoot the 2K primer. 4. I then wet sanded the primer with 600 grit paper and filled any small imperfections with spot primer. 5. I then shot the seats with paint from https://www.automotivetouchup.com/ . However; there were issues as the paint wrinkled in a few spots.

Seat Backs Continued 5. The wrinkles were some sort of reaction from the paint to the seat plastic. I sanded most of the paint off with 600 grit paint. Oddly, the wrinkles were raised ridges comprised of seat plastic. So that had to be sanded down flat. 6. I don't have pictures but, once I finished sanding off most of the old paint and wrinkles, I primed everything again with the 2K primer. 7. I wet sanded the primer and then sprayed on the body color paint and then 2K clear coat paint. No wrinkles this time! 8. The next day after the clear coat was cured, I wet sanded with 1500, 2000, 5000, and 3000 grit paper, then buffed them out. 9. Here are the seats disassembled. 10. Lastly, I installed the seat backs onto the seats. The leather clips onto the center section first. Then you push the edges back into the seat back starting at the top and working you way down the sides. Overall, this wasn't too hard of a project and would be much easier the next time as there was a learning curve for disassembling and assembling the seats. I can't wait to see what they look like in the car, with the top down.

Woah... Nice work! Looking forward to the details on the engine and what you had your machinist do!

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Machinist is just doing basic head work and checking crank clearances. Crank main journals were in spec. Rods just arrived to him this week. Waiting to see how the clearances are with the K1 rods.

Nice work! Nice camaro! I have had paint reactions like that when I had lacquer and enamel paint layers.

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I�ve had that happen as well. This was strange as the seat plastic became textured. When I started to sand, the wrinkles were black once I removed the light coat of paint on them.

Amargari who are you using to do your work I’m trying to get some advice for the future Mike

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Mike, I'll send you a PM with the information. The guy I'm using generally does work directly with shops. I was referred to him from a friend's shop. He had some really cool turbo engines in the shop he was working on.

Did you put some flexing agent into the paints?

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I didn't add flex agent. For the most part modern urethane paint doesn't need a flex agent. The seats backs aren't that flexible that it would be an issue as well.

Picked up the parts from my machinist today. He rebuilt the heads and checked the clearances for me for my crank and new K1 rods. Everything checked out and is within spec. This was the first time I saw the K1 rods and they seem like good quality rods for the money. Definitely better than the stock rods and come with ARP bolts. Overall, they are about 60 grams lighter than the stock rods and are all within a gram of each other. 5 of the rods are 546g and 1 is 545g. By comparison, the stock rods are 606g to 607g. Another update is the ARP Carrier Through Bolt kit is back-ordered to January 21st and no one in North America had any left in stock which left me with a decision. 1) Pay almost double to get them from England. 2) Use factory Bolts. 3) Essentially wait until February to start my build. In summary, I went with option 1. Double was $120 and in the grand scheme of my build, that wasn't a significant increase in the build cost and I have been able to get deals on other parts to keep my overall cost down. You can read the details about my decision here ( https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...-bolt-kit.html ). I am expecting the block should be back by the end of November and should have the ARP Carrier Through Bolts by then as well and can start putting it back together. I have all the other parts I need except for a few bolts that I am replacing due to rust. Here are some pictures of the parts I picked up today. K1 rod K1 on left, stock on right.

Thanks for the update! Love seeing these DIY rebuilds!

Great thread, looking forward to more progress. That Camaro looks great, usually not a fan of that generation body style but that is beautiful.

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Thank You

What work did the shop do to the heads?

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Just a basic refresh. No porting or anything. Disassembled Hot Tanked, Bead Blasted, High Pressure Clean Inspected the head Valve Job New Seals Installed and verified springs

I get to start putting it back together. I don't have the block back, but I did get the carrier through bolts on Sunday. The ARP bolts arrived from England in 5 days, which is quicker than some items I order in the US. Oddly enough, the ARP bolts don't seem as thick as the factory botls, but are high quality. Today, I decided to verify the main clearances with Plastigauge. I used the Plastigauge to verify that the work from the machine shop was in the ballpark. All the main clearances were between .002 and .003 which is where they should be. The next steps will be to clean everything one final time. Install the piston squirters. Install the bearings and crankshaft, Then torque the bearing carrier case together.

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What about the guides and what did they verify on the springs?

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Springs were verified and the guides were either checked or were replaced. I don't remember.

Do you have a micrometer in addition to the Plaustigauge? I�ve heard Plastigauge is not the best to check for tolerances.

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I have the micrometer and bore gauges and have tried them, but I'm not great at using them or they are too cheap to be consistently accurate. That's why I had my machinist check them for me. I just used the Plastigauge to verify that everything is still in the ballpark.

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Usually the invoice states what was done. If the guides are the same and the springs are all the same then all this work could have been easily done by you at home. Just need a spring compressor and a vacumme hose with a drill, nothing more. I did this myself on my engine.

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I didn't have the tools to verify everything on the heads and do a valve job at home. Having an expert go through the heads and replace what needed to be replaced was worth paying for. Plus he went and verified all my clearances for my crankshaft and rods. For a reasonable fee, I could have had him build my short block, but I decided I want to do that.

Here's a preview for the next step which is now the start of building the engine. Hopefully, I will get this done by Sunday.

Missing from the picture above is the Thrust Bearings. I have those and won't forget them in the install.

Got to gauge to measure the end play?

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Yes I do.

The build begins!!! Up until this point it has been teardown and cleaning, Now I am finally putting something together for good. After work tonight I put in the Raby DVD and rewatched the 1st part and put the crankshaft carrier together. I took my time and everything went as planned. Once it was all put together, the endplay checked out and the crank spins like it should. Now I put the case in a trash bag to keep it safe and clean and wait for LN Engineering to return my block and the rest of the parts, It should be any day now. Lower half with Piston Squirters and Bearings in place lubed up and ready to go. Crankshaft with assembly lube. Crankshaft in the lower case. Upper case has the squirters and bearings in place and assembly lube on the bearings. Here are the ARP bolts. Case assembled and waiting for the bolts. Checked endplay after torquing everything down. Right at spec at .004 Here is the finished product.

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Good stuff!

No real progress as I am waiting on the block and other parts from LN Engineering. The good news is I saved over $200 on products I ordered with my block with their Cyber Monday sale this week. They did let me know that the block is done and waiting for the QC steps before they ship it out.

This just came in today!! The block and the rest of my LN Items. I now have everything I need to do the rebuild.

Did a little prep work today. Weighed all the pistons, pins, and ring packs. Cleaned and scrubbed the bores and block with soap and hot water Wiped down the bores and mating surfaces using Kimwipes and acetone/brake parts cleaner. Here are the results from the weighing portion. All but one rod was 546 grams with 1 rod being 545 grams. 4 pistons were 431 grams with 2 pistons being 432 grams All 6 pins were 98 grams All 6 ring packs were 32 grams I matched 1 of the heavier pistons with the 1 lightest rod and then matched the rest up. That leaves me with 5 of the piston/rod/pin/rings at 1107 grams and one of the sets at 1108 grams. I can live with a 1 gram difference for one set. I could grind a bit off of the one piston, but I think my chances of screwing up the piston is greater than the effect of 1 gram of imbalance. I am trying to figure out if I should put this set on one of the inner bores or one of the outer bores. By comparison, the factory piston/rod/pin/rings come in between 1130 and 1133 grams. So they have a 3 gram difference between them and overall they are at least 22 grams more than the new set. I know measuring the whole rod isn't technically the way to verify the weight, and you should weigh the large end and small end separately, but with their weights being so close, I don't see how there could be a significant difference between each rod. The next step will be for me to check the end gap of all the piston rings. I am doing this now, while the engine block and associated parts are in the warmth of my basement. At some point, I will need to bring the partially assembled engine into the garage and it is not consistently heated out there. I have a space heater I will run, but it will not be as warm as in my basement. Lastly, if you are going to do this, get the Kimwipes in the blue box. They are thicker and bigger. Here is what the block looks like out of the shipping box. After cleaning with soap and hot water. Close up after the soapy bath. Bores wiped down with brake cleaner and Kimwipes. The Kimwipes came out spotless. Here are the Kimwipes you want.

Great progress and thanks for the update.

I didn�t catch this, but have you considered having the rotating assembly balanced? I know that having equal weights of pistons and rods can help, but unless the crank has the counterweight correction in place (either drilling or filling), the rotating balance could still be off.

