First batch of parts/tools showed up at the door today. It would be nice if Amazon could count to 6 though.

http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/a...psolam7vrv.jpg

Mihnea, went back and read the beginning of this thread to confirm this is your first engine rebuild - nice project. You obviously have a good manual but if you want, I can throw a few got-yas and words of caution moving forward that may or may not be in your manual. One caution that is obvious is that I would not get to good at rebuilding these motors as I heard a few of them going boom lately.

Sure thing. Any advice is much appreciated.

Here's a few to start:

1. Take a look at your connecting rods where the rod and cap bolt together. Stamped or etched into both the cap and the rod are numbers - these should be the same (the rods and caps are not interchangeable and machined as a unit) Also, the caps only go on the rods one way. For 944s, the etched numbers go next to each other. Get this right as this is a big deal. I have never looked at boxster rods so you need to make sure how they do this on the engine. I think P and other manufactures actually machine the caps and rods together and then crack them apart.
2. Not sure I would spend the time plasti-guaging (SP?) the rod and crank bearings as you are not cutting the crank or line boring the cases. Basically it appears your going with the stock (+0) bearing set. Others may want to comment on this.
3. I used the same ring compressor you have there and it work but had to mess with it a bit. Basically, when the piston gets down at the bottom of the compressor and the piston skirt is well in the cylinder bore, I had the compressor pivot slightly on the top edge of the piston and form a very slight cone shape which releaved a little pressure at the point where the compressor met the block. Hard to explain. The point is I used another upside piston to push the piston I was installing through the compressor and the stupid piston almost feel into place. Use lots of lubrication. Also what really helped was wiggling the rod slightly back and forth as I cranked up pressure on the compressor - this seemed to set and compress the rings better. I ended up using enough pressure on the compressor so that the piston slides easily but with some resistance. Maybe someone of this site can provide additional tips but this worked for me. Also (very important) get some fuel hose that snugly over the rod bolts when installing piston as you do not want the rod bolts banging against the bearing surface of the crank.
4. Soaking the pistons upside down in Carburetor Cleaner and a stiff nylon brush worked well for removing the carbon deposits on the pistons. Caution - do not blow up your garage and house while doing this. Again not sure on this engine but the bottom oil control rings are a 3 piece set and can be flimsy - make sure your keep these intact and set up correctly.
5. Double check what I said for applicability to your engine.

More latter as I think of them.

This was all very valuable.

1. Yep, they are cracked apart, so they only fit one way, but I did keep all the rods with their respective caps, position, orientation, etc.
2. Like you said, because I am not machining the crank or cases, I went with stock (+0) bearing sets.
3. This was great to learn! Especially the part about the piston ring compressor. I understand exactly what you mean. I will think of a way to keep it open at the top so it doesn't turn into a cone as the piston moves into the bore. Also a good tip for protecting the crank as the rod goes down. I think I had seen that in some build photos long ago.
4. Also very useful! I do want to get that carbon off. Will try this out.
5. Of course. So far it all was very applicable. Keep it coming.

Mihnea, I love what you and Ion are doing here! Definitely wishing you guys good luck with the rebuild. About 10 years ago I did the same with (believe it or not) the RB26DETT that is still running in my 240 *knock on wood*. Tore down, measured, and reassembled everything in a garage as well with a buddy of mine, minus the machine work for the block. The pic u posted above with the piston compressor brings back some memories. I think mine was from Sears, lol.

Definitely an interesting read about the special piston pin insertion procedure once the block halves are back together.... few suggestions which you probably already know...
1) don't put in new rings if your motor did not have significant blowby or lowered compression. perhaps your motor is different, but typically new rings need a nicely honed fresh cross hatch surface for proper break-in. You can do a ghetto hand drilled hone stone clean up of the bore, but IMO that is best left to a machine shop. Given your budget and ring/bore condition I would keep the rings as is.

2) when you reassemble, get some rubber hose to slip onto the exposed large rod end bolt threads. It is critical to protect your bore and the crankshaft as another user posted. when inserting the piston/rod combo the traditional way, you don't want the rod to accidentally swing and nick your cylinder wall, nor do you want the rod to touch your crankshaft journal on its way in. remove the hose when you're ready to put the caps on and the rod end is seated around the crank journal. learned this tip from a dinosaur muscle car builder.

I would suggest you return that ring compressor unopened. Get the fixed one from LN or I think Jeggs for the piston. Lube it, piston goes in easy, bottom on ring compressor goes flush with block, tap tap - alternating edges if it starts to stick, done. Much easier.

Thanks Will! I remember you telling me about your engine build for the 240. It's definitely a good experience. Re your tips: (1) agreed. I ended up not getting new rings. Thanks for the extra confirmation that this was the right move. It seems to have been the overall opinion on here, which makes me feel more at ease. (2) Yep. I'll definitely do that. Thanks.

Ha! I didn't know that existed. Seems like a better alternative. Will do.

I also wish I knew you can get fixed ring compressors - Next time, I will go this route. Any spec numbers yet?