I had a '96 2.5L Legacy and it blew the head gasket and warped the head. Put in a used engine and it too had a blown head gasket. A third engine was fine. I sold the car immediately afterwards.

Apparently the head gasket issue was fixed in the '98 or '99 model year.

I found a good article about the problem and the solution which was a new modified head gasket that eliminated this issue. Question remains though, pull with or without Subi gearbox?

OK, so a guy I teach with is a fellow gearhead however, he is into Buicks. He gave me a site to do searches for parts on and I found a complete running 1.8 with FI motor for 300. I also found a side shift tranny however, it is just the trans and none of the other components. SOOOOO, how easy is it to get the rest of the components to convert my tailshifter to the side shift setup and is $500 a reasonable price for the tranny? I was thinking of $300 because he doesn't have any of the other components. Thoughts?

Which time? There've been three of them so far.... At least I got a lot faster at dropping the engine and tearing the heads off...

(BTW, I haven't owned a Scooby. But I know at least two people personally who have had the 2.5 engines with head gasket problems, and have read about many more.)

--DD

For now I have to put a hold on the Subi conversion. I picked up a side shift gearbox so need to get that converted over first. If I can find a 2.0 head and a decent FI system I may just stick with that. I did read your long post on hydraulic lifters in the PP forum. My work buddy was suggesting that we transition the motor to a hydraulic lifter set up so I was just doing some research and found your post on the PP thread. Interesting read.

I have way to many ideas and not enough time, sense or money to bring them all to fruition. I really need to re-focus my efforts to finishing off one project at a time on this car!

Well,

You need a shifter
Front rod
Rear rod
Engine mount brackets for motor
Engine mount bar
Special conversion bushing for firewall
All new other bushings, buy the kit and toss the firewall bushing
Rear shifter coupler
Rear shift console plastic cover and metal clamp

Yeah, I'm in the process of tracking those items down. The guy here in Norfolk may have all of those parts. I sent him what I needed and will link up with him this Saturday to see what I can find in his stash. I think he's a 914 parts hoarder.

So the guy I am buying the gearbox from also has a 2.4 six cyl that has been sitting for 2 years. He said he has a set of Nicksil 2.7 cyl and pistons to go with the motor and wants $200 for it. He also said that the reason it is sitting is that it has a spun bearing.

Soooo, I know what problems a spun bearing will introduce with a standard iron block motor, I assume the same problems would manifest themselves with the 6cyl 2.4 motors? Should I run and hide from this deal or is it worth a look?

I like the thought of converting to a 6 but not if it is gonna cost me an arm and a leg, I would like some opinions from the more knowledgeable out there as I am merely a shade tree mechanic!

No such thing as a $200 2.4L six. It'll be $10K+ by the time you get done with the motor...

Then again, that's true of most 911 motors.

A spun bearing can be fixed, all it takes is time and money. I know that Walt at Competition Engineering used to machine the mag cases so they could be re-used. He would take a shallow pass over the whole sealing surface between the case halves on a mill. Then he'd clamp the two halves together and re-bore the crank and intermediate shaft bores.

It's possible that there is too much damage inside to repair for any sane amount of $$, but I'm thinking it's worth the risk.

Frankly, $200 sounds on the cheap side for a core 911 motor. Especially if he throws in the new P&Cs. Does he know what the thing "should" be worth? (If he does, then why is it so cheap?)

--DD

I'm thinking he really doesn't know the value of what he is selling. He wanted $500 for the tranny and I offered him $300 which he took.

Hell the damn cylinders and pistons are going for $400 or more on ebay by themselves! The deal killer is whether or not he can get the heads back from his ex-girlfriend. If he can't do that then no deal.

Well, tranny is in NC. My buddy picked it up and talked to the guy. Turns out he does a lot of racing with foreign cars. The 2.4 has been sitting in a shop for the last two years and he just wants to get rid of it. If he can get the heads, we have a deal.

Surprisingly, the wife didn't object when I mentioned getting the motor. I think she has resigned herself to the fact that I'm just gonna do it anyway so she might as well stop fighting it!

I'll work on the car this weekend and sort out the electrical issues so I can get it up and running. Then I can drive it at least while I work on acquiring the rest of the side shift gearbox hardware and start prepping for the six conversion. I need to do some bodywork first though. At least I'll be a well trained welder when I start, I start TIG lessons in January. I may talk to the welding shop that straightened out my bed frame, I think I can talk him into letting me be a pseudo apprentice and practice MIG in the interim.

