John 944S2

I have seen much discussion on this part and the fact in can be bought from Zimms for about $25.

FWIW, I have just bought it from an Official Porsche Centre (OPC)here in the UK for £2($3).

The part number is 928.105.509.01.

If people require this part they may want to consider their nearest OPC as an option.

A good saving but unfortunately I needed 4 new short cam cover bolts which were partly stripped in the removal process (about $45).

Cheers

John

Michael Stephenson

Doh!! I resemble that description

Notice that this is a 928 part number. I wonder if it is any cheaper if you ask for it by part number instead of by application (944S2)?

John 944S2

Mike,

I asked for this part by description and it is what they gave me. It is also the number stamped on the plastic ramp I took off my car.

However, I need not have botthered. After 80K miles it had only worn less than 1/2mm and it was the original piece.

This makes me wonder why some cars have such extensive wear. Regular oil changes maybe ?

rpm's S2

I have been wrestling with this question. My S2 has 120k and is running great. I guess I need to pull the valve cover and check the tensioner just to be on the safe side. Does that seem like the right idea?

Michael Stephenson

Here are some pictures of mine when I replaced it at about 75,000. Notice the color difference between the old and new pads:

Original Top Pad:


Bottom Pad (still on car):


Old and new top pads:

rpm's S2

Michael-
Feel like a trip to Raleigh?

Michael Stephenson

I would love to make the trip, but my car is on jackstands for the next few weeks (A-arm surgery). I was told that having a car in the driveway on jackstands makes me a true southern redneck.

Anyway, it is not that hard a job to do, takes about two hours after you gather all of the tools and parts. There was a great website that had the procedure, but it has been down for awhile. I copied this off on of the E-mail posts long ago and saved it as a text document. This was written by Raphael Avila (riff77@pipeline.com) Hope it helps:

“First off sorry for the length of this post. This is of primary concern to
my 16V bretheren out in cyber land. Seeing all the traffic about chain
tensioners and class action law suits reminded me that I never posted to the
list about replacing the durn'd thing recently. Those of you who I have
conversed with know that I am a mechanical amature, though actively seeking
out projects to rid myself of amature status. Anyway, even a greenhorn like
myself was able to replace the tensioner with no ill effects or terribly
soiled clothing. I didn't even have the factory manuals, only the torque
specs for the bolts and the pattern of application. All it took were some
common tools (nothing exotic like the timing belt tensioning tool) patience,
and care. Please read through the instructions before beginning this task.

I did the procedure 2 weeks ago so the process is still clear in my mind,
here goes....

Parts needed:

New cam chain tensioner price $244.00 US
New oil feed tube $12.00
4 crush rings for tube $.50 per ring

Tools needed:

Torque/Socket wrench and assorted sockets as well as a 6mm and 8mm hex
driver sockets.

Silicone sealant

One fairly large dia. wire paper clip.

Steps:

1. Wait til engine is cool enough to work on and disconnect the neg.
terminal on the battery. Better safe than sorry.

2. Remove spark plug wires from plugs. It is not necessary to remove the
plug themselves.

3. Begin to remove cam cover with 6mm hex bolt socket. On the S2 there are
13 of these to remove, I'm not positive if this is the same number on the S
models. The order of removal doesn't matter, but leave the bolts in their
respective hole as there are 2 different length bolts and you do not want to
confuse their location. After you have the cover off, the bolt length and
it's location will become obvious.

4. When all bolts are loosened, carefully remove the cam cover. Make sure
that the gasket on the perimeter of the cover stays on the cover during
removal, this will make replacement easier. With the cover removed there
should be 4 gasket rings that seal off the spark plug wells. If they are
still attached to the engine, remove and place in proper location in cam cover.

5. Locate the chain tensioner. It resides in between the #2 and #3
cylinder, right in the middle of the head. You'll see that it is only
attached by 2 6mm hex bolts and the oil feed tube. The oil feed tube is
attached by 2 8mm hex bolts.

6. Remove the oil tube. Undo the retating bolts and put them aside, they
will be reused. Take care not to loose the old crush rings, gather these
and throw them away.

7. Now you need the large dia. wire paper clip. Take this paper clip,
unbend it and form it into a U shape. It will be used to hold the tensioner
in a compressed postion during removal and re-installation. If you look at
the replacement tensioner, you will see 2 holes on the metal flange where
you can insert this device, this will indicate where to find the holes on
the tensioner on the car. (I personally did not do this and it made removal
and installation a little bit trickier.) Press down on the tensioner
through an open area in the chain ( used a flat head screwdriver) until you
can place in the improvised retainer. This will require a little bit of
force, but don't worry, you're getting rid of the old tensioner anyway.

8. Once the U clip is inserted, undo the 2 6mm hex bolts which locate the
tensioner. It should now come out quite easily. Remove the U clip and
insert it into the new tensioner and as a wise man once said "installation
is the reverse of removal"

9. When re-installing the cam cover, the proper pattern of torquing the
cover in place is to start in the center of the engine and work a criss-cross
pattern to the outermost bolts of the cam cover.

10. Replace plug wires, attach neg lead to battery and you're ready to go.

Caveats

1. When re-installing the tensioner, oil feed tube, and valve cover, torque
all bolts to specified rating which is 6 ft-lbs for all 6mm bolts and 8
ft-lbs for all 8mm bolts.

2. After installing the tensioner, take some oil from the head and place it
on the rubbing surfaces of the chain/tensioner interface. Failure to do
so won't cause any permanent harm but will result in a really loud SQUEEEKK
which lasts 2 seconds on start up and makes you think you did some thing
wrong while the oil reaches the surfaces.

3. On re-installation of the cam cover, a VERY THIN film of silicone on the
plug gaskets, bolt gaskets, and where the cam cover gasket steps up
dramatically will prevent any unwanted oil leeks.

There you have it, the complete procedure from start to finish. Total
elapsed time for the job should be 1.5 hours, thats what it took me and I
went REALLY SLOW.
I didn't replace the cam chain at this time because I didn't think it was
necessary do to tensioner being the wear item in the setup.

I bought my parts at the prices above from Carlsen in CA, ask for Didi.
They advertise in Pano and Excellence and provided the parts with no fuss at
a great price. I'm not affiliated with them in any way, just a very
satisfied customer

Hope this sheds the light on the job, and ends some of the paranoia/dread
that us 16V'ers have been enduring.”

rpm's S2

Thanks Michael,
The invitation stands. I have never even seen another S2 in the Triangle - though I assume there are a few more. My mechanic is one of the best in the area and mine is the only S2 he works on. I just did not want to pay him to do this replacement, since it seems to be in my league as far as garage repairs goes.
Ralph