Head Gaskets

Well I'm a lot closer on pulling those heads than I was I guess. I was hoping to get the heads pulled by the time I go in to work this afternoon but that's not going to happen. The photos were shot earlier on. The radiator hoses, timing belt covers, and fan are removed now. Still haven't managed to drain the block of all the remaining coolant as both drain plugs are rather seized. Rather than forcing anything I figured I better be patient let the PB Blaster set in a while.

For those who may be wondering, I will be going back with phosphate free antifreeze when I refill it. Not the green stuff it has now. All that I really have lying ahead before I can pull the heads now is the exhaust, cam towers, and of course those block drains. I would have applied some heat to them but I was skeptical about doing so right at the sides of the block. Any thoughts on backing them out safely anyone?

Driver Side Head & Gasket Removed

A Good Look at #5, #6, and #7

There's the Head

There's the Aged Gasket

I made it this far fairly trouble free. Porsche says in the manual that heads can be pulled with the engine in the car for MY 78-84. Obviously, as you can see here, that is true. Reassembly seems impossible thanks to the six 6mm Allen bolts that support the top of the cam tower. It would have been nice if the manual would have mentioned that. Anyway, it seems pretty clear that I'm going to have to reassemble the head for a moment to pull the engine so that I can finish the job. The only problem I've run up on at this point has been 2 seized 13mm bolts that I snapped the heads off of at the back of the head. Now I've got two little pretty studs sticking up that I guess I'm going to have to torch to remove!! Evidently they're rather corroded as they were in direct contact with water for nearly 30 years. The only reason I was trying to remove them in the first place was to access a gasket. The piece that the bolts hold down is nothing more than a barrier so that water can't escape. Wish I hadn't touched it now. I guess everything happens for a reason, though, as this is exactly why I decided to go no further with my efforts on turning the block drains.

Not long ago, I added some "block seal" to the coolant after suspecting a leaky gasket. The final photo of the gasket shows areas where it settled around the #5 cylinder interface. The shot of the #5 piston shows a small amount of what looks to be rust/corrosion on its surface. I believe this must have been at least one of the problem areas. Only God knows what the other gasket looks like right now. I need to kick it in gear and get to work on it. Just haven't had the opportunity as I've been very busy lately.

I hadn't run into a similar problem, perhaps because I removed the motor when doing work, but I would think the "torch" process should go relatively easy due to the dissimilar metals, block aluminum with studs presumably steel.

I know you were hoping to get this done quicker, so sorry about the delays you are encountering.

I have seen worse looking valves, so to me, it looks like the motor was running reasonably clean. Possibly your issues are just due to poor coolant choice or it not being changed often enough (very common).

928racer;466 wrote: I have seen worse looking valves, so to me, it looks like the motor was running reasonably clean. Possibly your issues are just due to poor coolant choice or it not being changed often enough (very common).

This vehicle sat up for about 10 years actually. So yeah, it is no stranger to old & nasty antifreeze.

KilnRed;465 wrote: I made it this far fairly trouble free. Porsche says in the manual that heads can be pulled with the engine in the car for MY 78-84. Obviously, as you can see here, that is true. Reassembly seems impossible thanks to the six 6mm Allen bolts that support the top of the cam tower. It would have been nice if the manual would have mentioned that. Anyway, it seems pretty clear that I'm going to have to reassemble the head for a moment to pull the engine so that I can finish the job. The only problem I've run up on at this point has been 2 seized 13mm bolts that I snapped the heads off of at the back of the head. Now I've got two little pretty studs sticking up that I guess I'm going to have to torch to remove!! Evidently they're rather corroded as they were in direct contact with water for nearly 30 years. The only reason I was trying to remove them in the first place was to access a gasket. The piece that the bolts hold down is nothing more than a barrier so that water can't escape. Wish I hadn't touched it now. I guess everything happens for a reason, though, as this is exactly why I decided to go no further with my efforts on turning the block drains.

Not long ago, I added some "block seal" to the coolant after suspecting a leaky gasket. The final photo of the gasket shows areas where it settled around the #5 cylinder interface. The shot of the #5 piston shows a small amount of what looks to be rust/corrosion on its surface. I believe this must have been at least one of the problem areas. Only God knows what the other gasket looks like right now. I need to kick it in gear and get to work on it. Just haven't had the opportunity as I've been very busy lately.

One of the guys here in MI made up a tool to re-install the 6mm Allen bolts (they are the ones in side the cam covers) and if you drop one in there
Like you said not so bad on the way out but on the install

I did not see the tool but it worked and he did both heads in the car w/o issue. I just did both my heads on my '85 however I just pulled the eng and it was not all that bad to do and you must on an 85/86.

How is it going ?

Dave