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When I researching this, the general consensus was balancing was not necessary unless you were looking to race the car. I'm just making sure that the assemblies are as close in weight as possible.

Quick update for today. I started checking the ring end gaps and they are all too tight so far. They are coming in at around 0.014 for the top ring and 0.011 for the second ring. Ideally, they should be at 0.018 for the top ring and 0.019/0.020 for the middle ring. To fix this, I ordered a ring filer from Amazon today. I am hoping to get to work on step 2 of the crankshaft carrier case assembly tomorrow.

The last two days have been productive. Yesterday my ring filer arrived so I filed all my rings and set the gaps. I now have the top ring at .018 and the middle ring at .019. That should be perfect. I also put on my big boy engine building pants and pulled out the dial bore gauge and the outside micrometer to verify the rod clearances. They all came in at either 0.0021 or <!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->0.0020 which is good. Everything I needed to gap the rings.

This morning I did installed the Bank 2 (4-6) rods. Once they were installed they all moved smoothly as they should. Once the rods were done, it was time to install the IMS Solution Bearing and then install the IMS shaft and related items onto the bearing carrier. Everything lined up and ready to go. Oil separator installed. Here is my IMS shaft back from LN Engineering. They pinned it and verified that the run out was in spec. Here is the IMS Solution bearing installed. I made sure the new chains were the same length as the old chains. The old chains looked perfect. Chains installed. I went with the LN Billet IMS Tension paddle. This thing is like jewelry. The only one on the left had a bit of wear. Billet Paddle installed. This thing is too pretty to be buried in the engine. All ready for the next steps.

The last item today, was to assemble the pistons and rods for back 1. Here is everything for cylinder number 1 Notice that the JE clips don't have the hook end. Cylinder number 1 done. Bank 1 done. The next step is to put the carrier into the block and install pistons for bank 1. That may wait for a few days, as I need to move the carrier to the garage and that is heavy now. My son comes back from college on Tuesday, so I will wait until then.

No pictures today. Got the block ready for the installation of the bearing carrier. I also used a fish scale to check the tension on all the oil rings. I'm not sure what they are supposed to be, but they all came in around 16 to 18 pounds. That seems like a valid value based on my research. I was just glad they were all the same.

Crankshaft carrier and bank 1 block got married today. I also installed the pistons for bank 1. Everything turns smoothly. I turned the crank with a torque wrench and it only took 60 inch/lbs of force to turn the crank. The next step is to install the bank 2 block half and then install bank 2 pistons. That last step is what has me concerned. Here are some pictures of the progress. Carrier installed. Head bolts installed with spacers to hold the carrier in place. Piston 1 installed. Here is piston 2 being installed. I really like using the tapered sleeve for installing pistons. I have never used a tapered sleeve in previous engine builds. I always used the adjustable sleeves, and they suck compared to this tool. All three pistons in bank 1 installed.

No real progress to report on. Just a delay. When you send a block out, you need to remove all the dowels in the block. I thought I had removed them all but I missed the three on the block mating surface. When I got the block back they were missing which is expected and that is my fault. So I went to the dealer and ordered the three dowels in the parts diagram (999-012-049-00). I went to install the dowels and they didn't fit. They were a tad long. I machined them shorter to fit and all seemed good. So I put a bead of Drei bond on the mating surfaces and put the block halves together. When bolting the block together I noticed that I had 2 left over bolts and 2 empty holes that corresponded to where the dowels went. The dowels shown in the parts diagram were wrong. The ones I bought were solid and the block requires a dowel with a hole in the middle for the bolt to pass through. So I had to separate the block halves and clean off the Drei Bond. This morning I went to the dealership and saw another dowel that was listed as Block Dowel Sleeve on the diagram (996-101-253-51). That one is shorter and has a hole through the middle. I should have the dowels on Monday and then I can put the block halves together.

Used the downtime to take the intake manifold apart and clean it up. I also picked up a 997 3.8 distribution tube (99711041603) for under $40 because I wanted to see if it was any different. It is slightly different in the area that transitions from the throttle body to the intake tubes. The transition area is much larger and will allow more air to flow. I will probably pick up an 82mm throttle body for my build as that is what the 997 3.8 used and it should help me since I am adding .4 liters of displacement. Here is the before. The metal extensions cleaned up inside and out. All the composite and rubber parts cleaned up The 3.6 tube on the left and the 3.8 tube on the right. All the openings are 82 mm on both tubes. The 3.6 tube on the left and the 3.8 tube on the right. Notice how the transition area is larger and does not neck down like on the 3.6. The 3.6 tube on the left and the 3.8 tube on the right. Notice how the transition area is larger and does not neck down like on the 3.6.

The two block halves are now attached to each other. The new dowels were exactly what I needed. Once everything was together, I spun the crankshaft with a torque wrench and it still only took 60 in/lbs of force to turn. The next step is installing pistons into bank 2. Here is the back of the engine. Here is the bottom of the engine Here is bank 2 waiting for pistons The top of the block The front of the block I also installed the crossover tube/throttle body mount to my intake manifold.

The hardest part is done. Pistons 4-6 are now installed and I have a short block. Overall, installing them wasn't has hard as I thought it would be. The Raby video really is making this rebuild so much easier. Piston 6 installed Pistons 5 and 6 installed. Bank 2 complete The completed short block.

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THIS!!! Wish people weren't so hesitant to tackle these engine builds!

It's been a while since I updated. Some good and some progress since the last update. First the good. I installed the following items: Front console with oil pump Water pump and thermostat Oil sump components Oil filter adaptor for the IMS Solution Both heads The bad My complete gasket kit is actually only a complete gasket kit for a 3.4 911. It is missing the following gaskets that I had to order and wait for (2) 99611010350 - Intake to Head Gaskets (6) 99711024700 - Intake Manifold Gaskets that go between the upper plastic runners to the aluminum lower runners (6) 99610420300 - Spark Plug Hole Seals (6) 99970176141 - Spark Plug Hole Seals The biggest issue was I broke a chain guide bolt in the head. I cross-threaded the bolt and snapped it. That required me to pull the head off and bring to my machine shop to drill out the broken bolt and install a thread insert. I have all the parts now to complete at least the next few steps and will have the head back on soon and will start installing the camshafts later this week. Here are some pictures of the progress. Here are the oil sump components to be installed empty oil sump Swirl pots installed Pick up installed I put the sump cover on, but have not sealed it yet in case I drop something into the engine. I will seal it when I seal up the heads. Oil pump gears and the new oil pump drive on the new LN Billet drive on the right. The new 997 spring and plunger is up top. The retainer is in the middle. Here is the console and water pump installed. The front pulley isn't installed as I plan on using the original pulley when setting up the cams. Once the cams are installed, I will install the 997 3.8 dampener. Here are some tools I made. The top one is for installing the Oil Filter adapter. The bottom was used to install the front crankshaft seal. Here is the oil filter adapter installed. Lower water neck installed Here is the front console with water pump, water necks, and thermostat installed. All ready for the heads.

Pictures continued. Bank 1 head installed Bank 1 head installed Bank 2 head installed Here is a picture of the broken chain guide bolt location from the top Another picture of the broken bolt Here is the broken bolt next to a good one. Here is the head on a milling machine getting fixed.

Very nice, getting close.

Fantastic progress and thanks for sharing all the photos.

Back on track. Bank 1 Head is installed again and the chain guides went in without major drama. Ironically, the broken chain guide bolt is a great tool for aligning the guides. The next step will be the bank 1 valvetrain. Bank 1 head Bank 1 head Bank 1 head

Was able to work on it this weekend. I installed the drivetrain. All that is left for the long block is to time the camshafts, install the cam covers, and install the sump cover. I hope to get the cams done tomorrow. Bank 1 with the lifter carrier installed. Bank 1 Bank 1 with Exhaust lifters installed Bank 1 with Intake and Exhaust lifters installed Bank 1 with both camshafts installed Bank 1 with both camshafts installed Bank 2 with both camshafts installed Almost there!!