Also talked to 'Phil,' the guy with the rest of the parts. He said, 'you ever watch that show American pickers?' I said yeah, I've seen it. He said, 'I'm like the guy that those guys go and visit. I got a lot of shit.' Too include 3 Harleys and a Triumph that, from the sounds of it, may be antiques. This could be a very beneficial relationship. I'll link up with him on Sunday and see what he's got.

Well, the parts hunt for the rest of the items to convert the teener to a side shift trans is moving along splendidly. I went by to see Phil this afternoon and came away with the engine mounting bar with all hardware, transmission mounts, shift linkage (both parts) and two front signal light buckets for $255. My old buckets have the dang plastic duct taped on cause they cracked.

He didn't have the shifter assembly so I am still on the hunt for that. He had a complete FI system for a 1.7 sans injectors but I will pick that up at a later time. All in all a good day. I had hoped to work on the teener yesterday however, the Merc has some fuel issues so I need to sort that out before I can start on the Porsche.

I think I recall seeing a couple of 73 and older teeners being parted out on CL, I may see if they have the shifter assembly. Once I have that then I'll be ready to start the prep to transfer it over.

Don't forget the converter bushing in the firewall. Has the OD for the early car, the ID for the later shift rod.

--DD

I'm pretty sure I still have the shifter from my flared car at Scotty b's. If it's there, it's yours. $n/c - Mark

ps - also have a stock 914 shift knob in decent condition.

Mark,
Got a shift knob, thanks though. Your steering wheel should be to you tomorrow.

Time to work on the teener, after several hours of trouble shooting the Merc, we found two issues. Connections to electrical distribution box were not connected properly and...distributor cap and rotor were shit. Going to pick up a new cap and rotor from O'Reilly's in a few. I'll need to eventually replace all the hoses on this car as they are all cracking from age.

Picked up the transmission from my brother in law, looks to be in good condition from the outside. I'll start tearing it down this week to see what the inside looks like. It was a good weekend, I also got my first deer after 8 years of not getting to hunt. Dressed out at about 100 lbs.

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Looking forward to playing with her stack....

Now, where did I put Dr. Evil's DVD....

Chris Foley at tangerine racing manufactures a most excellent firewall bushing.
Don't be cheap in this spot, it's the key to good shifting.

The bushing that is sold as a conversion bushing is very loose fitting and very large inner dimension....and it sucks to put in place.

Rich

Just looked at what they got, sounds like a plan, thanks for the recommendation.

So I did some thread searching and found a thread posted by Chad Newton this past September asking what all was needed for the side shift conversion. Below is what was posted with my annotations on wheather I have the item or not.

Shifter - coming
shaft from shifter to firewall - Yes
Bent rod from firewall to tranny - Yes
Engine mount bar - Yes
Engine mounts (engine to bar) - Yes
Engine mounts (bar to body) - Yes
Linkage cover at firewall - Yes, same for tail and sideshift I assume
Linkage cover at tranny - Looking
Boots for linkage (both ends) - have one but needs replacement
two cone screws - Need to check
New firewall bushing - Will order from Tangerine
New bushing at tranny end - will order
New Ball for tranny end - Not sure on this

So, PP has an aftermarket linkage cover at the tranny, AA has linkage boots, any other options for the cover and boots out there? I will be ordering the gasket set for the tranny from PP here shortly, checked with the local Porsche dealer, they can get the gaskets BUT, they have to come from Germany and it will take a few weeks... Guess I won't be using these guys at all.

Also saw a note that I will need to change one of the heat exchanger units to an older model? Can someone please clarify?

The Tangerine spherical bushing is really nice.

FWIW, you can also sleeve the side shift rod with a piece of tubing that matches the OD of the stock tailshift rod (or just cut a section from the TS shift rod since you are not using it anymore) and use the regular tailshift bushing at the firewall instead of the conversion bushing.

Not the same. The stuff they cover is shaped differently, so the cover is shaped differently. The bad news is that the flange on the early firewall will not fit the rubber boot over the later cover. I'm not sure how people hold the cover onto the early firewall...




