myflat6

I have searched the site but cannot seem to find what I am looking for. I am looking for any tips or advice for removing the variorum intake manifold. I hope I do not need to do a partial drop for clearance. Any help is appreciated.

mgianzero

Sent you a PM.

earossi

I'm about to do the same thing. I rebuilt my engine, so know what is involved. When you look at the procedure on pulling the intake manifold, which is laid out in the factory shop manual, the only step that is an issue for me, is disconnecting the accelerator cable. The step involves disconnecting the cable at the rear of the manifold. It's an area where arm reach and visual assistance are difficult. Everything else on the list of disconnects is pretty straight forward and fairly easy to execute.

993KT

I'm looking to lift the manifold just enough to change the varioram seal, and take out the cruise control. The last time I tried, I undid the engine mount and lower the back of the engine a few inches, undid the hose clamps to the manifold but I was not able to move it at all. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

earossi

OK. I found the thread I was referring to in which bobt993 speaks to removing the varioram. I copied/pasted it below. Please note that this procedure is also covered in the shop manual:

bobt993
Addict
Rennlist Member

"I would absolutely remove the varioram. It is really not that big a deal. Mark your wiring connections if your not familiar to avoid mixing the resonance flap and the varioram runners. I can send you some picts of what to get to.

You should also remove the very top of the fan housing which leads into the blower motor. It is very hard to get the varioram clear of the engine bay with this in the way and you can damage the rubber on it.
Remove the blower motor.
Remove the vacuum lines off the tree on the left side.
Unclip the cyl 3 temp sensor, flywheel sensor, knock sensor wires.
You also have the cruise control clip and the throttle clip on the back side of the throttle body. There is also a check valve wire at the very top of the tree on the left and it is on the backside where you cannot see it.
Remove the air filter and MAS air flow sensor.
You also have a couple of tank oil lines on the far right back side to unscrew.
At the base of each intake you need to unscrew the very top clamp on the rubber collars.
You may need to work a flat blade screw driver gently at the top of each collar and lube a small bit of oil on them to free them up.

If you have a tough time getting the varioram out I suggest dropping the engine a small bit by loosening the back bolts and putting a jack under the engine. You can get a about an inch of clearance which is enough to take the assembly out. If this sounds like a lot of work I can tell you after doing it a bit it is 30min to 40min job getting it out. When you take it out cover the intakes and inspect them with a flash light to make sure nothing dropped in!!!"
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myflat6

Thanks for digging this up! Do you know if I can replace the engine sound pad once the intake manifold is out, or does the motor need to be dropped? Seems like it should be able to be removed, but other searches I did mention an engine drop. Mine is in bad shape and was wondering if I should order one so I can install it while I am tearing my car down.

Mike J

Sound pad is no problem once the manifold is out. A few thoughts from the times I have done this:

- the accelerator and cruise control (they are seperately connected to the throttle body) are the hardest part, you have to understand how the connector works at the end of the cable, and getting it off is the easier part. Putting them back on is a bear, total blind work and by feel. Be very careful on this part, if its not done right, it can hang up the throttle return which means a stuck or sticky throttle.
- as soon as the manifold is out, put a small cloth in each of the intakes. Do NOT forget to take them out when putting the manifold back in
- on the varioram, a common seal that fails is the rubber gasket on the bottom activator -> if the top of your engine below the manifold is oily, its likely leaking, replace it when the manifold is out. Manually move all the activators to make sure all the sliders are working. You can take the manifold apart if needed.
- often the first time you lift the manifold off the intake couplers, it may be pretty stuck on - it may have been there for up to 20 years, so you many need to use a short bar to apply upward pressure
- I let off the motor mounts so the nuts are at the end of their threads (on standard mounts) or replace the bolts with longers one for RS mounts so the motor can be lowered. It makes it easier, especially when doing the throttle and cruise control connections

Some of the DIY procedures state facts like "you need to drop an engine" or "it takes two people" but I find it more of a function of skill. For example, I have no problem doing clutches all by myself on C4's without dropping the engine or torque tube, and no required alignment ... and I have seen postings that say is absolutely required to drop the engine to do a clutch on a C4, so try it yourself, if you learn something of figure out a shortcut, post it!

Cheers,

Mike

bcameron59

I replaced my engine sound pad a couple of years when I removed varioram to service injectors, plugs, clean isv, and fix a big nasty leaking seal on the bottom of the vram. Recommend you consider these while in there. Sound pad was the easiest part of the job by far...

You will almost certainly have to drop the engine a couple of inches as described to pull the vram, and the throttle cable is a real PITA. Good luck and have fun

bcameron59

Hah, Mike beat me to it while I was typing, his description of the vram seal is better than mine, check out this thread for more info on the procedure:

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...-manifold.html

Note there is a round seal on the butterfly valve shaft that should be replaced in addition to the big gasket.

Should also do SAI check valve while you're in there.

mpruden

For those that have done this, why not disconnect the throttle cable at the pedal and just fish it out that way? I think that this is the recommendation from the service manual if I am reading it correctly. Does it not help with this part of the procedure?

I've had a tough time with the throttle cable grommet before and am trying to avoid dealing with it under tension again. (My disintegrating sound pad taunts me every time I look at the engine, hence my interest in this topic)

MarinS4

Can you explain what you found? I run a boosted VRAM and would love to know potential sources of leaks.

earossi

Replacing the sound pad is made possible by removing the Varioram manifold. It's even easier with the engine out, which is when I replaced mine. But, replacing that sound pad can be problematic. Getting it to fit around the deck hinges can be something that will challenge your patience. So, it turns out to be a PITA process. But, you can do it with the manifold out of the car. Just be prepared for a little bit of profanity! Which will be well deserved!

bcameron59

There was oil leaking onto the cylinders from the flapper or butterfly valve at the bottom of the varioram. Made a huge mess all over the cylinder fins, especially on the left side. I think most if the leak was from the seal on the rotating shaft of the valve but I also replaced the odd-shaped gasket for good measure.

NP993 posted a good pic of what the leak looks like at post #18 in the thread I linked above:

Mike J

I mentioned this is a common leak problem with variorams in post #7- the main gasket is cheap and easy to replace, but there are no Porsche sourced replacement parts for the O ring seal in the valve pivot that I know of. Hopefully I a wrong here. I also have found the replacing that gasket seems to solve the majority of these messy leaks.

Cheers,

Mike

bcameron59

Hi Mike, after some digging I was able to determine the shaft seal ring for the pivot is 999 201 371 00 shaft sealing ring 8x12x3 and I was able to order it from Sonnen. It's the last part listed on PET / Katalog 107-12 but is not actually shown on the parts diagram.

I actually did the gasket in 2012, and then did the seal last year when I did my top end because the leak was still there.

Cheers/bc