Before I post update photos, I wanted to start off with a huge bullet I dodged last night when checking over the completed long block. I was inspecting the area where the AOS mounts and noticed a rust hole in a freeze plug in the block. This plug is under the starter and I would have never seen in once the engine was fully dressed and in the car. Since this passage goes to the AOS, this would have been a huge potential oil leak and vacuum leak and the engine would have never ran right. Initially, I was nervous about how I was going to get it out without it falling into the now complete engine. Thankfully I was able to pop it out with a screwdriver. The freeze plug is a 16mm freeze plug that is not listed in the Porsche parts database. The only match I have been able to find is VW part number N0119034. If anyone knows the real Porsche part number please let me know. It is going to take 3 to 5 days for it to arrive at the VW dealer. Here's the plug as installed in the engine. Pictures of the plug removed

Back to the rebuild. The engine is now a complete long block. The cams are timed and I am pretty confident they are where they should be. The cam covers are on, cam actuators installed, cam sensors installed and the spark plugs and coils are installed. The next step, once I get the freeze plug installed will be accessories and everything attached to the top of the engine. The wait on the freeze plug has killed my timeline of installing the engine next weekend. Hopefully, it will be on the road by the end of January now. Bank 1 cams timed. Bank 2 was the same, once the engine was rotated 360 degrees. Bank 1 cam cover installed. Here is bank 2 before installing the cam cover. Bank 1 was the same. Bank 2 cam cover installed. Here is the bank 2 scavenger pump installed The mostly complete long block. Not sure why the cam cover plugs are black and not green. Guess that's what you get with OEM parts instead of OE. Here is the back of the engine. Here are the bank 1 cam actuators installed. Here is bank 1 with plugs and coils installed. Here is bank 2 with cam actuators, plugs and coils installed.

Anthony, Talk to your machinest about replacement expansion plugs. Alternatively: https://www.autohausaz.com/pn/153424...iABEgLp3_D_BwE or Amazon Amazon Amazon or Summit Racing https://www.summitracing.com/parts/p...yABEgL4hfD_BwE F

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Thanks, I ordered the 16mm from a Volkswagen dealer on Saturday. I also looked at the engine diagrams from the 997.1 and found a 16.2mm freeze plug in the block diagram. That part number is 900-036-029-03. I'll go to the dealer and order that tomorrow. One of those two will work. I tried NAPA but they didn't have a listing for a 16mm freeze plug. Not to sound like an old man, but the parts stores really do not know how to lookup parts anymore. I remember working at a parts store in High School and they could find just about any part with their books. Now, everything is on the computer, and they can only find parts if the part is listed to fit the car you enter.

The best parts stores (like Pelican Parts) can look up any part and see the diagrams for any car. From there, they can see the part number. I�m guessing these parts stores don�t have those diagrams, maps, etc.

The freeze plug is on the PET just not where you'd expect to look for it. That part for the 16.2mm freeze plug is 90003602903. http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-p...section=101-05 They always hide the parts that are in that diagram page but do not have a number associated with them on the bottom of the list. I did actually have one on the shelf so you should see it tomorrow. Let us know if there is anything else we can do.

While waiting on the freeze plug, I installed some small parts. I sealed up the oil sump, installed the coolant covers and installed the muffler mount brackets. The bank 1 coolant cover is used for the alternator mount as well as the feed to the AOS. Since I am going with the UAOS, I can remove the coolant lines that go to the AOS. As luck would have it, I broke the nipple off of the water outlet that feeds the AOS a few years ago. As a fix, I tapped the broken nipple for a 1/8 NPT barbed fitting to fix the issue. Now that I am not going to need the outlet, I'm plugging the hole with a plug fitting. Hopefully tomorrow the freeze plug will be in that I ordered from the dealer and I can begin installing the rest of the accessories, intake system and wiring harness. Here are a few pictures of the progress. Here is the plate that covers the upper coolant opening on bank 1 and doubles as the alternator mount. Notice the barbed fitting I installed. Here is the cover with the barb removed and the plug ready to be installed. It's hard to see, but here is the plug installed into the plate with a bit of thread sealant. Here is the sump cover installed and sealed up with Dreibond. Muffler mount brackets installed. Here is the bank 1 cover installed. Here is the bank 2 rear lower coolant cover installed.

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Charles, That is awesome customer service. Thanks for sending that out. I also ordered one from the dealer today as I found it on the 997 diagram.

Definitely enjoying following this rebuild, your attention to detail and all the photos. A rebuild like this can definitely be pretty intimating even to a decent wrench but really enjoy seeing more members on here tackle this. Besides the satisfaction of having done it yourself, now you'll know this engine inside and out, literally! Keep up the good work and looking forward to the first start.

Thanks @plpete84 I am looking forward to seeing it start as well. Thanks @Charles Navarro . Received the plug today!! Will get it installed tomorrow. Just a little progress to document. I spent a few hours over the weekend cleaning up the wiring harness and retagging all the connectors and verifying a few with the shop manual. It's all ready to go. Today I installed the new injectors into the lower part of the intake manifold. Freeze plug. All cleaned up, tagged and ready to go. Here's everything for installing the injectors and lower intake manifold. Injectors installed.

Enjoying this. Nice work!

Amargari feel like doing this job again but get paid for it?… I will contact you when my engine goes and I’m local

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I actually am enjoying the engine assembly process. However; I wouldn't feel comfortable building one for someone else. LOL.

Thanks @GC996 I Installed a lot of items on the engine since the last update. These pictures will be the last pictures of the engine on the engine stand. Going forward the rest of the components will be installed with the engine on the hydraulic table. I didn't want to risk breaking the intake or PS pump with the cherry picker chains. Freeze plug installed. Lower intake manifold installed. U-AOS. Modified AOS installed Air Injection and related items installed Back of the AOS O-Rings for the Oil cooler Oil Cooler installed. Ready for the wiring harness Wiring harness installed Starter installed I installed the 997 3.8 S balancer/crank pulley as well as the dipstick.

The engine is off the stand and is basically complete. I have a few items that will be installed once the engine is in the car. The next steps will be to install the clutch system, transmission a few other small parts. I am hoping to have it running by the end of next week at the latest. The really cold weather is killing me. The garage isn't heated and I use a propane heater to get the temperature up in the garage when I want to work on everything, Here are pictures of the progress. Engine sitting on the lift table with the PS bracket installed. This is a mount for the AC bracket. The pressure line installed. Return line installed PS Pump installed to the housing PS Pump pulley installed Alternator installed Engine complete and waiting to be married to the transmission then installed into the car.

Great work I’m in awe of your determination but if you consider doing this again lmk

Weekly update. The intake manifold is installed as well as the RMS, flywheel and clutch. I broke one of the connectors on the tube for the U-AOS because it must have been too cold and the plastic was brittle. I should have the replacement tomorrow and I can then install the U-AOS. I will then install the transmission to the engine and hope to put it back in the car this Saturday. I don't think I will get the car to the point of starting this weekend. Just hoping to get the engine and transmission mounted. I will need to pick up another propane tank for this Saturday because it's pretty cold up here in NJ. Intake installed Engine brace installed Back of the engine before installing RMS, flywheel and clutch Picture of the RMS tool I used to install the seal Seal installed to the 13mm depth Flywheel installed. Held in place using my homemade tool Clutch installed and waiting for the transmission.

Good progress. I broke that plastic cross-over pipe when doing the UAOS so breaking some of this old plastic stuff is something to be prepared for. It's also nice having 2 less coolant lines running to the back of the engine and the AOS. Do you have a Durametric and a smoke machine just in case some gremlins pop up once the engine is running?

Sooooooo close.

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I do like not having the coolant lines going to the AOS. I have a Durametric and saw instructions on how to build a smoke machine if there are issues with vacuum leaks. I also have a coolant fill tool to check for leaks in the coolant system. -Thanks

Looking good! Suppose to have a few warm days next week after this storm rolls through.

amargari: Wow! What an impressive job on this engine rebuild. Pardon the interruption, and I hope it is not out of line to ask if you can help me solve a cam timing problem since you were just at that point a few weeks ago. I'm not super familiar with the cams and chain guides, etc, on my 2002 3-chain M96, but I did a lot of reading, including the 996 shop manual online. All I needed to replace were the tensioners and the chain guides. All went well on bank 2, and the timing was perfect. Rotated the crank 360 degrees, smooth and easy, and locked the #1 cylinder at TDC on overlap stroke. Once I replaced all of the chain guides and tensioners on bank 1, I installed a new intake cam bolt in the required two stages. When I was angle torquing the bolt to the 110 additional degrees, the aluminum cam holding tool (yes, I chose poorly) bent under pressure from the bolt torque. That in turn rotated the cam backwards. I did not notice this. And I had a steel Allen wrench in the TDC hole on the crank pulley. Still not sure how the crankshaft moved with that key in the hole, as it did not bend. When I removed the wrench and rotated the crank about 10-15 degrees I heard a pop and saw that I was just coming back to TDC! Now the engine is stuck. So, today I removed both cams again to let the valves close in case a valve was out of time and contacting a piston. No luck -- the engine is still stuck for normal rotation, but it does rotate backwards a few degrees (I know... never do this, but I had to determine if a piston was obstructed on the way up). Could I have broken a valve spring and it is now laying on a piston? Any thoughts before I remove the bank 1 head? Thanks very much for any advise to help me correct this mess I have made.

