Show full size 924Board.org
Discussion Forum of 924.org
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 
 Technical FAQ924 FAQ (Technical)   Technical924 Technical Section   Jump to 924.org924.org   Jump to PCA 924 Registry924 Registry

Don't overrev your motors!
Goto page 1, 2  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    924Board.org Forum Index -> General Discussions
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
924RACR  



Joined: 29 Jul 2001
Posts: 8794
Location: Royal Oak, MI, USA

PostPosted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:26 pm    Post subject: Don't overrev your motors! Reply with quote

Just pulled the head apart from the racecar after having a valve stuck open; thought in fact that we had a bent valve... but after removing the head, the valve didn't look bent, and a light tap with a mallet popped it right back up in place. Then we removed the cam, and found that the lifter was split right down the side (by the adjuster hole) - clearly allowing it to expand and stick in the bore!

On removing all lifters, we found that they were all split at the adjuster holes, and are all junk/trophies. We also found a couple of cam lobes damaged, one with a bit of material flaked off, one with significant rounding.

So, running hard past redline and overrevs on downshifts are NOT good things for the 924 motor, and especially hitting 7300rpm!!!
_________________
Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
924turbo_sout_africa  



Joined: 29 Oct 2007
Posts: 215
Location: Sout africa

PostPosted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i did not even think you can rev these baby's that high...damn and she didn't blow ...good builder
_________________
Porsche ...where dreams are a reality
'79 924 turbo canada spec
'98 Formula Vee (M3 eater)

Time in the 931 is a dream come true !!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
924RACR  



Joined: 29 Jul 2001
Posts: 8794
Location: Royal Oak, MI, USA

PostPosted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 11:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yep!

All new valves and springs doesn't hurt...
_________________
Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Rasta Monsta  



Joined: 12 Jul 2006
Posts: 11723
Location: PacNW

PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is evidence of that on a 931 head I was just tearing down. . .cracks around the adjusting screw holes. Another disturbing thing was the fact that the screws "rattle around" in the holes, doubtlessly hammering the holes and contributing to the cracks. And as a final bonus, the flat parts of the screws that ride on the valve stems were also hammered out of shape.

Crappy design. . .Dan's Piper approach is looking better and better all the time.

Vaughan, wanna buy a NIB set of stock lifters?
_________________
Toofah King Bad
  • WeiBe (1987 924S 2.5t) - 931 S3
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
924RACR  



Joined: 29 Jul 2001
Posts: 8794
Location: Royal Oak, MI, USA

PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 1:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yours are 931 though, right?

Would love to buy them, but the funds pool is cached right now after having my minivan worked over at a shop...
_________________
Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
RC  



Joined: 25 Mar 2007
Posts: 2636
Location: Australia

PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 2:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hmmm not good

Interested in how you determined the cause to be occasional revving >7K?
Do you have any idea as to how much seated spring pressure you`re running?
Some pics would be good, if only as a warning to other rev heads.

Had this problem only on one lifter previously and was an expensive one to repair as it chewed out the bore in the head. This is what came out, along with a severely deformed screw:




Assume you figure its valve float/bounce. Did the valve jam open because the lifter was holding it down or was it scored and caught in the guide? Sure it wasn`t lubrication, overheating, foreign material or just old used springs and reground valves/seats, reducing the effective spring pressure?

Sure others would like to get to the bottom of this too since these engines DO rev to 7300.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ideola  



Joined: 01 Oct 2004
Posts: 15548
Location: Spring Lake MI

PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 3:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was under the impression that the lifters and cam were identical on NA and 931 heads...

...if that turns out to be the case, Vaughan, I have a spare cam and set of lifters if you need them for this weekend. It's the set that came out of my UWB project that will be replaced by the Integral cam and the Piper lifters.
_________________
erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
924RACR  



Joined: 29 Jul 2001
Posts: 8794
Location: Royal Oak, MI, USA

PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 4:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the offer, Dan, but we do have enough spares amongst the many torn-down heads that I'm all set now.

Did not measure seated spring pressure. Springs were new 4 seasons ago, not old. Normally revs are 6000, maybe 6500 tops. My failure was similar to the one shown above, only we caught it before it came to pieces. But the crack is very clearly dead-nuts aligned with the screw holes. Shims, while more of a PITA by far to set up, would be more robust it would seem!

The valve only jammed because of the lifter; once the lifter was removed, it operated normally, without issue. Lubrication and heating are fine on this engine, beyond reproach, no contamination, etc. Seats and guides were new too, BTW, when the head was built a few seasons ago. Still seals perfectly, great compression when the valves are shut.