That information is incorrect. You can use your heat exchangers.

You will need to change the piece that goes under the exchangers, though. It bolts to the sump on one side, and to the heat exchanger on the other side. The left side version is different on the tailshifters versus the sideshifters, in order to provide clearance for how the SS linkage moves. It's known as a "warm air guide". You may be able to find one under that name.

--DD

you need to change one of the heat shields that attaches to the engine and heat exchanger on the drivers side to clear the shifter rod.
It comes from a 72 or later car....

I may have missed one thing.
Engine bar..check
Engine mount brackets (bolt to engine, underneath fan shroud)
Engine rubber mounts, check (should be new)
engine mounts, bar to body...check.

So, make sure you have the small special brackets that get bolted to the motor...

Rich

Thanks Dave and Rich for the input. I have all the brackets that go from the bar to the motor. I actually pulled the bar off of a 1.8 so grabbed the 'little bits' that went with it.

I couldn't tell what the difference was on the firewall cover though. So, does anyone have a picture of the two covers next to each other for comparison and the piece of the exchanger shield that is different?

The warm air guides:


Tail-shift version, the "bump" goes underneath the shift rod:








Side-shift version, the "bump" goes up and over the shift rod:






Shift coupler boot:


Side-shift version. The plastic part of the cover is a thicker rectangle, not as thin and squished as the early version:


Here is where the cover hooks onto the firewall:




Tail-shift version. The plastic part of the cover is very oblong:


And here is where the TS version hooks to the chassis:




--DD

Old is oval, new is round
I just hang it on there to protect the coupler from crud.
No solutions I have seen.

An article was written in Up-Fixin der Porsche, volume 9 page 44 on

side-shifter conversion and covered the early to late boot problem.

Basically, you grind some of the lip off around where the shift rod

sticks out from the firewall and fabricate a plate to fit the new boot.

Space the plate away from the firewall with a couple washers.

Steve - sent you pm. Mark

Alles klar! My confusion came in as I was clearly NOT looking at the correct picture comparison. I think I was having a brain fart . So, as I smack myself around a bit and look at the pictures, the little stubby ball that jets out to the left will go away and I will have to figure out a method to hold the new cover in place. Already percolating ideas. I'm acually excited about this project as it will be a lot of fun to dive into this! Yeah, some people would say I ain't right in the head. Then again, is anyone who buys this car and on this forum completely right in the head?

OK, so I did some troubleshooting on the car today. First issue dead battery and it won't hold a charge. So, I took it back to Pep Boys and they exchanged it. Install, try to crank, nothing. Check spark, none, check spark at coil, none.

Dizzy and rotor are a bit worn but the plug wires are new. So, off to O'Reilly's to get a new coil, cap and rotor. Replace, try to start...nothing.

She is getting fuel so that is not the issue, anyone got an thoughts? I haven't re-checked for spark, I'll do that in the morning; anything else I need to be looking at other than making sure all my ground connections are solid?

Try to crank, nothing. Says significant electrical connection problem to me. Time to re-check the connections at the battery, at the starter, at the ignition switch, and very especially the grounds.

--DD

I will start down that road again this morning and check all the connections. It is very fustrating . I need to track down the issue with the light anyway.

WOOHOO! I have spark! And, she almost started...

So I took the time to find and check all the ground connections. I had to replace the bolt for the transmission ground strap as the bolt was stripped and the connection loose. Cleaned up the starter connections as well. Attach my in-line spark tester...no spark, dang.

OK, trace the wires to the coil and dizzy, check continuity, they are good, clean up the connections, try again...no spark.

Check relay board, hmm let's take it off and thoroughly clean it! Put it back on, secure all connections, crank... SPARK!! Next, phase, disconnect tester and reconnect the plug wire and lets see if I can get her to start up. She almost started but not quite. After a few cranks it stopped cranking and all I got was a click. Soooo, should I replace the power supply relay? Would this be a potential problem? The two relay's I have on the board, are the power supply and the fuel pump. The other two slots are empty. As I have stated before, I suck at electrical troubleshooting so could use some suggestions. As it is, I will need to order a relay for the heater blower as it isn't there. Probably why the blower didn't work to begin with!

Ya know...sometimes I wonder about our cars. In my effort to figure out why the stupid left side rear light was staying on I went in search of a diagram for the wire hookups. Not the wiring diagram, I got that but the actual connections to the light.

