Headroom

How important is the chain tensioner upgrade for an 1978 or 1979 SC? I am looking at a very low milage 1978 that has not had this upgrade. A local shop claims that the upgrade is only necessary if I plan to track/autocross the car.

geo.aigel

I have an 81 with 150k miles and no upgrade to the tensioners. I strongly believe that if you stay on top of them (service when noises develop), chances are very slim that they fail.

While I think your wrench has a point in saying that the tensioners are okay, I do NOT believe the autocross / racing story. Porsches are made to perform, it wont' make a difference how you drive them. It isn't like you take pops american V8 caddy out for a spin and hand shift it. Porsches like to rev. and they are built from the factory to withstand any performance oriented driving. I strongly encourage you to take it autocrossing, you will be surprised what it does and appreciate the car much more!

If the tensiones go bad, it can be fatal, pistons hitting the valves. That's why people are pushing the upgrade so much. I am right now taking the risk and will do the oil fed upgrade once I have done all the other upgrades that I would like to have. Even if you do it yourself, $500 for the kit isn't cheap. I assume a shop will take up to $1500 for this modification.

Just my two cents, I am sure others have more input.

Cheers, George

Driver8

I would recommend doing the upgrade regardless of how you plan on driving the car. It will cost you more in the long run if one of the tensioners fail and you do some engine damage. What is that old saying and ounce of prevention . . .

A

Headroom

Thanks for the feedback. Given the high cost of a rebuild, the cost of the upgrade seems like good insurance.

Doug&Julie

You should be able to find a kit for comfortably under $500, and I don't think a good shop will charge more than that again for the install. Most people suggest it is a solid investment. Even the upgraded tensioners aren't bulletproof, but they're much better than earlier tensioners.

pjc

Headroom,

Do the mod - the tensioners can give out without warning with dire consequences. While this is being done it's a good idea to change the chains and the guide slippers - then enjoy! This is a DIY without taking the engine out, if you feel inclined.

PJC

Michael O'Neal

I have a set of tensioners I'd sell for $300, if you're interested. They include the covers and oil lines as well.

mto

Jim Florance

I recently built a 2.9 to RS specs. I was persuaded to stay with mechanical tensioners because the C6 cams come on so fast my engie builder felt that the hydraulic tensioners might not respond quickly enough to the rapid increase in engine revs. The logic of this rang true. I don't have a problem w/ meticulous maintenance program so the added work doesn't bother me. I've always thought that the biggest reason for the hydraulic tensioners is to provide a safety net against tensioner failure and this is applicable in all cars, especially cars driven daily by people that might not recognize the increased noise levelof the valve train as the tensioners age. Am I wrong on this?