Carpokes Porsche Forum

walfreyydo wrote: Thu Jul 10, 2025 6:42 am

If you remove the cams, you must reset/recalibrate the intake/exhaust cam timing. The cam gear is adjustable to allow for adjustment of the intake cam position in relation to the exhaust cam. Refer to the FSM and use a dial gauge to measure the depression on the #1 intake lifter (for S/S2 motors) before setting the position of the exhaust cam/cam gear.

For posterity, I offer a correction to this description.
On an S or S2, the exhaust camshaft to intake camshaft timing relationship is fixed by chain length and is not adjustable.
What is adjustable is the exhaust camshaft to belt pulley relationship. Making this adjustment utilizes intake valve lift to identify exact camshaft positions, at which the belt pulley is set to TDC.

Regarding camshaft hold-down / removal tools:
while they are not necessary, they allow for a faster, more predictable way to release and install the camshafts parallel to the head against unbalanced valve spring pressures. Camshafts remaining parallel to the head is the critical part. When out of parallel, the axial thrust bearing flanges at the front of the camshaft can easily bind in the head.

Thom wrote: Thu Aug 07, 2025 11:43 pm Pictures or it didn't happen.

Agreed. Did the job many many times without the tool and never have any camshafts broken. Just take your time and do it bit by bit and you'll be fine.

I made my own using commercially available adapter and some sassafras hardwood. Remove the brass thread rod from spark plug adapter and cut the 5/8” rod to 10 inches
Size block to provide sufficient stiffness
As attached to hold cams while removing caps

Worked great. Cost approx $50.

michaelmount123 wrote: Thu Aug 07, 2025 7:33 pm

Thom wrote: Thu Jul 10, 2025 1:01 am Breaking a camshaft without using this tool? This is not even remotely close to plausible. Cam caps will let go well before the camshafts.

Certainly not the case. The cast cams are very brittle and many have been broken by removing the caps unevenly and stressing (bending) the cam enough to break it.

Considering the cams are NLA from Porsche, using the proper tools seems like a prudent choice, which is why I just ordered the tool from 928sRus. Cams are available from Partswork.de for around 660-795 Euro, so all is not lost if someone breaks one.

Now I'm trying to decide whether I should change the valve lifters "while I'm in there." My S2 has 155K miles and runs just fine with no excess lifter noise that I can detect, so I'm a bit reluctant to spend $$$ on new Porsche lifters, but I also don't want to do this job twice if I don't have to.