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I'm not an expert on the M96 engine so I would only be guessing here. But here are a few of my thoughts. It isn't a valve spring in the cylinder as they are on the top of the head and can not fall into the cylinder. If a spring is broken, you would see it once you took the cams out. If the cam spun without the crank spinning, then any of the following could have happened: A chain broke. Seems unlikely as they are pretty stout A chain sprocket on the IMS spun. This has been known to happen and that's why people weld or pin them to the IMS. The cams broke where the sprocket attaches to the cam. What cam holding tool broke? Is it the one that slides into the back of the cams or is it the two piece tool that connects to the front of the intake cam. Good luck and I hope it isn't anything major.

Quick update. My AOS tube delivery has been delayed by the Post Office, so I am not able to install the engine and trans this weekend. Hopefully, later this week. I was able to mount the transmission to the engine with only one issue. Somehow I lost one of the transmission bolts. I lost the M12-1.50 x 50mm bolt. Of course that bolt is $18.00 where the other bolts for the transmission are around $6.00. I will try and find a flange bolt of that size or go to the dealer and order one. It's not a rush as I can install the engine and trans without this bolt and install it later. One more thing I did was to install the Function-F1rst shifter cable ends. They are finally available for the 996 and wanted to give them a try. Overall they are well built and should improve the shifter feel. Here are pictures of the progress. Here is the engine with transmission installed. This is the Function-F1rst kit. It comes with everything you need including the installation tool. Here are my original cables. They are rusty with worn bushings. Here is the bushing with the 3-pronged oval clamp removed Next step is to drill a 1/4 hole through the center of the bushing and grind away some of the bushing lip. This is the tool used to pull the bushing out. This is the second one I did and wound up messing up the screw that comes with the kit. I had a spare throttle body screw and it was the perfect size. Here is the back of the cable. It has a washer that presses against the bushing as you tighten the screw. Here is the tool with the removed bushing. Here is the cable without the bushing. Here is the bushing installed. I used a large set of channel lock pliers to press the bushing in. I used the big washer from the tool to protect the busing face. There is a Delrin bushing and circlip that gets installed. Here is the back of the bushing installed. The screws use lock washers, but I added a dab of thread locker to make sure they stay. Here are my finished cables.

A quick update on the missing bolt. It looks like I am missing a M12-1.50 x 70mm bolt not a 50mm bolt. The Bentley book lists the bolt as a 50mm but the parts diagram for the 996 and 997 lists the bolt as a 70mm. I went and checked the depth of the hole and the 70mm bolt is the correct bolt. In fact I was able to thread a 70mm bolt in the hole by hand without a ratchet. So at least I will be paying half as much for the bolt now. A small victory, but still a victory LOL.

Thanks amargari. I guess I typed too fast and put two subjects in one sentence. I was thinking that a valve dropped, not a spring. Now, after removing the cams and each lifter one at a time, the valve ends are all in the same spot relative to the clip that holds them in place. So I hope that rules out a valve issue. I must have felt a chain pop over a sprocket, but I don't know which one. Bank one chain is not broken, and I can look at the IMS sprocket and it doesn't look unusual. I can only see a small part of it since the case and chain guides are restricting my view. The last shop that pulled the bank 1 valve cover really did a bad job putting it back on. I found a misaligned cam bearing screw that crushed a sleeve insert, which caused the cam bearing clamp to be installed at a slight angle. Then they did not bother to place the sprocket bearing sleeve on its hidden post, so the bearing screws just pressed the aluminum sleeve into the face near the factory hole, creating a new "hole" and also causing more binding as the cam rotated in the sleeve. So, if the intake cam was slowed or even stuck in place I can understand why the chain jumped a tooth. But now that the cams are out, I can't figure out why the crank won't turn clockwise. Full discIosure here, now that you know I'm a first timer on this project. I had to remove the oil pump housing to get to the bank 2 chain guide bolt. I was having trouble getting the oil pump housing back on since the IMS shaft was pushed over to one side. So, I thought that turning the crank would relieve pressure on the back chain and also show me that the cam timing was correct. I saw the IMS end move a bit as I began to turn the crank when I heard the pop. I wonder if perhaps the IMS jumped or slid sideways and got into a bind. Now I'm afraid I'll have to split the case open to inspect that chain. In any event the crank is stuck and I don't know how to do any other testing. I suppose both heads will have to come off, then case splitting if I don't see a cause for the jam.

@amargari since you're waiting for the AOS to arrive now is a good time to build your smoke device and check for vacuum leaks, I think. Way easier to spot and remedy them now (should there be any) than when the engine is back in the car. I'd plug the AOS-related holes and go for it. Fixing any leaks now won't slow you down later on and once the new AOS has been fitted it's quick and easy to hook up the smoke device again and check the AOS install. And thanks for the write-up and pictures of the FF cable end install! Lots of insight given by them.

@hardtailer , I started on building the smoke machine today. I am only waiting on Amazon to deliver the resistance wire. The rest is ready to go. One last item on the missing transmission bolt. I looked on the piece of cardboard I used to store the bolts on. I used the cardboard to make sure the bolts went back where they belonged. There were only 7 holes in the cardboard. So, some time before I got the car, one of the transmission bolts was lost or never installed from the factory. I feel much better that I am not going crazy. Edit: If you look at the first picture when I started this thread a few months ago, you will notice that the top transmission bolt is missing. Only 7 holes in this cardboard and there are supposed to be 8 transmission bolts.

The engine is physically installed!! I still need to put final torque on all the mounting bolts but it is in. Before I installed the engine, I installed the missing transmission bolt, installed the U-AOS, and smoke tested the engine for potential vacuum leaks. I had a leak in the front throttle body crossover tube that I was able to fix before the engine went in the car. I am hoping to start the engine this weekend if all goes well. Still have a lot of little items to install though. Here are pictures of the progress Here is my homemade smoke machine. It worked really well. U-AOS tube U-AOS tube installed U-AOS installed All done and ready to install. Before I installed the engine, I replaced the disc that connects the transmission to the front drive shaft. Mine was cracked and worn. I used string and weights to line up the engine before raising the table and lowering the lift. Due to the width limitation of the lift, I needed to install the muffler mounts once the engine cleared the lift, but before the engine was in the bay. I did remember to plug the coil back in. Here is the engine installed.

The engine is ready to go except for fluids, and a few wires, some small parts, and a final once over. I wanted to wait until tomorrow when I wasn't so tired from working on the car. A good night's sleep and a clear head will make me feel better when I inspect everything and do the final checks. As a note, working on these cars is like working on a jigsaw puzzle. There are so many unrelated parts that need to be installed in the proper order so you can reach bolts and fit parts. I am glad that all the difficult parts are done. Lastly, I did have a few issues since the last update. The first issue is my new Uro engine mounts don't line up. The square that hooks into the carrier is clocked wrong on both my mounts. I had to install my old blown out mounts until I get the Uro ones returned and replaced. The second small issue is my engine crossmember isn't lining up. I'm sure I just need to jack the car up and that will get it lined up. If not, I may need to get creative with some ratchet straps. Here are pictures of the progress. Top end of the engine done. Here are the new and old motor mounts. Notice how the squares are in different positions. Here is the exhaust manifold gasket that came in my kit. The gasket holes are smaller than the actual exhaust opening. I put the gasket on the manifold and took a die grinder to the center port. This matched the gasket size with the exhaust size. All three are done in this photo. Here is the bottom of the engine all complete. I went with factory bolts and loaded them up with anti-sieze. Next step was installing the catalytic converters. In case anyone is wondering, you need to install the left side first then the right side. I found this out the hard way. I still need to plug the 02 sensors in. Here is a shot of the bottom of the engine from the back of the car. This is the mount that the mufflers to attach to. I picked these up used because mine were rusted out and some of the studs were broken. For reference, it's much easier to install these with the exhaust manifolds not installed. Unfortunately, I did not do this. Here is the left muffler installed. I lathered up the bolts with anti-sieze so they won't rust again. I also installed the bolts from the bottom so the mufflers can be easily removed in the future. These are mufflers I picked up used from a fellow member for cheap. Mine were rusting at the seams and needed to be replace. Here is the full exhaust install without the tips. I used new clamps to install the mufflers to the cats. I also used new stainless bolts in the brackets that hold the cats to the holder. Here is my crossmember installed. The bolt is installed in the passenger side, but the driver side is not aligning. Here you can see how far off the hole is. Only 1/3 of the hole in the crossmember is visible.

