dillon410021

I am asking if anyone knows how to adjust the cam gear to the right location on a 944S. On the gear, there is room to adjust it and I would like to know if mine is adjusted correctly. When I did the timing belts, I lost the position of where it was which can cause the motor to not run as good as it can. This adjustment also throws the ignition rotor adjustment off. I was looking in the service manuals and they used a dial gauge but I don't have one of those. How can I get mine to the correct adjustment?

http://www.mikepellegrini.com/Porsch...16%20Valve.pdf

page 64 shows some steps.

thanks

pjburges

You absolutely need a dial indicator on the lifter, and in my opinion a cheap degree wheel on the crank. Find TDC (EXACT TDC) using the degree wheel and go from there. Make an excel spreadsheet of crank rotation vs valve opening / closing events. This will give you the most accurate way of setting the cams (you find TDC more accurately like this than with factory method). If you go the factory route - be patient, use good indicators and mounts, and DOUBLE CHECK your work.

I've done this job 6 times now and from experience you're gonna have to bite the bullet and do this, and the first time around its a hair pulling experience. Read the manual and then re-read it. The devil is in the details of how they wrote that procedure.


I tested the limit of the adjustment on the timing pulley in both directions and it did not produce interference on my engine. But, your mileage might vary!!! You can start it up cams out of time most likely. You can keep adjusting the pulley until you like how the powerband feels. Thats the shadetree way to do it, but you may spend more time driving and adjusting then just getting a cheap JEGS degree wheel and a decent dial indicator (you will have to fab a stand IMO) and doing the job right.

Let me know if I can help!

dillon410021

can you send me a picture of where young have the three rotor bolts located in relation to the cam gear slits.
Thanks

pjburges

I could - but my S is using solid lifters and that's changed the cam timing so its not going to sit where yours is. On top of that, every motor is different in regards to the timing, as a milled head or manufacturing tolerance drift change the distance from the cam to the crank, and hence the timing of the cam gear.

If this is your daily driver and you are in a bind and need to get it going just set it in the middle of the range and go. It will run, just not with max power. You can easily get the cam cover off and go back and re time it later!

dillon410021

Its not my DD, but I was just looking to see if it was correct as the car has been to shops over the years and I am not sure if they did it correctly. I was just curious.
thanks

pjburges

Only way to be sure is to measure your individual car. If you've had the head pulled and milled flat your timing gear will need to be adjusted to compensate. You can't just put it on the old marks if you want to have the factory cam timing.

Retarded cam timing gives delayed torque curve but improves performance at high RPMs and advanced timing gives good low RPM torque response but doesn't breath well at high RPMs.

supernouht

The 8v 944 didn't have this adjustment on the cam wheel and it wasn't a problem.
However sometimes when you line everything up on the 8v, the alignment mark on the cam would just be a little off. Soooo they gave us a fine adjuster on the 16v. There's nothing complicated about it, and you don't need special tools (unless I've totally missed something).

So here's what you do: Line up the crank and the cam to TDC. Pull the #1 spark plug and drop something long and skinny into the plug hole (I use a telescoping magnetic pickup tool). Now grab the crank pulley (or use a socket) and move the crank right and left and watch as whatever you have sitting in the plug hole rises and falls, so when it's at it's highest point, then you have your true TDC! ( move it back and forth a few times, the movement kinda slows down at the very top so you gotta look carefully and make sure you get it right)

Now put the timing belt on and all that good stuff, and simply adjust the cam wheel 'till the cam alignment mark is dead-on!

Did this with mine and it runs smoother than ever!

KevinGross

Really, the only way to adjust the S and S2 properly is with a pair of dial indicators as described in the factory book: one on the crown of the #1 piston to find TDC, the second on the intake lifter. The only place I disagree with the factory procedure is that the math they suggest doesn't work, and getting the right number is a trial-and-error procedure: set it somewhere, turn the engine, see what the lift is, readjust if necessary to get more or less at TDC, repeat.

Kevin
Catellus Engineering