nh7cy

Hey,

So i just got a 944, my first Porsche!! Anyway, along with firsts, this car also needed a new headgasket, so this has turned out to be my first headgasket job.

Only thing is, about $300 in new tools later and about 3/8ths of the way through the job im about ready to pull my hair out.

So far everything is out, fuel rail, intake manifold is off, belts are off, coolant is drained..

Whats wrong is, i stripped one of the 6mm hex retaining bolts at the front of the head, and no matter where i go i can't find a hex nut long enough to the bolts on the left side of the head (facing the car). Along with that, im probably going to have some trouble putting the whole thing back together as im not entirely familiar with the whole process yet.

If there's anyone in Marin that wouldn't mind lending a helping hand it would be greatly appreciated.

Im located in Novato.

Thanks

_______jason. nh7cy.

FRporscheman

I'm in San Francisco, but I'm busy fixing/selling a 928, fixing a 968, fixing two VWs and just about to help some friends with their cars (a 951 and a 968). So I'm pretty busy...

The little allen bolts towards the front of the head usually break. Don't worry, if the head broke off but the shaft is still there, it's OK. Once you pull the head off, you can use various methods to pull the rest of the shaft out.

If the bolt is still there, but the head is just stripped, you should get a dremel, or a grinder, and just grind two flat edges on the bolt head, so you can use an adjustable wrench to grab on it. If that doesn't work, just chop the bolt head off and extract the shaft later.

Good Luck! Let us know how everything goes.

Oh, and welcome to Rennlist! Never hesitate to ask for help, advice, and even tools. Use the search feature for basic questions before asking - chances are it's been covered 714,955 times already. Post some pics of your car if you can (after you have 5 posts). And try to make it on our next norcal get-together!

ckathens

Welcome, Jason! Arash, Jason's the nice guy who purchased my '83 944.

Jason, our moving truck finally showed up on Tuesday and I now have my computer unpacked, so i'll send you that factory repair manual PDF ASAP. Hopefully that will help with the headgasket!

FRporscheman

Oh, haha! I had the distinct priviledge of driving that car once, and I really liked it. When the HG is done you'll like the nice ride from the nice suspension upgrades. I considered buying it, but I didn't have any room or time. I'll do what I can to help you get it running again.

Steve, glad to hear you made it to snow land safe and sound.

ckathens

Arash: Thanks! Surprisingly, all the snow was gone and it was 81 degrees a couple of days ago... So weird.

Congrats on your mom's new 968!

nh7cy

thanks for the quick replies! also thanks steve for locating that manual for me, i know it will be a huge help.

basically i was going to do what you said, which was use a dremel to carve out some points on the head and take it out with a vice grip or something, or hopefully get it to a size that i can actually grip with a wrench. seems like the thing is in there pretty tight and its going to take a ratchet and a breaker bar to get it out.

hope to get it done by tuesday though which should be great. the car's awesome to work on, everythings really easy to get to, so far im loving it!

Matt Sheppard

Jason,

I have the tool(s) you need and I can loan them to you and give you specific advice on the problem bolts in the process, but I can not come to Novato anytime this week. Im In Sonoma Co. and I dont make it to Marin that often - traffic is bad enough here.

You picked up a hella fine car. Have patience because stripping the hex heads in the cam tower is easy to do and painfully difficult to rectify. Call me and we can set something up:

(707) 315-8564

V2Rocket

I give it another week or so before he realizes the difficulty of fixing EVERYTHING ELSE.

nh7cy

more to learn

nh7cy

matt, my next day off is tuesday the 29th, i have somewhat of a weird schedule. other than that i've been working on the car on my mornings before work (between 9:00 and 2:00 after tuesday im off thursday the 5th.

thanks for offering to help!

___jason
(415) 577 2215

Andial951

Im just about to undertake a head gasket repair as well (hoping that Arash is referring to my 951 in his post)...........good luck and I hope we can all meet up on a run soon.

FRporscheman

Jason, can you take a picture of the bolt you're having trouble with? I might be thinking of a different bolt.

Roger, I'm about ready to come and fix dat shizzle for you. You want me to do this during the week, while you're at work, or on the weekend? On an NA I can change the HG in a day or two. On a turbo, I'm guessing all that extra junk you use for hp will get in my way, so maybe 2 days is a bit optimistic but we can shoot for that anyway. Will your head need any machining?

billthe3

Oh well ****, if I had known you made house calls for bad headgaskets, I would have asked a couple of months ago.

Of course I still don't have all the parts to finish it yet...

Andial951

PM sent

nh7cy

i'll get a pic once i find my camera. its one of the two 8mm hex bolts that are at the front right of the head closest to where the throttle body would usually be (other than it being removed).