Jack the car up off the wheels and the x-member will fit. The weight on the wheels and suspension is spreading the sub frame.​​​​​​

Nice progress !! You will probably need to use a ratchet strap across both rear wheels to pull the sub frames together for the cross brace to align. I have had to do this many times after the car has sat on the wheels for any length of time without the cross-brace. I usually put the cross brace back in if the car is to be lower back onto the wheels to keep sub-frames from spreading..

Update on today. Not the final result I wanted. I finished up installing everything and was ready to start the car. I went to start the car and the clutch pedal went to the floor. I assumed that the bleeding didn't work, so I put the car in neutral and started the car. I fired up but I heard clanking and stopped it immediately and went under the car to see if I could see anything. There was fluid dripping out of the IMS Solution hole. I feared oil from the IMS Solution or the Rear Main Seal. After more research it appears the fluid is brake fluid so the clutch slave has blown a seal or the piston didn't line up with the clutch fork. So, I put a clamp on the clutch slave flex line to stop the dripping and will get to it on Tuesday. Once I pull the slave cylinder, I will have a better idea of what needs to be done. Hopefully the clanking isn't part of the clutch slave in the trans. It could have been the chains making the noise since noting in the engine has oil. It only ran for 1 second as I planned to start and stop until oil pressure built. Also, it looks like the rear water cap on the bank 2 has a tiny leak. I thought this would leak because my cap had an o-ring originally and the gasket they sell for the cap is a steel shim gasket. I guess I need to buy a new cap that comes with the o-ring. So I will order a new cap with any other parts I need. It looks like another week or two with the car off the road. Here are pictures of the progress. I used a ratchet strap to pull the crossmember closer. This worked to line up the driver's side holes. Everything but the airbox installed. Airbox installed and ready to go.

These motors r verty loud for the first 30 sec after not being started for a long time. Did u get the clutch slave rod out when u pulled it? If so i doubt the noise came from the clutch.

I removed the slave cylinder today. Somehow I was able to install it crooked and missed the fork. I believe I was able to fish all the parts out, but want to make sure. Below are pictures of what came out. If anyone knows if there is more to the cylinder, please let me know and then I will need to pull the trans. -Thanks Here is the slave cylinder. Here are the parts I removed from the transmission.

Im pretty sure thats everything.

Update for today. I was able to do the following: I returned the bad motor mounts to RockAuto and received new Uro motor mounts. They were clocked correctly and I was able to install them. I purchased a Sachs clutch slave from FCP Euro. I went with them because with shipping they were about the same price as Rockauto and they give a lifetime warranty on all parts. I installed and bled the clutch slave and the clutch now works. As a side note, the new clutch feels much better than my 35k clutch did that I replaced. The old clutch never felt right even after I removed the heavy helper spring and installed the lightweight spring. Now the clutch feels smoother and less stiff. I can't wait to drive with it. The water endcap came in today with the o-ring. I installed that and proceeded to pressure test the system. All was good. I pumped up the system to 10psi and after 12 minutes it bled down to 9 PSI. Much better than the last time when it bled down to 5psi after 2 minutes. I then vacuum filled the coolant and was ready to start the car. Here's where things went south. I started and stopped the engine several times to build pressure up. After doing this 5 times, I had 5 bars of pressure I did hear a loud rattle but had to shut the engine down after 10 seconds because my helper saw oil leaking from the front of the engine. I shut the engine down and saw that the oil pump was leaking oil. Needless to say, hearing a rattle and then seeing oil leaking from the oil pump did not make me feel good. I proceeded to support the engine with the table and removed some parts to get to the oil pump. This included the cats, and mounting cradle. I then pulled the pump casing and was relieved to see that the o-ring on the pump casing was pinched. Now I have to go to the dealer and get a new o-ring and put everything back and install the parts I removed again. At that point I will start the car again and see if the rattle disappears after 30 seconds. I turned the engine over by hand and did not hear a rattle. If the rattle continues, I will need to pull the trans and see If anything else came out of the clutch slave. If that doesn't work, I am not sure the next steps. Here are pictures of the oil pump from today. You can see the leak appears to come from the biggest bolt up top. Here is the engine cradle removed. Here is the pump disassembled. You can see the crushed o-ring.

O-ring came in today. I installed it and then put everything back together. Started the engine and still getting a loud noise. See the youtube video below. Hooked up the Durametric and have a misfire in Bank 4 with the following codes: P0300 - Porsche fault code 507 - Misfire detection (total) P0304 - Porsche fault code 511 - Misfire cylinder 4 This could be the noise as it sounds loud near bank 4. When I turn the engine over by hand there are no noises and the cam deviations were around 1 degree when the engine was running, The next step is to pull the passenger side muffler and do the following: Check to make sure the spark plug is fully tightened for cylinder 4 Swap plugs and coils from 4 and 5 You Tube

I have no idea but it doesnt sound good...... lifter, maybe?

is there smoke coming from the right hand side of the engine in the video? Could be a very loose spark plug but it doesn't sound good.... The coils and plugs can be removed without taking any part of the exhaust off, just need to remove the heat shield.

Don't forget to check that the injector for #4 isn't unplugged, and if you can, check resistance to be sure it isn't fried.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I was thinking it could be a lifter. The exhaust ones are all brand new and I inspected the intake lifters and they all looked good. I will check the wire for injector #4. I think that one is easy to get to. I could change the coils and spark plugs with the mufflers on, but really at this point it is so easy to pull the exhaust with the heat shield and bumper removed. It also lets me get a good look at the coils and wiring in place. I am hoping to do the plug and coil swap today and see if anything changes. If nothing changes, then I will do a compression test on 4 and 5 and compare the numbers. That should tell me if the valves are opening and closing.

What�s the engine speed in the video? Can�t be a lifter if engine speed is idle. Would have to be several lifters. Is the serpentine belt on with this noise?

At lunch today I swapped 4&5 plugs and coil packs, cleared the codes, and started the car again. Same results. Noise is still there while idling and the misfire code came up for cylinder 4. I then removed the serpentine belt and have the same results. I am running a 997 pulley/balancer and maybe there is something wrong with the balancer as it was a used unit but looked good and shouldn't cause the engine to misfire. It could be making the noise, but not the misfire. I could swap on the original pulley and see if that quiets the noise. The next step is to do a compression test on cylinder number 4. Not looking forward to this because getting to that plug is not easy. After that, I will swap injectors between 4 and 5. Honestly, I don't think swapping injectors will do anything. I think the compression test will be the big test.

You might be surprised about a dead injector. The last 2 engines I rebuilt (not M96) I ended up with 1 dead injector out of six. This made a surprising amount of noise and vibration and set all kinds of misfire codes - not on the dead cylinder, though.

Bummer on the road block, hope you figure it out soon.

Worked on the car today and it was not good. I pulled the front plug for bank 2 and put the borescope in to make sure the piston was still connected to the rod and it was and the clip was still in the piston. I checked the injector wiring with a noid light and the injector wiring was good. I swapped the injector with one of my old injectors and started the car up after clearing the codes. The car still had the misfire and the noise. After 20 seconds the car shut down with a clunk I went to turn the crank by hand and it will not move forward. It will go backwards so the engine is not seized. There is something broken inside that will not let the engine move forward anymore. At this point, I am not sure what could be locked up. I was getting oil pressure and the cam deviation was good. Maybe there is something up with the exhaust cam. I will have to drop the engine and trans and disassemble the engine and see what the issue is. Hopefully, the issue will be apparent with just the cam cover off. I am really hoping that I don't have to split the case. So I started the process of dropping the engine today as the full exhaust is off. Everything connected to the trans is removed except the front driveshaft, but you can't get to that until the mounts are off. I loosened the mounts so it will be easy to remove them. The crossmember is out and currently the coolant is draining from the engine. Hopefully the engine will be out by Monday night.