As I searched I came across a preview that said something to the effect of, 'turn signal left on drain's battery after ignition key is removed...' Wait, what??? Oh shit. Go back out to the car, open the door...flip the turn signal up...well, I feel like a dumbass!

Needless to say, that issue is resolved. Of course, in the process of trying to figure it out, both taillight assemblies broke on me as I pulled them out. So I'm looking for a new set of tail light assemblies with lenses now.

I also took the fuel pump relay and swapped it with the power relay, yup, need new relays. Gonna order those. She is still not quite starting yet, but at least I am closer. I'll try to tackle it this week to see if I can get her to start. The plugs are new so I know that isn't the problem.

Well, we had guest speakers all day yesterday for my students so I left early and dropped off the Volvo at the dealer, it is creaking, and then went home and did some work on the Teener.

I finally broke down and picked up a remote starter, compresson tester and new timing light with advance. Yeah, I know, I should have already had these things.

I decided to pull the dizzy and start from scratch so as to line everything up properly. So, first order of business, pull the #1 plug and screw in the compression tester. Next, hook up the remote starter...not an easy damn task with the new starter! Finally, pull the dizzy.

Time to find TDC, using the remote starter and the compression tester made it a hell of a lot easier! Had I gotten these items before it probably would have saved me a lot of headaches early on while I was in Germany.

I re-marked TDC on the fan with white, it was already marked in red but much harder to see. Before I did this though, I crawled under the car to feel for the notch in the flywheel that should correspond to TDC on the fan. Yup, got it and the notch where the dizzy goes is also pointing in the correct direction. Looking good so far.

Now, time to re-install the dizzy, line up the rotor with the mark on the housing, check to make sure it lines up with a plug...fuck with it for the next 30 minutes trying to get it in and lined up properly! I finally got it in and lined up properly after a bit though. Unfortunately, at this point I needed to head off to my welding class so didn't get much further.

Prior to putting the dizzy cap back on, I wrapped new white electrical tape around each tower so I can properly mark the firing order. Now, after some checking, firing order rotating clockwise is 1,4,3,2; clockwise direction is with me standing behind the car. Unless anyone says differently this is how I will proceed.

I will mark the cap accordingly but before I hook the wires up, I plan on running compression tests on each cylinder first. Then I'll hook up the wires and see if we can get her to crank. I'm hoping that re-setting everything to baseline will do the trick, if she starts then I'll work on re-timing the motor and then balance the carbs. Wish me luck, i'm gonna need it!

So, put the car up to adjust valve's based on the Cap'ns methodology. Pull the cover for #3 and 4...SHIT. We got oil coming out big time! Correct me if I'm wrong but, it shouldn't do this right? I recall having the covers off before to adjust valves and not have friggin oil spewing out the #4 pushtube. Anyone ever experience this?

Not spewing, but there can be some leaking. If the tail of the car is up, there is something odd for the #4 cylinder's pushrod tube to be spewing, because #1 and #3 would both be lower than #4.

--DD

I had nothing come out of the other side. Needless to say I re-checked and re-adjusted the valves then put her back together. So I figured I'd try to fire her up after everything I have done.

She almost caught then gave up. I checked spark again, dangit! I ain't got no spark again! I re-checked all the connections, they are solid, I'm at a complete loss.

Wires are new
Coil is new
Cap and rotor are new
Dizzy was re-aligned with TDC
Relay's are new

What the hell am I missing? She is turning over so power is getting to the solenoid and starter, anyone got any suggestions??? This is frustrating the shit out of me!!

Do you have power to the coil?
Are your points opening and closing?
Do they provide a ground to the coil and then disconnect it?

Back to basics...

--DD

I will start tracing wires later today. I don't have any points as it was converted to a petronix set up.

I was looking at the wiring diagram this morning so will start down the path of first checking continuity of wires going from coil to regulator plate. I think I may have done that before but will double check.

I will need to find the ground wire to see if it is disconnected anywhere. It is frustrating the hell out of me but then again, nothing unusual with that now is there? After all, it is a 914 AND over 40 years old.

Could also be a fried Pertronix, then. Those seem to be a wee bit fragile. Especially if the power is left on without the engine running.

