986S Chain Tensioner Pad Replacement
Oh boy, so many blogs to post, so little time!
This was a project in the shop last week. A nice little Booster S with about 50k miles on the clock. Owner has already done the IMS bearing, but wanted to get the chain tensioner pads replaced as we are seeing them fall apart on a regular basis now
She was pretty dirty and oil underneath from a few various oil leaks and a previous seeping IMS/RMS.
And a leaking water pump that was just done but a couple years ago. Shows how crappy the waterpumps are in these cars.
A spent a pretty good amount of time cleaning the underside of the engine in preparation of pulling the cams. Nothing worse than working in grease and grime.
This car also had a hard thunk on aggressive acceleration/shifting, so I replaced the front engine mount as well. They are usually blown out by now, whether age related or miles. Usually by 60k miles they are shot. Like a 993 suspension, I have never pulled a good engine mount out of a boxster.
Fast forward to pulling the cam covers off and getting the cam shaft assembly on the bench. This of course is a 5 chain motor, and the chain tensioner between the two cams has two plastic pads that grooves, deteriorates, cracks, etc….. very similar to the old 968’s and 16v 944’s.
Here you can see the old deteriorated pads next to the new pads. Pretty big difference 🙂
And the cam assemblies going back up into the car.
When I had pulled the cam covers off, I noticed they had been off before, likely to seal a leaking cover. Unfortunately someone used way too much Loctite 5900 when going back together on the sealing surfaces, and it got into the cam journals and caused some light wear marks. Hopefully it will hold up, but we will have to keep our eyes on her for awhile.
Since the oil sump plate was leaking, I dropped that off to reseal before buttoning up the car. Glad I did, as again, too much sump plate sealant was used in the past, peeled off the inside of the sump and was sucked up into the oil pickup tube for the oil pump. Not good. But, with everything cleaned out and put back together she fired up as expected. Off she goes!
RennsportKC is trusted by owners and enthusiasts from around the Midwest, whether it be for something as minor as an oil change; more in-depth like big horsepower upgrades; or even as major as constructing a turn key race car. Visit our About Us page for more on Karl and Wes. Check our services page for more information on how we can help us. Contact us today to set up an appointment.
2 Comments
Leave a commentDoug
April 6, 2015 at 4:27 PM
Thanks for the visuals. Did you have to re-time after pulling the camshafts off? Did you use the “ziptie” method of keeping the chain and sprocket from moving?
porschedoc
April 7, 2015 at 5:43 AM
Of course you must re-time the camshafts after pulling them off, no way around that. The ziptie method is for compressing the tensioner so you can remove the chain. I use the factory tools.