Pictures from Cam chain tensioner pad replacement

[zooklm1]

As promised, here are some additional pictures from my pad and chain replacement in August.
I started off thinking I would just inspect and do the actual repair later. I did have the necessary parts on hand, though.
Because I was “only going to inspect”, I was only needing to remove the valve cover. As previously posted, one button head fastener stripped out. I had to cut/chisel the head off.

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I used a liberal amount of PB blaster and vice grips to get the rest of the bolt out.


Once the cover was off, I inspected the pads and while they looked pretty good/no cracking, there was some wear.

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So I decided to do the replacement. Before taking it apart, I lined up all the timing marks, etc because I was already planning on doing the timing belt replacement. I took off the cam gear, gear cover, etc. I had not thought about replacing the hall sensor, but found the connector was totally gone. Also, the inside cover had a hack job repair and I was not comfortable with putting that back on.

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I made my own cam holding tool. The wood is sassafras.

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When taking the cam caps off, pay attention to front to rear location and cap orientation. If you put the caps on upside down, the cam won’t turn.

I had one cap bolt cheese head strip out and fortunately had this set of bolt removers and one fit and worked.


With the cams out the next step is to get the tension compressed and out. I did mark the arrow/dot on the cams with nail polish to make it easier to see.

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[zooklm1]

Note I have more pictures and will add later today.
Thanks

[Latitude48]

Thanks so much for the pictures. The teeth on the cams look like they are in excellent condition, which is always good. I'm going to change my hall sender too as it's never been done in the last 35 years AFAIK. The reference sensor was changed about 21K miles ago. The hall sender is on sale at FCP Euro (Bosch).

[Latitude48]

Hi,

I would be interested in knowing what puller you used for the exhaust cam gear. Looking at Jurgen's video (really informative!), he needed one with thin grips. Also, do you recall the size of the triple square for the cam gear bolt? I know all the bearing bolts are M8.

I'm also curious if you checked if any valve springs were broken as it seems this is a common issue with the 944 S2, and possibly 968.

I thought it was interesting in the video that the chain and tensioner pads were recently changed, and soon after that maintenance they are going back in to replace all the lifters. That seems odd that it wasn't all done at the same time. I may just get all new lightweight lifters from 928sRus.

Thanks, Tom

[zooklm1]

Tom,
I was fortunate in that I was able to wiggle the cam gear off. I discovered this by accident because I first attempted to try several different pullers and in messing with the gear pullers, had one side move a little. I think I sprayed some penetrating oil around the the gear to shaft interface and let it sit for a day or so. I think the penetrating spray helped in the situation. I was struggling to find a puller that had thin flat ends. If the gear had not come off, I probably would have made my own ends for a 2 leg puller I have.
Regarding the lifters, I did not specify look/check because I don’t have much lifter noise (now my 944 turbo is a different story). Given the cost of the 944 lifters, do you know of a source for lifters for our engines? I had seen some posts about specific Audi or VW lifters being the same, but did not research it more. I think the triple square size for the cam gear bolt is 10 mm but will confirm and let you know.
Regarding more pictures, I think I should be able to add more after work tomorrow.

Lee

[Latitude48]

I was fortunate in that I was able to wiggle the cam gear off.

That was fortunate. If mine doesn't come off the same I can probably borrow a puller from my local shop that I've used for many years for things I don't want to/can't do myself (and have given them many $$$, ugh).

Regarding the lifters, I did not specify look/check because I don’t have much lifter noise (now my 944 turbo is a different story). Given the cost of the 944 lifters, do you know of a source for lifters for our engines? I had seen some posts about specific Audi or VW lifters being the same, but did not research it more.

Current pricing for the 928-105-312-03 valve lifter is about $71 each from Porsche. https://928srus.com/products/050109309j had a lightweight VW version for $12.75 each, but I would not personally use them as they don't specify the manufacturer, and I've read the quality control on the INA lifters is pretty bad per a 928 thread I saw on RL. Interestingly, getting genuine 050-10--309-J (superseded to H) from VW is also about $71, so personally, I'd just opt for genuine Porsche. As one of the RL posters said, "There's an amazing truth, which a lot of people completely miss: "You usually get what you pay for"".

[Sansho]

Since I'll be replacing the cam sprocket cover, I saved this way of removing the gear that someone else posted. With apologies to the person who posted it, as I didn't note their name:

[walfreyydo]

@Latitude48 I believe VW VR6 lifters, which come at a much better price point, are compatible:
https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche ... fters.html
https://rennlist.com/forums/968-forum/1 ... 100-a.html

There are a few other threads/mentions of this around if you google as well. Not sure if those are the same as the ones you've researched already.

[Latitude48]

@Latitude48 I believe VW VR6 lifters, which come at a much better price point, are compatible:
https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche ... fters.html
https://rennlist.com/forums/968-forum/1 ... 100-a.html

There are a few other threads/mentions of this around if you google as well. Not sure if those are the same as the ones you've researched already.

I watched the videos from the Pelican link. I love how this guy says something like, "They are just a little bit taller than stock, but they fit and work fine." Sorry, I'm not putting VR6 lifters in my engine.

I poster in a 2022 928 RL thread replied in a discussion on valve lifters:

"My local wholesaler sells the INA 050 109 309J lifter, to me, for under $7.00
They have to make a profit. The part needs to be shipped...from wherever it is made....several times, through several hands.
There's import duty to be paid.
The distributor that sells them to my wholesaler needs to make a profit.
And INA needs to make a profit.

Do some basic backwards math and you will realize that the lifter costs way under $1.00 each, for INA to make.

Like I said, above, I do not actively use this lifter.

The quality was terrible, when I was using them and having them DLC coated.
The DLC people rejected a full 20% of them...and that was after I rejected 20% of them."

Kinda reminds me of the 1971 film "Dirty Harry" in which Clint said, "I know what you're thinking: Did he fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kind of lost track myself... you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky?" Not too sure I want to risk it with my engine. Others don't seem to care if they use VW parts from another engine.

[zooklm1]

Tom,
I can’t argue with your logic given the cost of collateral damage if a failure occurs.
Lee