Man - I've been following along pulling for you. Hate to ask but have you drained and pulled the sump or cut open the filter ? None of what I am seeing is filling me with hope but I really hope to be proven wrong and hear you found out it's something minor. Good luck dude !

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I haven't dropped the sump or pulled the filter yet. With the engine not able to turn forward, I just want to drop the engine and pull the cam cover on bank 2 and see what's up.

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Man that stinks, sorry to hear.

Hope todays invesigations provide some good news. Hang in there.)

The engine and trans are out. Amazing how much easier it is the second time with no rusted nuts or bolts. I didn't get to start tearing it apart yet. After 4 hours in the 35 degree garage, I was spent for the day. I did drain the oil and there was no metal in the oil that I could see and the oil looked clean and new. I pulled the trans and there was no parts in there from the clutch slave. That is all for today. Tomorrow is the tear down. Thanks everyone for the positive feedback. Back to the beginning.

May the Porsche gods smile on your journey im rooting for you

I am really rooting for you that this is a simple issue, and that the engine speed was low enough not to cause damage when it stopped. As I plan to do an elective rebuild at some point on my high mileage M96, I am watching with interest. hang in there.

Tore it down to a short block today. Not great news. When I pulled the sump plate I found large chunks of metal. Also, when I turn the crank, piston 4 does not move. Once I split the case I will see what broke on the piston. So far the bores still look good and I may only need to replace a piston, head gaskets and other gaskets. I really am curious as to what wen wrong with piston #4 as I was able to see the clip still in the piston and the piston made noised immediately when I turned on the engine. At this point I am not sure I will try to build the short block again. I may drop the parts off with the guy that did my heads and have him build the short block. Here are pictures of the damage. Here is the sump with piston pieces. Here is bank 1 Here is bank 2

wow, sorry to see that Please share what failed.

Sorry to see that. Is it possible the piston pin did not go thru the rod on cyl 4?

I split the halves and the damage is massive. Broken rod small end, busted piston, busted cylinder potentially busted block. I checked all the pistons and all the piston clips were still attached. At this point, I am totally frustrated as I don't see what could have gone wrong. The piston didn't hit the head, all pistons were installed correctly as I spun the engine by hand before putting the heads on and they all moved up and down. The cams were timed up perfectly as I was getting only a misfire on #4 and cam deviations were only at 1% at idle. I have reached out to LN Engineering for the next steps and see where I go from here. Here are pictures of the damage and a tool I made to hold the crankshaft when I was removing the pulley bolt. I needed something to hold the crank when loosening the pulley bolt. As luck would have it, the distance of the holes on this angle iron was dead on with the crank holes. I just needed to clearance the metal to go around the inner lip of the crank and expand the hole for the transmission mount hole. This is why I created the tool. I had put two flywheel bolts in at the end of the crank and used a pry bar between the bolts with the pry bar leaning against the engine stand. As you can see the flywheel bolts bent before the pulley bolt came loose. Here is the broken rod end. A side shot of the broken rod. Here is the damaged #4 bore. Here is the bore with the piston removed Another of the bore. Here is the piston.

Small end of connecting rod was not in ‘position’ when wrist pin was installed is my guess, looking at damage. Sorry for your challenging engine build.I applaud your tenacity. Regards.

I can only imagine a casting flaw in the rod, or perhaps something somehow getting stuck between the top of the rod, and the inside of the piston, and getting bound up. Seriously feel terrible for you. I have never seen a rod snap at the piston pin like that. (on initial startup) EDIT> I see you had forged rods, any chance you have a photo of all the new rods on a table or something? Might be worth a close up look at the picture if you have it, to see if there was anything visible on the pin end, or the pin bushing.

Wow - really sorry this happened to you. I've been following your build from the start and the level of detail you put into this whole rebuild has me guessing at what really happened. I hope you're able to find a way out of this but I can only imagine how frustrating it must be.

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That can't be the case because the piston went up and down in the bore when I turned the crank over before putting the heads on.

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This is the only picture I have of the number 4 rod.

Looking at the photo of the broken rod, it appears to have broken through the oiling passages on the pin end, which would obviously be the weakest part of the rod. did you find the top of the rod in the pan anywhere? Might be able to get a clue from it.

This is absolutely heartbreaking. Can you take a picture of the top of Cylinder 4 bore looking down, especially the walls. To me, it looks like a piston ring broke causing the piston to get stuck in the cylinder, thus breaking the rod.

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Here is the end of the rod and the bushing.

Here are pictures of the bore and the piston. The rings look like they are the correct size and did not break. One of the oil control rails is mangled, but that looks to be collateral damage of the piston getting destroyed. At some point, the piston did hit the exhaust valves. I don't know when in the process it happened though. The camshaft was in properly because everything lined up with the tool and the other 2 pistons on bank 2 would have been contacted and there would have been misfires on them as well.

Wow, was not expecting to see this. Hopefully you can get everything straightened out. I mistimed an engine once and destroyed it, I was a teen and stupid and I've been afraid of working on engines ever since lol.

Really heartbreaking. Thank you for sharing all this - I know it's not easy to do. Hoping others with more experience can comment on the forensic/failure analysis. And a path forward. Sending good vibes your way!

I was hoping that the top of the rod had dropped into the case before getting mangled, but it clearly got hammered so hard that it would be difficult to know if there was a pre-existing crack that opened up. It does appear that the pin end broke and separated from the bushing before the bushing was eventually ripped off the pin. (probably from the rest of the rod hammering if off) (because the bushing appears from the photo to have broken at a different point than the oiling holes ) All supposition, and I am out of ideas on this one. it takes a lot of force to break a forged rod.

I wish i had parts from my engine that i could give u to help ease the pain but my whole lower end was destroyed too. Hopefully we can help get this fixed 4 u.

Hmm I'm still suspecting the rod was not in place during the wrist pin install. Finn Roche had the same problem when he went to install his pistons on bank 2. Here's my backyard mechanic forensic observations from a 1000' view: Obviously it would take a LOT of force to yank off the top of a forged rod, thus you would see major damage to the pin, however the photo of the bottom of the piston it looks to damn near pristine. Do you have any more pictures of the piston #4 wrist pin to share? Saythe piston somehow did get stuck in the bore via broken ring. I would think in the battle of piston vs forged rod, the rod would have enough strength to snap the ring groove right off and keep hold of the wrist pin itself. The photos of the remaining chunks of the small end of the con rod look squished, caved in as if they just punched the bottom of the pin until they snapped off. Get a closeup photo of where the two parts separated. If they failed in tension (i.e. if the con rod was installed correctly) you should be able to see signs of a tensile failure. (Where are my forensic metallurgists at to insert technical jargon here...) This doesn't explain why the piston went down when you rotated the engine. I wonder if you were just unlucky and it was somehow perfectly wedged between the skirt and pin enough to drag the piston down. Were you able to observe the piston wrist pin hole lining up with the con rod using a bore scope?

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I keep wondering the same thing, but I know I checked several times as I rotated the engine. Also, I think I would have heard the rod clanking whenever I turned the engine over while working on it on the stand. Also, when I first heard the noise, I pulled the plug on the block that allows you to insert the wrist pin and the piston was at the bottom of the bore and I could see the wrist pin. Lastly, I watched the Man in the Garage video where he made this mistake a week before I did my install and I made certain to check all my pistons. Maybe it was wedged in there somehow, but I don't see how.

I've been collecting parts for a rebuild like yours and have been following your build. I was going to get those same rods because you did but LN jacked up the price and wouldn't give me the same price even though they were in my cart. So I ended up finding a deal on Carillo rods instead and boy am I glad I did. I really feel for you as I would be heart broken, I'll keep watching and hoping for a good outcome.

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Lets suppose the rod was jammed between the pin and the skirt enough to move the piston.. The piston would have been too low at bottom of stroke. (since the round top of the rod could not have been bound at the middle of the pin, but past the pin,this is the only way I can imagine it could have jammed enough to be able to pull the piston down. ) You would think that it would have been obvious that the piston wasn't at TDC when you rotated, and then once the piston reached the bottom of the stroke, the skirt would have hit, and you would have felt/heard that. Had the rod been jammed under the pin, you would think that the piston would have been high enough to push the top rings out of the bore, and then it would have stayed there and not gone back down when you rotated by hand. Edit, looking at the photos of the bottom of the piston, I don't see how the rod can have been jammed at all. you could test this if you cared enough. If it were me I wouldn't want to even look at it again... ever.

