[rs911t]

It begin late - February 21, 2004. As of 4:15 this afternoon, July 5, 2004,
my Winter projects are officially complete. Time enough for a rebuild, but
no. Just maintenance and stuff and a lot of random aggravation.

The List:

- Dropped the engine 2/21/04.
- The basics: oil, plugs, valve adjust, oil filter, fuel filter.
- Found all but 2 head stud nuts loose but all torqued to spec.
- No signs of broken studs. That's always good.
- Stellar leakdown test results (~2% average, <3.5% across the board).
- New carb & manifold gaskets
- New insulators (I have carbs). The old ones were falling apart.
- New manifold studs 'cause the insulators are thicker than the old ones.
- Replaced the flywheel seal ...
- Replaced the pulley seal. Discovered this little pin between the pulley and drive shaft was sheared in two!
- New fan belt.
- Cleaned all the gunk out between the head cooling fins.
- Tested both thermostats, replaced the front cooler t-stat.
- New exhaust and muffler gaskets
- Replaced the trailing arm bushings and wheel rear wheel bearings.
- Actually, replaced the trailing arms 'cause I found two with new bearings for little more in cost than the bearings themselves. The additional cost was worth the savings in labor.
- Discovered the rear brake calipers were stuck, answering the question as to why the car got tail happy under hard braking (e.g. turn 1 at VIR in November).
- Rebuilt both rear brake calipers.
- Cleaned, repacked all CV joints, including new boots. What a momumental PITA. Had to use Dave's press to remove both CVs from one half-shaft. Installing the boots was nearly impossible. The covers were misshapen from 32 years under the car and the new boots much smaller in diameter. Promised myself if I ever had to mess with'em again I'd buy new half shafts with the boots installed!
- I depise working on CV joints.
- Refurbished a leaking oil hose. The most expensive in the catalog. What fortune! But, it had threaded elbows. Dissembled, cleaned and reassembled with a little silicon sealant (a new favorite material!). Worked like a champ.
- Tried the same thing with the S-hose between the oil cooler and tank.
Worked less well, so someday I'll replace it. A cheap hose.
- Oh, discovered a little Swepco in the bell housing. The punch line is you must disassemble the transmission to install the little $7 seal. Thanks to Marc, the seal is installed and the tranny made whole over two evenings.
- Suspicious of my engine oil cooler, I leave at Intersport to be pressure checked. Left it there 3-weeks, but had to get ready for Mid-Ohio. Retrieved and reinstall it.
- Took the car to Intersport for a align & balance, installation of a new OG Racing rollbar and had the battery strapped down.

Picked the car up with the trailer and promptly left for Mid-Ohio.
Car ran great! Even with the rain if was a good weekend.

The next weekend I take the car out for a spirited drive, put it in the garage and discover a 3" puddle of oil underneath. I immediately suspect the flywheel seal, but decided to put the car on jackstands, run it awhile and look for the leak. It was quite easy to find, splattering off the bottom of the engine oil cooler and dripping off the cross over hard line.

NOTE: you can remove the engine oil cooler without dropping the engine.
But, you gotta take most everything off the top to remove the shroud,
a necessity in a 1972 911.

- Drain the oil, remove the right heat exchanger, carbs, shroud and cooler.
- Took the cooler to Curry's for a pressure test, where it received a clean bill-of-health.
- Reinstalled everything and watched it leak just like before.
- Drain, disassemble, remove cooler, replace seals, reassemble.
- Leaks just like it did before.
- Drain, disassemble, remove cooler and rig my air compressor to pressurize it, place it a sink of water and watch it spew bubbles. Dammit!
- Buy new oil cooler. Actually, bought two. Long story, with pictures, on Pelican. In short, my car has a likely Chinese Behr cooler knock off. Funny thing, it appears to be assemble better than the real thing. Go
figure.
- Reassemble, start the car and see NO OIL spraying from the bottom! The peasants rejoice!

I have no doubt I could now drain the oil and remove the engine oil cooler on a carb'ed 911 while blindfolded. Absolutely no doubt.

Of course, I was eager to drive the car. I did and soon discovered a 3" puddle of oil beneath the engine. Double dammit! I figured my tests with the car on stands wasn't enough to get the flywheel seal to leak. But, a romp around McLean at 7000 rpm sure was !! So ...

- Drain the oil, drop the engine (took about an hour with Marc's help)
and CAREFULLY replace the flywheel seal. Damn, those bolts are pricey!!
- Notice the two hanging half-shafts. Notice the boots have pulled off
the outside CV joints. AAARRRGGGGHHHH!
- Remembered my promise and promptly ordered two fully assembled half shafts with CV joints.
- Only took me 20 minutes to reinstall and bolt in the engine. By myself! Cool! About 2 hours to finish the job. I hate CV joints...

That was last Thursday evening. Spent all day Friday at work thinking
about Watkin's Glen. Took the responsible route and didn't go.

This weekend I reinstalled rear interior that I removed so Intersport could install the rollbar. I had to notch the quarter panels so they'd go around the rollbar. Turned out pretty good - I'm happy!

The last item was accomplished this afternoon - new street tires. Removed the wheels, dropped them off at the Bridgestone dealer. New RE950's all around in 195/65-15 size. Nicely fills the old car's fender wells.
Pick'em up, bolted them on, and it promptly began to rain. Gives me an excuse to drive the 911 to work tomorrow!

It's done, the car and I are both happy. Time to find some track time.