Yes, I would have no fear revving the engine higher; these lifters and the retainers are the only remaining old/original items in the drivetrain, 'cept the cam of course. That's why I posted, to share the knowledge.
_________________
Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
ideola  



Joined: 01 Oct 2004
Posts: 15548
Location: Spring Lake MI

PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 5:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So all things considered, I guess the outcome wasn't as bad as it could've been, eh? Did the head itself survive OK?
_________________
erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
RC  



Joined: 25 Mar 2007
Posts: 2636
Location: Australia

PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for sharing this with us Vaughan.
Luckily you`re on the ball and caught it before more damage was done.

In my case it started as an intermittent lifter noise and developed into a persistent tap,tap,tap that was getting more severe. Checked the valve clearances that were all reasonable. Realize now that at this stage was probably only the crack progressively getting worse. A few hundred miles later the engine stopped abruptly when the lifter crapped itself completely and stripped all the teeth off the belt.

An expensive lesson learnt. Should have pulled the cam and checked it thoroughly.

IIRC seat spring pressure was around 65 Lbs with new springs shimmed to spec installed length while old springs averaged 58 or so. The pair that ran on the dead lifter was only 37 I think. Definitely revved higher and faster with new springs.

Best of luck getting it back together and racing.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
924RACR  



Joined: 29 Jul 2001
Posts: 8794
Location: Royal Oak, MI, USA

PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 10:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yep, head was fine, set up a fresh good set of lifters last night, head back on, torqued, intake in place, just the remaining hookups and installing the new header, and we're ready to rock! She'll be out Friday, no worries...
_________________
Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Raceboy  



Joined: 01 Mar 2004
Posts: 2326
Location: Estonia, Europe

PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We tried to rev 924 motor back in 1998 and we wanted to see how high it goes. When hittin 8300, goes and and lifter is in two halves. It's clearly valve float, stiffer springs and lighter lifters (Piper) will cure that.

But, 7000 rpm should cause no problems if valvetrain is in decent stock condition.
_________________
'83 924 2.6 16v Turbo, 470hp
'67 911 2.4S hotrod
'90 944 S2 Cabriolet
'78 924 Carrera GT replica
'84 928 S, sold
'91 944 S2, sold
'82 924S/931 "Gulf", sold
'84 924, turbocharged, sold.
http://www.facebook.com/vemsporsche
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website MSN Messenger
PORSCHEV  



Joined: 02 Nov 2002
Posts: 1901
Location: Cedar Lake Nova Scotia, Canada

PostPosted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 9:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I go 6500 on every lap...but onoy for a few seconds. That is a good safe limit for me.
_________________
1976 924
5 lug conversion, 17'C2 wheels,custom body work,327 vette engine.

1978-#53 "D" track racer.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website MSN Messenger
924RACR  



Joined: 29 Jul 2001
Posts: 8794
Location: Royal Oak, MI, USA

PostPosted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 10:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the info, Raceboy. Yes, it is known that the lifters were old, none perfect, and the cam did have 2-3 weak lobes (with wear on the tip of the lobe).

6500 should definitely be no concern, with fresh valves and springs and good lifters etc. My problem wasn't so much hitting that on accel (had it set as my shift point, but was probably hitting 6600 - next time I'll set the shift point at 6400 to offset the delay in the driver). Rather, it was overrevving on downshift - 4->3 downshift in a braking zone, heel-and-toeing, from 110mph. I was dropping it into 3rd at too high a speed, like starting the shift at up to 100mph, that was causing a mechanical overrev. An overrev like this will not be helped by a rev limiter, BTW.

Note that I have a data acquisition system, which tells me in exact detail all of these facts... very nice to have!

There were other spots on the track where I spent a bit of time at 6500-6700, but I don't think that was as bad...

EDIT: Almost forgot. Car's back together now, running great. All ready to go racing tomorrow!
_________________
Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
ideola  



Joined: 01 Oct 2004
Posts: 15548
Location: Spring Lake MI

PostPosted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 10:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

924RACR wrote:
Car's back together now, running great. All ready to go racing tomorrow!

Fantastic! Good luck this weekend! I'd come out for sure this weekend, but I have some performances at the State Fair over the next four days, so once again, won't be able to come out Just too darn much stuff going on!!!

Anyway, good luck, bring home that championship!
_________________
erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    924Board.org Forum Index -> General Discussions All times are GMT + 10 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group