jdgunn

doh...

A day after I did a belt/seal job my brother stopped by with a new power steering pump mount (mine was broken.) I didn't want to pull the crank pulley again so I had to fight against the rear belt cover. There was much pulling, cussing and prying to get the mount pulled forward enough to clear the lower balance shaft. Putting it back in was equally as challenging.

After it was all together I noticed the shaft didn't spin as freely as before. I assumed it was just the new seals so I slapped the belts on and went for a spin. It shook like a <fill in the blank with something funny>.

The vibration felt like I put the balance shaft gear on upside down. This weekend I took it apart and, nope, the gear is correct and all the marks line up. The shaft still does not spin freely (feels like it is binding or has a rough spot) and there is oil coming out of the new seal.

Could I have bent the balance shaft while trying to pry the pump mount past the shaft? I didn't pull on it that hard...

PorscheDoc

Bent, probably not, though you might have damaged the bearing surface inside the cover. Also, you must carefully torque down that front housing cover, or the shaft can get bound up if the housing is slightly out of alignment and torqued down. Next time, spend the extra hour and pull the belts and belt cover

Zero10

One of two things. If the power steering mount bolts are too tight then the balance shaft will bind producing a very similar issue to what you are describing. The second possibility is that you have damaged the bearing and oil seal in the front part of the housing. Try loosening then re-torquing (to the correct torque) the bolts for the power steering mount. If this does not correct the issue you will need to remove the front housing for the balance shaft, and yes, you will need to remove the belt covers to do this properly.

jdgunn

Thanks for the advice. I took it all apart this weekend. You guys were right, of course. The shaft is binding against the mount.

Something doesn't seem right. The shaft will bind (even when the bolts are not tight) until I pull on the mount just perfectly. It took me an hour to get the bolts torqued while leaning on the mount just right to get it so the shaft would still spin. It is much better but it still does not spin freely.

Anyone have any advice?

theedge

Behind the mount is that 90 degree plate thing. You have to play with the torque of all the bolts on that too during the process. It is a horrible design yes.

FRporscheman

Balance shafts make me want to get a V8.

jdgunn

I can't believe I started this thread 2 years ago... I finally replaced the lower balance shaft today. It runs like silk so that had to be it.

A few weeks after I started this thread I decided the car ran smoother with no balance shaft belt at all (except for the 3,100 rpm buzzsaw vibration, of course) so I drove it like that for a long time. The vibrations managed to loosen my oil pan bolts (a few fell out) and pretty much every bolt that I didn't lock tight on the last engine rebuild is loose.

Now that it is running smoothly, i guess it is time for another reseal. doh!

Butters944

Doh!

Aaand during those 2 years, I became part of the porsche community.

Glad it's fixed.

FRporscheman

Glad you got it fixed! You gotta watch out for bolts loosening up - I hope nothing inside the engine came loose!