I looked at the broken parts more carefully and heard back from LN and it appears that the small end must not have been attached to the piston. I'm not sure how the piston was moving up and down, but it must have been somehow. It makes sense as it knocked immediately on startup and I should have pulled the engine the second I heard that noise. My next step is to find a block as mine is toast. I member reached out to me and they will have one available in a few months and I may go that route. Also, I need to see If I can buy a single piston and single rod as the rest of my set is good. Once I know if I can do that, then I can look to get it done with Nickies. If I can't get at a minimum get a single piston, then I will work with my local builder that has had success with cast iron liners with stock sized pistons. He does mainly race engines and he has not had an issue with an iron liner. Either way, I am going to have the local builder put together the short block as I can't risk another blown engine. I will keep everyone up to date on what is next, but don't expect to be doing much updating soon. Thanks for all the support.

I know the feeling. I still have the 101mm JE piston set from my 1st (failed) engine build. Let's compare notes offline and see if I have anything that can help you out.

I would have you assemble me a shortblock in a New York minute.You have real world experience.Stay the course.

You are a bad *** trooper man. It takes big ***** to openly share when things go real south. It’s really too bad when ****ty things happen to good people. The forum is lucky to have people like you and the knowledge that can be gained from failure is hopefully something that will easy your pain at least a little bit, it will likely spare others from pain in the future.

I have been following along on you build also, I felt the "gut punch" same as you when the build failed. You were trying to do every thing right.. When I saw the collateral damage, I knew what had happened, it's very unfortunate. Don't beat yourself up too badly though, I have seen seasoned mechanix due the same thing during training.. The Porsche instructions say to use a high pressure thick grease on the rod bearings to help hold the rod vertical during assembly, but I have found that causes the rod to fall to the side very easily and the wrist pin will miss. I INVERT the engine, and let the rod HANG DOWN vertically and it will stay in place while inserting the wrist pin.. Hope you can find a rod, piston and cases, and get it back going without much hassle...

For people doing this in the future, is this a case where borescoping from in the oil sump area could validate proper con rod small end installation?

I agree with zbomb. And will add: it�s not what happens to you in life, but how you respond that determines your character. And you have shown great character here through all this. Keep it going, don�t give up, and this shall be a lesson in perseverance and courage. I mean if you can handle this huge setback, you can handle anything.

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If I was to do this again, it wouldn't be too hard to verify better. I would spin the block upright, put the piston to TDC, and put the borescope through the access hole. I would slowly crank the piston down and observe the movement of the piston. You could even gently tap the piston top and see if there is any give on the piston. Going through the bottom oil sump would also work if you are still not sure.

When I travel down the same road you did I'll definitely remember this problem. I think Jake's video talks about using a horoscope thru the sump to verify things. But you did a fantastic job on the build, just hang in there and do it again. Hey it's only money.

man, I hate to see this. Wonder if you can buy a single piston from JE? I'm sure there is someone with a set of rods somewhere that will offer one up.

So right now I am on the hunt for a 3.6 case. My other 5 pistons and rods are good and LN will sell me a single piston and rod. Oddly enough I was looking up the block part number on Delaware Porsche parts, and the 996 3.6 block, 996-101-901-06, is listed at $2,989.95. That is about $5,000 less than the 3.4 block or the 997 blocks. I am guessing that the block isn't available anymore. I would need to buy 6 factory pistons though and they are not cheap, $922.34 each with rings, clips and pins. I wonder if there are any aftermarket pistons would fit.

Fyi, i live 20min from DE porsche. If u go this direction and need help with shipping or expaditing lmk. when i lost my block, Jake, flat six, said he gets people asking him to buy cores and would put me directly in touch with them directly. Maybe open a ticket with him?

I'm sorry to hear about this failure, it looks like you put a lot of care and attention into this build. I don't know that it will help, but I have seen several 3.4L engines for sale in the 911/996 Facebook groups lately for $2.5k-5K in various conditions, and can try to put you in contact with a seller/send you a link if this would work and you don't do Facebook.

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Thanks. I would probably drive down to Delaware Porsche to pick up the block and inspect it. It is only around a 2 hour drive. I will reach out to Jake tomorrow.

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Thanks, but it needs to be a 3.6 according to LN.

Delaware Porsche got back to me with the following: " 996-101-901-06 can no longer be ordered. It has been superseded to part number 996-101-901-07, and requires two additional parts to be ordered with it. The new number is currently on backorder, and they are not expecting an ETA update until the 13th week of the year." I'm not sure what the other two additional parts are and am not going to ask since 996-101-901-07 is $8,101.38. I have a few leads on full core 3.6 engines for not that much money. Hopefully, I get the next steps figured out soon.

Sorry to see what happened but happy you are continuing to move forward. Appreciate the thread and the time you have taken to document it. We all know it's not easy or we all would do it.

It's been almost 2 months since my last update. This is where I am at. I Spoke to LN and discussed my issue with them. They made me realize I also need to check my head and crank for damage. Fortunately, it appears they are good. I will need my machine shop to verify though. Went back and forth with Hartech because I noticed that they machine out the whole bottom of the original cylinder. Unfortunately, I also cracked and smashed in the part of the block with the oil gallery for the main cradle. This cannot be easily fixed with a weld because it has to be machined to an exact tolerance and is not something that can be done cheaply or easily I this point I accepted that I needed to find a 3.6 or 3.8 block from a 911. None of the other blocks will work. the 3.4 911 or any of the Boxster/Cayman blocks will not work. I quickly found out that these blocks are not easy to find or cheap and went down the following paths. A guy in Florida has a 3.8 block that he would sell me shipped for $2,000. However; there was a different option with this block as it may not have bore scoring and may be usable as is. I was still waiting for him to locate the block in his storage unit and let me know if it is usable as is. He also has the pistons. Still haven't heard back. There was a complete 996 3.6 engine with bore scoring for sale in North Carolina a few weeks ago for $2,500. By complete, I mean complete. Intake, starter, alternator, etc.. I figured I could part that out for at least $3K and keep the block. Unfortunately, this sold before I could get down there. 158Sierra has an engine he is tearing apart later this month and he was going to work with me on my needs. I figured this was my best bet until the next option popped up. While I was searching for a block, I posted that I was looking for one on the Swapped Porsche Facebook site. As luck would have it someone eventually responded that they have a partial 3.6 out of a 977 with a cracked cylinder wall. This partial engine is the complete short block with the bank 2 head. I showed LN pictures of the block and the cylinder crack is in a place that gets machined out. The engine was in Toronto which is a 7.5 hour drive from me. The best part was that he only wanted $750 for the engine. I should be able to sell crankshaft, bearing carrier, and head and cover my block costs. Also, if I have damage to my crank or head then I am covered with this engine. So yesterday, I woke up early and headed up to Toronto and picked up the engine. Here are pictures of the engine as I started to tear it apart today. I am getting real quick at pulling these engines apart as this is my 3rd time. Hopefully, I will get the block shipped to LN this week. Here is the engine ready to tear apart. Notice that the 997 engines have a Vacuum pump on the bank 2 scavenger pump. Here is the head. Doesn't look too bad. Pulled the head and oil poured out. There is also oil in the coolant. This is hopefully due to the crack in the bank 1 cylinder. This is the cracked cylinder.

The mistake you made is so easy to do, I have done it myself but have always caught it by cranking the engine by hand before the head is installed, The piston will not go back down if the rod is out of position.

It's been a while since I've had anything to update. Here is where I am at. I got the block back from LN a few weeks ago. I also picked up a replacement piston from them and head gaskets. Unfortunately, the K1 rods are backordered until September, so I purchased a set of CP-Carrillo connecting rods to get this build going. Once the K1 rods are back in stock, I will purchase a single rod so I have a full set to use someday in the future or sell. I figure it will be easier to sell a set of 6 instead of 5. Now that I have the rods, I dropped off my new rods, crank from the 997 engine, crank carrier, bearings and my old bank 2 head with the machine shop to verify that there was no damage to the head, and the bearing clearances are good. While tearing down the bearing carrier, a few of the rod bearings had scratches in them, so I replaced them all since they don't cost much. Thankfully, all the main bearings looked good so I didn't need to replace them. However; my shop called today and told me that the exhaust valves were bent and need to be replaced. Also the head needs to be surfaced. He is also asking me to bring in my bank 2 head so they are surfaced the same. Hopefully, I will have all the parts back from my shop in two weeks and start the build again the first week of August.

