3.2 Head stud broken

[Robertjwarner]

Hi, just been advised that one of the head stud bolts on my 1988 3.2 Carrera is broken. All cylinders are ok pressure wise. Options are to leave as is with one bolt on particular cylinder or engine out and top end build. engine has low mileage at 46k but not had money spent on it for a while and been in hibernation for 20 years. Any ideas/ thoughts please

 

[arw911]

Mine broke last year, found two in the end. Engine out job. With a new ssi exhaust clutch and thrust bearing and various new rubber pipes etc was £8.5k. Goes like a dream now. Pressure might be ok static but with a combustion bang I suspect there will be leakage. Imho get it fixed. But be prepared for other stuff and if it's a keeper then do what is necessary for the next 50+ k miles. Engine outs are labour intensive.
Good luck.

 

[stuntmangb]

Hi you make me feel a lot better as I've owned my 87 3.2 for 7 years it had 118k on the clock , In the 1st month of ownership after removing a cam cover to sort out an oil leak I found a broken head stud Bottom number 4 The car has now covered 6k since but I plan to teardown the motor down this year , Its your choice but don't bother with the cheapo deals on Ebay look at the small print you will need replace more parts Or as they say While your in there !! , The subject is well documented on the net
Regards Robin.

 

[911hillclimber]

IMHO, remove the engine, do the top end.
There are no head gaskets on the 3.2, thus any blowing past of the gasses when running will mark and erode the head or the cylinder, and you will not save that part but have to have all parts machined to level things out. Sooner done the better.

I have 2 3.2 engines, one is 140+ K miles old and never been touched bar a few tappet checks and is leak free, runs a dream.
The other has been troublesome, so best to save the engine pdq.

A DIY rebuild of the 3.2 without replacing the cylinders and pistons can be done for around £2K, a long winded job, much time spent cleaning everything.
A DIY rebuild is very achievable with some mech knowledge and some basic and special tools.

I think Design911 do a 'kit'.
If you are not keen on DIY, give Mike Bainbridge at MB Engineering (Lake district) a call.