CGT - engine out service and detail - picture heavy

[stefan einz]

This December my CGT was due its engine out 4-year service. The engine comes out primarily to check valve clearances, but it is also a chance to check all is well mechanically. Given that a good deal of the car has to be disassembled as part of the service, I thought it was a good time to also get the car detailed. Whilst it has been detailed before (to ensure the paintwork in particular is kept in good condition) this is the first chance to get to some hard to reach places. My car has done just over 13,000 miles and has been used as its maker intended – at the Nurburgring, on other tracks and on many of the best roads the UK, France, Germany and Belgium has to offer. So whilst the car was at Reading I asked Paul Dalton (Miracle Detail) to give the car a thorough clean and keep a photographic record of much of the service work. I thought I’d share the photos and the work done. Servicing the car requires quite a bit of preparation. First of all the car has to be installed with special jacking plates, and then when those are in place the car must be tied down, otherwise it runs the risk of falling off a typical four poster lift (I seem to recall seeing a photo of a CGT that had fallen off a lift somewhere in the US because it was not secured properly). Once it is on the lift, all four wheels are removed and checked, and then all the undertrays and wheel arch liners. These were the first items that were cleaned: And after: Wheel arches before… …and after With the undertrays off, the underside of the car is revealed. The pipes running down the centre of the car are the water pipes, feeding water to the radiators at the front of the car. Paul cleaned all of this to get out embedded grime. The clutch is checked at this point. The wear is measured using a vernier calliper. When new the reading is 31mm, when worn out 28mm. Mine registered a fraction under 30mm, suggesting 33% wear and a 40,000-mile lifespan. However the wear rate has been slowing (no doubt as I have improved at shifting), so I’d hope to do even better than this. Given the engine is taken out during this service, the clutch is also inspected. The wishbones were then removed, and all the bushes checked. One was cracked and replaced. All of the wishbones were then cleaned of road grime. One of the details I love about the CGT is that the lower rear wishbones are aerodynamically shaped to aid downforce. All the brakes were checked, including removing the pads and checking for any scoring. They were pronounced in excellent condition, with little wear evident. There was a small chip out of the yellow paint on one of the callipers, so this was touched in. Once all the suspension and driveshafts had been disconnected it was time for the engine to come out. This is bolted to the rear carbon chassis, which in itself is a beautiful thing. With the engine out, Paul could clean inside the engine bay, and in particular detail and wax all the lacquered carbon fibre. After cleaning. The technicians reported that all the valve clearances were within tolerance, but did notice a small few cracks in some of the coil packs. All of these were replaced to be safe. The camshafts were also checked, as you can see from the pictures below. All the spark plugs are replaced at this service. With the engine service complete, the engine was refitted and the car re-assembled. However, some more work was needed to get the car in 100% condition. First the windscreen was replaced due to a large crack which had developed from a small chip. Then all of the original Paintshield was removed. I must say this stuff is great; it still looked pretty good unless you looked really closely at some of the edges and of course it had kept the paintwork blemish free. With all the Paintshield removed, Paul then corrected any paintwork issues such as small swirl marks (there were very few), and then some new Paintshield was applied. Inside the cockpit, there was a small chip in the lacquer in the passenger footwell. This was filled in, and then the seats removed to allow the whole carbon tub to be given a good clean. The magnesium centre console was cleaned with a gentle cleaning agent. The car was then fully reassembled and delivered back looking immaculate. Paul has also done a short video of the detail which does have some good close ups of the engine bay, engine and gearbox and other interesting areas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhI_GXVzul8 It is a fantastic car the CGT, and next year it will be used to the full again. My thanks to the chaps at Porsche Reading who do such a great job on these cars (their knowledge, service and enthusiasm for the cars is fantastic), and to Paul for a great job in bringing the car back to as new condition. Cheers

[early_grayce]

Gorgeous car, and very cool pics. Thanks for sharing!

[porsche0nut]

That looks fantastic! Love the pics of the internals, not something you see everyday! Enjoy

[TurboCup87]

Thanks for these awesome pics! Lovely car....

[SeanR]

Wow, really cool to see.

Thanks.

[ArthurPE]

one of the best posts ever...thanks!

[DINOROCZ]

awesome process, I love your attention to detail and perfection at all costs. The CGT is truly an automotive marvel, it will be that forever, consider yourself one lucky guy and enjoy it for another 13000 flawless miles.

[bbs993tt]

Stefan, thanks for posting. I'm facing this service job in the near future and am a bit apprehensive about it. Had Reading done this service on someone elses CGT before yours or was yours the first? I'm not sure if any of the dealers here have ever done one. Thanks!

[stefan einz]

Yes, Reading have probably done quite a large number by now; most cars were delivered in 2004 and 2005 and so the 4 year limit is past for pretty much all of them (and Reading is the only official Porsche centre in the UK that can service CGTs). I am sure some haven't been in because they've done very little mileage, but in any event the technicians dismantled my car with great efficiency! I spent the first few hours watching because it was so fascinating.

Cheers

[911SLOW]

Excellent thread! thanks for taking the time to post.
Photos saved : )

[richk]

Excellent post...thanks for sharing! I should have never sold my CGT.

[timothymoffat]

Thanks for taking the time to post. Absolutely fascinating to look at and read. The care and attention to detail are amazing. It's nice to see a cut-no-corners, if-it-needs-it-do-it approach to maintenance. It's also nice to see these wonderful cars being used and used as intended.

[eloyex]

Originally Posted by richk

Excellent post...thanks for sharing! I should have never sold my CGT.

true .. never

[DreamCarrera]

Awesome post and car. Thanks for sharing!!!

[ironimages]

Outstanding thanks for posting!