--DD

I started thinking down that line. It seems to be one that is 'riveted' vice screwed in so not sure if that is easy to replace or not. Guess I'll read up on how to trouble shoot the sucker after I check everything else. Or maybe check the petronix first? Either way, I'll figure it out eventually.

OK, so, got home and checked the coil before I ran any continuity tests. I got spark from the coil. I am pretty sure that the electronic ignitor is the issue. Pulled the cap and took a look, hmm, doesn't look like a Petronix to me. Pull it, nope, ain't a Petronix and I have NO CLUE who the hell makes it.

I'll pick up a Petronix kit this week and see how she does, hopefully this resolves the issue.

Try a set of points so you can at least keep troubleshooting.

--DD

Hadn't thought of that. I am not totally sure that the distributor has all the parts needed to convert it back to the standard points system. I know I need a set of points and a condenser which I can get at O'reilly's.

Don't suppose anyone has a good set of pictures of the components so I can make sure I have what I need to retro-fit the dizzy, anyone?

How's this one?

http://www.pelicanparts.com/914/parts/engi...ributor_big.htm

--DD

Doesn't look ANYTHING like mine! I have a 009 version. This aside, I can use that link with some other things I found to re-assemble the dizzy.

I tore it down today and, after removing the contact plate and pulling the shaft and advance mechanism, found this...
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See anything missing? Maybe another spring on the other part of the advance weights???? Sooooo, isn't there supposed to be two springs?? I'll wait for someone who re-builds these things to chime in.

Well, my wife gave me whatever she had so I feel like hell. So what do I do? Take drugs and work on the teener of course! Probably not one of my better ideas as I lost the dang distributor drive spring in the motor while I was lining up the gear. Sometimes you're the hammer and sometimes, you're the nail. I get to be the nail today.

Needless to say, I'm gonna have to now drop the motor to see if I can find the dang spring unless someone has any better ideas. I guess I could drain the oil and pull the pan and see if it made it's way all the way through. Anyone got any suggestions?

On the flipside, I did finish the distributor re-furbishment. She looks a lot better than when I started.
BEFORE:
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AFTER
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I think I'll watch a movie for a bit and wait for the frau to get home.

Well, after nearly two weeks I am finally almost normal with the exception of a lingering cough that I am trying to get over. Haven't gotten much done with the teener other than put the back up on jacks to take some measurements. I read through Andys LS1 Retrospective build thread and saw the jack adapter he made to lower and raise the motor. Soooo, I am going to now build one of those. I have a source of square tubing that I can get what I need at BMG so now all I have to do is get an Oxyacetylene setup since that is what I have been doing in class for the last 3 months.

I will take TIG next semester as well as finally start down the automotive program path. Since my wife is concerned about 'safety' she let me spend a bit more on a helmet for the next course.
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Its a Miller Digital Performance Series helmet so will do the trick and allow me a lot of flexibility.

I've got to drop the motor and trans so I have them out before February's clinic in Richmond with Mike so may get it all done over the holiday season. I'm going to add an Oxyactlene cutting/heating & welding rig to my Christmas list for the wife to get me. I have already done up the plans for the motor jack adapter, I just need the rig to weld it all together. Looking at using 1 1/2 inch square tube 1/8 thick for the adapter. This will be my first project with the welding rig. Second and third will be a gun vise to sight in my rifles and an engine stand. I plan on having the motor tuned and running BEFORE I put it back in the car this time!

I'll also be converting over to the side shift so will do some modifications before I put the motor in however, I will use a MIG for that one. My buddy has a MIG that should work for what I want to do. Guess I'll have to roll the car out of the garage so I have room to work on the motor once it is out. I have a cover but it sucks, I think I'll put a good tarp over the cover to keep it out of the elements. Here we go again! I think this is the 5th or 6th time I have had the motor out of the car. With any luck, the spring will flush to the sump and come out there so I don't have to pull the whole motor apart...yeah, right I have yet to be that lucky with this car!

for storing outdoors, go to the auto parts store and buy a DRI-Z-AIR and place the whole thing in a bucket on the floor of the car. check and pour off the water every 1 or 2 weeks. basically moisture absorbing crystals in their own little catch basin device. use the bucket as you'll likely forget to empty the basin and enough water will collect and over fill. as stated in the instructions the 'water' will be "corrosive" so the bucket is pretty important.