Arominus

Accidental double post.

Arominus

Pick up the Balance shaft tool and the flywheel lock, they are quite handy to have in your toolbox. You will also need a set of good quality XZN (aka Triple Square) bits/sockets for the cam chain/pads replacement. The Cam caps are held on with XZN bolts that are shallow, they strip easy so make sure you wake them up first and then push the ratchet in hard and straight when breaking them loose. Look for FRporschemans 968 cam pad replacement guide here in the forums, it is excellent the procedure is the same for both cars. The pads and chain are different for the S/S2 than the 968 though, so ignore his part numbers for those.

StoogeMoe

Why don't you tow it home so you can work on it at your own pace? This is especially important if you're not familiar with these cars.

Buthter

Hey, welcome and congrats! Sounds like you got a sweet deal, even if it doesn't run yet.

I thought your username sounded familiar, and then I reread the Jalopnik article about the front-engine exhibit at the Porsche museum and yep, you're in the comments. Always good to see fellow Jalops here, even though I'll probably never make it out of grey status.

Dan87951

Nice deal! Make sure you change that belt as others have said because 16 valves are not cheap. Car looks pretty clean too!

dannyzabolotny

Thanks for the tip! I was already going to pick up the Arnnworx master tool kit that has everything for the timing belt change procedure, but I'll look up the guide for the tensioner pad replacement too. Will I also need camshaft lock blocks? I know when I did the timing on my BMW V8's I needed those. Also, is the chain worth replacing?

That's the backup plan. If I can't get it to run and drive well tonight then I'll look into getting it towed.

Haha I'm always on Jalopnik, I love that place. I'm also on Bimmer Forums (E38/E39/Z3 sections) and M5Board (E39 M5 section). I got out of the greys pretty quickly, but it might also help that I know one of the Jalopnik writers in person.

I'm already researching it, and as soon as I get the car home I'm gonna order the parts and dive right into it.

If I can get it running properly tonight, my next concern would be the clutch, as I know these cars have their sketchy rubber puck clutches that fall apart with age. At 118k miles is it even possible for the car to still have its stock clutch?

p-talk

Good point on the clutch. But that's less of a concern than the TB and WP situation. Believe it or not my 1984 is still running on the stock clutch . . . for now.

What part of Tucson is the car in? I'm in the central area and have never seen that car around (probably because it didn't run! )

ramius665

It is very possible to still have the rubber center clutch. My 1987 944S still had the rubber clutch disk installed when I purchased it in 2014.

CVR_Rally

+1 on the Arnnworx master tool kit. You should also get the fuel pressure gauge the sell.

Speaking of fuel... CHANGE THE RUBBER FUEL LINES!
These things crack with age. Get braided ones with the extra snake mesh you can put over them. The last thing you want is all your hard work to go up in flames.

I've changed all the valves in my 16. You don't need any special tools to hold the cam if you are changing it out but unless there is damage you won't need to touch them.

A tip on the valve cover gasket. Don't use and extra sealer other than a little touch on the corners. I just applied a light coat of oil and it has held beautifully.

Chris

dannyzabolotny

It's like Northwest Tucson, like 5 minutes off of the I-10 at exit 252. It's in what appears to be a trailer park.

Yikes. Well at least the clutch won't cause the engine to blow up haha.

I'll probably end up changing the fuel lines for sure, I did all of the fuel lines in my 1995 BMW 750il because they kept bursting and leaking at the worst times.

I'm not changing the valves at the moment, I just wanted to know if I need to lock the camshafts at TDC for the timing belt job.

I figured I wouldn't use much extra sealer on the valve cover gasket anyways, it's the same case with the super finicky BMW valve cover gaskets. BMW makes amazing engines, but they just can't figure out how to make a valve cover gasket that doesn't leak.

CVR_Rally

What you can do is get the engine then lock to TDC with with flywheel lock. If you changing the chain then just make some marks with a marker to line back up. The cams also have timing marks.

You can also use the ignition rotor bolts to lock down the timing.

Chris

dannyzabolotny

Ah gotcha. I was worried the camshafts might get out of sync with the crankshaft once the belts are off, but if there are timing marks then it shouldn't be a problem. I guess I'm just too used to my BMW V8's where nothing is really marked and the slightest discrepancy in timing causes tons of error codes.

And once again I am delayed in getting the car, mostly due to the seller taking a while to get the title transferred over. I picked up the parts (fuel pump, DME relay) today along with a set of jumper cables, which I've never really needed up until now. I'll also be bringing along the battery from my currently garaged M5, which is fully charged and ready to go as well. I suppose all of these delays have helped me in a way, so I can come down there fully prepared to get this car running again.

I'm buying an air filter box from a fellow member here, so thankfully that's sorted out, and in the meantime I'll just buy some cheap Autozone cone filter and duct tape it onto the intake.

CVR_Rally

And remember to block those oil passages so nothing falls down to the bottom end. There also is a J-tube that is fragile that supplies oil to the chain tensioner. Just be careful with that and the super thin washers it has.

Using the thin bolts to lock down the cam gear is so that your timing advance is not lost. Resetting this properly involves two dial gauges and a custom rig to hold them on the cam.

Oh and I remembered on the way into work...
Disconnect (or cut off?) the power steering sensor that's on the pump. If it shorts you'll lose the entire harness.

Arominus

There is a good chance you will need a new j-tube. On my 88S the tube was partially plastic and only the ends were left, the rest had disintegrated. I ordered a new all steel tube from porsche and will never need to be replaced again.

dannyzabolotny

Is there a guide on doing the belts on a 944S? Most of the ones I've seen so far have been for the regular 8v 944 engines. I assume the majority of the steps are the same except for the camshafts.

And what is the power steering sensor for? Does disconnecting it change anything? I'd like to keep my power steering if possible haha