davek9

I've replaced badly worn pads on S4's with only 85k miles on them so they do need to be checked when doing a Top End refresh! Not sure if it's the Heat, Oil type or driving style, but some show little ware and others are badly groved.

It's a fact that the early style chain tensioner have issues, there is a TSB on them, a small disk inside can bind up causing them to stick and even loss of oil pressure for the Tappets causing them to clack.

I replace all '85 and early '86 with S4 tensioners and new S4 pads, the oil feed pipe are NLA so just Reform the ones for the S4.
5-8 is the easy pipe to do requires a small mod, however 1-4 takes a bit of twisting to get the banjos to line up, I first used to heat the pipe, but I don't now.
I use a bolt w/ a shank (no threads at banjo) and some used aluminum sealing washers, nut it up secure and use the bolt for twisting and reforming, 1-4 takes a bit or back and forth, make sure it all lines up square w/no pressure when installed.

You will need all the mounting bolts and Banjo bolts too as the stock old ones differ from the S4's!
I've posted on this before w/ Pic's too

Really sorry to here this Chris, IIRC didn't this happen to you once before?

If you need anything, send me a text or PM.

Dave

SeanR

It's a hell of a lot easier to just not work on '85 and early '86 cars.

Landseer

Thanks Dave!! Sounds like a several of us need the guidance.

This is the same engine, happened 3 years ago, I've not touched it since.
Not looking to repair it, have to move in about 30 days towards DC, will probably take the block and the body to the local metal salvage. Have a couple of 84 gearboxes, too.


I had the brown car opened up simply for cam cover gaskets, and knew there were some fresh-enough seals in the 85 covers to harvest, that's another reason why I started drilling into the 85 block.

davek9

If you say so, it's not IMHO, Hall, Knock and hidden ISV not to mention the S4 Fan shroud !
LOL
But they are all easy to work on when they are on a Engine stand

Right Sean

Dave

Mongo

I hate to say it but if mine ever succumbs to a chain tensioner failure, or thrust bearing failure, one of those LS2 crate engines will find its way under my hood with 470HP to boot. Worrying about failures such as those takes the fun away from ownership, especially my damn Fuse 24 issue.

davek9

Then why not just buy a vett?
That's like putting Chevy eng in a Ford, it's too easy, and is it still a Porsche, in my opinion no, it is not the same when you open the hood at a C&C.
Want cheep power add 150 shot of n2o 😎

The Forgotten On

If I was going to swap an engine it would be a Ford Coyote engine for obvious similarities to the original S4 engine.

Either way, doing this while doing a top end refresh and timing belt job wouldn't bee too bad.

May as well do the head gaskets and have the heads rebuilt with new valve seals as well as you are done with 90% of the work to get at them.

bureau13

So people keep saying the early '86s, when talking about NLA S3 chain tensioner bits....is that yet another subtle difference in the '86.5? Or was this a random cutoff at some other VIN point?

I ask, because my '86.5 apparently has old style brackets to hold the ABS and pad wear sensor wire connectors in the front wheel wells, which I gather is unexpected...

davek9

I've found and as Greg B has noted, if the engine has the newer style cam cover Hex head bolts than its a good chance it has the newer S4 chain tensioners, however many years have gone by for these cars and someone doing a cam cover reseal could have simply updated the cover bolts and not done the tensioners.

I don't have the Vin info your are asking about but would like to know also when they started replacing the tensioners on the assembly line.

These engines hold up very well considering the age, they just need the maintenance keep up and ware items replaced like any other machine

Dave

Hilton

Yep, the engine's aren't magic. They do spend most of their running hours at low rpm's, so the blocks, rings, bearings etc. are all generally not stressed compared to say a 4-banger ford, and this we're not seeing many off-track failures of the metal bits.. yet.

Plastic, rubber etc. goes brittle and hard with time/heat and needs to be replaced, which many of us are done with. That means bushes, hoses, mounts, slides, etc.

The engine internals will need to be replaced as well, so if you're a long-term owner and are planning ahead, buy yourself a set of correct oversize pistons, rings, bearings etc. as by the time you need to replace them, they'll either be NLA, or astronomically expensive.