po9rs4ch4e

I just pulled my camshaft chain tensioner off of my '91 S2 and bought new pads just because the bottom one was a little bad but the whole thing including the chain and inside looks very very clean and well maintained. My questions are
- do i have to buy new washers and bolts because mine dont look bad?
- do i also need a new cam cover gasket?
- should i replace the j-tube?
- should i replace the chain now or just wait till i get the waterpump and timing belt done?
- and how much should i torque the belts, 6 or 7 ftlbs?

And if theres anyway for me to check any of this let me know because to me it looks good but im deffinitley no expert

thanks for any help!

gtroth

Search around on this site - lots of discsussion on this topic.
To start you off-
-New crush washer - yes. Careful you don't drop them - stuff paper towels everywhere you don't want them to go.
-I would replace all the seals (gasket, 4 rings around the spark plugs, and 13 grommets for the cover bolts
-I did not replace the j-tube
-I did not replace the chain, but probably will next time I service the tensioner (first time was at ~80K, and at ~160K now).
-torque - I don't want to guess - if no one chimes in I'll dig it out of the FSM for you...

Good luck!

krazykarl

it's 7.5 ft-lbs for the tensioner and valve cover bolts

colin944

always a new chain.For all it costs you might as well while you are in there.I always replace gaskets and seals at the same time. cant help you with torque settings as we work on kg mtrs.

Luis de Prat

Disagree. There was an extremely thorough article published by 911 & Porsche World back in 1999 on this subject and it reported that replacing the cam chain increased the rate of wear of the built in cam sprockets, which can necessitate replacing the cams ($$$).

I'd leave the chain alone until you reach the recommended replacement interval, which is probably a lot farther down the road in your car's life.

Bill

Luis, what is the recommended replacement interval (mileage) for the cam chain? I am in the process of removing my head, getting a valve job, surface, and replace the tensioner. A new chain is only $35.00 us. My S2 cab has 91,000 on the clock.

Eric_Oz_S2

The only way a new chain may increase wear is if the old chain was so bad that it wore the cam sprockets. You may argue that a new chain then would cause further wear due to the change in pitch between links. However if the chain is that worn then it should be replaced anyway, right?

An analogy is a chain on a bike. Most cyclist change these every 2000 km or less to prevent wearing the cassette. A worn chain accelerates wear on the cassette teeth. Cheaper to change the chain then the cassette.

Chains should be replaced every 80,000km.

In my case a worn chain destroyed the cam teeth.

colin944

yes I remember reading that article.but they also stated the piont made by Eric and changed the chain as a "precaution" to prevent further wear on the cam teeth.

Bill

Thanks guys, that's the way I see it. I will replace the cam chain along with the tensioner and valve job.