Got all the parts from the machine shop yesterday. Both heads were given a surfacing so they are even and the number 4 cylinder got a new set of exhaust valves. He checked all the clearances on the bearings. The rod clearances were good. Main bearings required a light hone on the crankcase carrier as they were tight out of the box. He also checked the new crank and polished the crank. I'm not going to show as much on this build as I have documented everything before and I am just concentrating on putting the engine together. Here is progress from today. Here is everything before I start. I know rods are supposed to be balanced on the big and small end, but I am not going to that detail. I just wanted all the weights to be close. I am within a half gram from heaviest to lightest package. Crank carrier all put together. Crank carrier all put together.

Holly cow man, good for you and your determination, good things will come your way!

I am at the point where bank 2 pistons will get installed tomorrow. This time I will triple check to make sure they are installed properly.

It's a short block now. All pistons go up and down and the rods are connected to them this time.

Did you get visual verification that the circlips are seated properly? Always want to check that box.

Check it again in the morning

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Double and triple checked them with the camera.

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I will check them again before the heads go on.

Now that I did this again, I can see how I missed this on the #4 piston the first time. You can not see the rod for the #4 piston through the hole once you put the pin in. You can see it on the other 2 cylinders.

Heads are on.

Nice, almost there......again .

Over the last few days I installed and timed the cams. Everything is spot on. Next step is sealing the engine up, intake and accessories. It's getting close again.

Weekly update. IT"S ALIVE!!!!!! I started it today and everything looks and sounds good. So far no leaks and no check engine lights. Hopefully, I will take it for a drive tomorrow. Here are some pictures of the week's progress and a video of it idling. You Tube

Sweet!!

Way to go! Congrats on completing it!

Kick a$$, about time

Woohoo! It's been a long road.

Fantastic! Great job!

well done!!!

Wow! Nice job!!

Slaying it. Earned another level of respect from me, for sure.

Oh hell yeah! Nice work.

I went back and re-read some of the threads where the engine failed after the first attempt. Must have been heart breaking and then knowing it was going to take a 2nd attempt and more dollars. But you prevailed. Just think of how you would have felt if the rebuild succeeded the first time vs. now. I bet you have more satisfaction knowing you didn�t let this engine get the best of you.

Congratulations, a long road but now you have a kick a$$ engine. I am starting this path. The engine I bought to learn on had a failed IMS bearing. I took it apart and sent photos of the IM shaft to L&N. They said the shaft is not repairable but there does not seem to be any other damage. I am taking the case to L&N at the end of the month to have it re-sleeved as a 4.0. Will be sending the heads to Hoffman Eng for rebuild. going to build a nice 4.0 for my 2002 C4 cab

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Im doing the same right now too. This and several other threads have been very helpful. Really glad to see OP pushed through this (any builders nightmare) and see success!

Thanks everyone for the comments. I have been spending the last few weeks breaking in the engine and fixing small issues. I have a total of 125 miles on the engine since the install. It is killing me to not be able to really wring it out. Below are some of the minor issues I had over the last 2 weeks. First break in run. I am a mile from home after doing the break in sequence and decided to stop at Dunkin Donuts for some Iced Tea and had a major pucker moment. The low oil pressure light lit up at idle. Immediate panic as I shut the car off and pop the deck lid and go through the following trouble shooting. No oil on the ground, no visible oil leaks in the engine compartment. No oil in the coolant reservoir. Oil on the dipstick so no oil was lost. Started it up and 1 have one bar of oil pressure and the light goes away with RPMs as the gauge goes up with RPMs as well. Lightly drove it home and put it on the lift and started doing research. Oil temp was 105 degrees celsius and coolant was 95 degrees. I also hooked up a manual oil pressure gauge the next day and was able to verify that engine has good pressure. 60 psi at idle on cold start up. Basically, oil pressure sending unit needed replacement and break in oil will give a bit lower oil pressure than regular oil. Second issue was a coolant leak. Was worried I had a cracked hose somewhere as I had pressure tested the system before installing coolant and all was good. Luckily, it was just the hose clamp on the small hose between the metal pipe on bank 2 and the front engine console. It wasn't completely on and when the engine heated up, it softened and loosened up. Fixed the hose clamp and all was good. Today was the first trouble free day after fixing the above issues and I really had fun putting some miles on it. I can't wait until I hit the 400 mile mark and swap out the break in oil for Driven HR5 non synthetic oil and I can really get on it a bit. Here is a picture of the low oil pressure light. You can see that I had 1 bar of pressure.

Eek! After all you've been through. Glad it worked out to be a simple item.

I have seen that same warning while driving on my turbo and on my wife’s car (03 C2). it can be a real panic moment. Both times, it turned out to be a loose connection on the oil pressure sensor. Notice you do not get the oil pressure warning light like you do when the ignition is on but the car is not running.

Wanted to give an update. So since the engine was installed, I noticed a tick and a bit of hesitation at 3K RPMs. I was thinking a stuck lifter but I didn't have any codes for the first few months so I though maybe just a loud lifter. The end of October I got a misfire code for cylinder 2 and a code that indicated the lifter was not working for high lift. I ordered a pair of intake lifters and some gaskets and then lowered the engine and pulled off the cam cover. Sure enough the lifter was stuck in the bore. I went to pull the lifter out and it wouldn't come out. So, the next step was to remove cams, and all lifters and remove the lifter carrier. Once the carrier was out, I had to bang the lifter out of the hole and I could see that somehow the bore was damaged. Luckily, I have spare parts from the donor 997 engine. I cleaned up the spare lifter carrier, and installed it. I Installed the lifters and cams and put the cam cover on. I went to put the valve lift solenoid in and it wouldn't fit. I did some research and found that Porsche changed the solenoid early in the 997 run. Luckily, I had a 997 solenoid from the donor engine and installed that. Put the rest of the car back together and waited until the next day to start the car after filling up the engine with oil. Started it up and to my amazement the engine sounded great. It was quiet with no tapping. I took it for a drive and let the car warm up. Did a full throttle pull and WOW!!! The car was finally running on all 6 cylinders. This was about 4 weeks ago. I think finally the chapter is closed on this engine. I don't know why or how the lifter got stuck. When installing, I put each one in and slid it up and down and verified that they moved smoothly. Thankfully this was bank 1 as I don't know if I could have done bank 2 in the car. Here are pictures of the bad lifter and the bad lifter bore. The picture of the bad bore is of it sitting on my spare head as that's where it is currently stored.

Kudos for staying the course.Happy motoring.

Probably some residual debris, which I�ve read is the most common problem with engine rebuilds. Glad you got it sorted! It�s wonderful these computers in our cars have codes that call out specific failure items.

1 year+ update. I changed the oil today and switched to DT40 as the 4,500-mile break-in with non-synthetic is done. I have changed the oil twice in that 4,500-mile range with the Driven HR-5 Hot Rod Conventional 10w-40 Motor. Now the engine is past any special break-in procedures. The car has been running great and is a blast to drive, It has torque throughout the RPM range and still revs as fast as the 3.6 did. I love this engine! I have the original set of K1 rods with a replacement rod for sale at a reasonable price, https://rennlist.com/forums/market/1360486

@amargari That is really great to hear! You went through a lot of ups and downs and you landed on top. My rebuild only has 420 miles on it so far but it gets better every time I drive it. How many hard pulls and engine breaking did you do? Realistically I probably did 30-40 hard pulls over the 400 miles and it isn�t using any oil and no blow-by so I assume everything is good. Really glad yours is running so well. Dan

How satisfying, great when a plan finally comes together! See you at Dreyfus.

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I did a few, not sure how many, but it seems good. From what I read the break-in of the rings happens in less than 30 miles.

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I'll be there!

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so.... how much $$ did all of it cost you?

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The original build with tools, clutch, and flywheel was just under $15K. I didn't keep as many receipts for the rebuild, but the spare engine cost me $700. I was able to reuse a lot of the parts from the first rebuild, but the second rebuild was around $7k. I still have parts from the spare engine to sell that may allow me to recoup some of that money. I have a good crank, head and other parts I can sell at some point.