FlyingDog

I had them stacked in 5s like the manual says. If I had just randomly made the stacks of 5 it would have looked strange.

Bad visual representation:
<(<<()>))>(<<((>)>)>
vs
<<<(()))>><<((())>>>

Most have 35 washers IIRC.

Bill Ball

Yeah, the manual shows the stacking. The tensioner design, including the stack count, changed in 83 from 8 sets of 5 to 7 sets.

Matt, I don't get your diagram. The 7 set arrangement is alternating 5 washer packs:

/////\\\\\/////\\\\\/////\\\\\///// [Valve holder]
\\\\\/////\\\\\/////\\\\\/////\\\\\ [Correction - Piston]

FlyingDog

I was just trying to explain how I oriented the washers that were bent more or less concave. < = normally bent. ( = flatter. I just made 4 stacks of 5 instead of all 7 stacks.

Your drawing is backwards. Per page 15-24, the piston should be at the end you have marked for the valve holder.

Here is the piston ready for reassembly.

Jim_H

I get it now.

Gotta admit, that's some nice artwork by Bill

Doug Hillary

Hi,
it could be that some of the corrosion is caused by using EP gear lubricants with a high sulphur content. These were very common until a few years ago and are still marketed. This type of corrosion is not uncommon in certain applications using such lubricants and depends on the metallurgy involved

A Porsche Technical Bulletin (1524/8610) dated March 14 1986 states "top up with fresh engine oil"

The oil in the engine is a good statring point - I use a synthetic 15w-50
Engine oils are not prone to causing corrosion and synthetics are better at preventing it - and they will probably interact with the bi-metallic washers best

Just my 2 cents worth

Regards to all for 2006
Doug

heinrich

Uh-oh Doug what does that say for our gearboxes ... are they rusting as we speak?

Doug Hillary

Hi Heinrich,
all the best for the New Year - is it cold in Seattle?. We are in the midst of a prolonged heat wave here and I drove 700miles in one day last week - at one "leg" the temps were between 100-110 for around 6 hours

No need for a cold shower - there is no risk of corrosion in our manual gearboxes or differentials(autos) if the correct viscosity GL5 Quality Rated lubricant is used

Many other vehicles use ATF, GL1 or GL4 gear lubricants in their transaxles or final drives and etc.
If an "old" style GL5 gear lubricant is used in these applications serious metallurgy reactions can and often does occur

Many new synthetic gear lubricants are Quality Rated as GL4/GL5 - these use very sophisticated formulations and have very little or no sulphur content

Regards
Doug

Bill Ball

OK, Matt, sorry I missed that. Weird that the new and old disks are so different. I would be tempted to mate all the similar washers rather than mix them. Thanks for noting the error in my drawing. I'll edit that.

FlyingDog

I tried to mix them so that I knew I had at least one good washer in each stack.

Schocki

Just to give you guys my tensioner experience.
Rebuilt one year ago and no leaks. About 2 months ago after I replaced my oil pan gasket.
All of a sudden it leaked out of the tensioner bolt in the rear of the housing. Took the bolt out cleaned it all and applied non-hardening sealant (Permatex #1), filled it up with gear oil and the leak stopped. Didn't drive the car too much the last 4 weeks and after driving it yesterday it started to leak again. But this time out of the boot (most likely). The warm temperatures in TX combined with highway driving and the leak came back.
I think when the oil warms up, the pressure inside the tensioner increases and the oil finds the way with the smallest resistance out. In my case bolt first than the boot.

Here is my attempted fix which worked so far, no leak
After a longer drive on the highway, I opened the upper tensioner bleeder. Wear gloves because the oil is very hot and comes out with a short but strong stream. This allows for an increased "expansion chamber" and still leaves enough oil inside for lubrication and heat transfer.
This fixed it so far just wanted to share my experience.

Bill Ball

Schocki:

A more likely explanation for a stream of hot oil shooting out is expansion of trapped air. I never felt I mastered the technique Porsche describes for filling the 83+ tensioner, given in the MY 83 service technique bulletin. It calls for pumping the tensioner while filling, best done with the engine "tilted" so the tensioner body is horizontal. Now, there's a trick. I guess real men pull the motor to do a tensioner rebuild.

heinrich

Bill what works fine for me is forcing oil through and allowing it to spill out of the exit bleed hole, then tightening after i see no more air bubbles.

Bill Ball

H'man:

Apparently that is not adequate. Porsche indicates you may have trapped air. I've done just what you describe and it is remarkable how little oil it takes to "fill" the tenioner. I've always suspected it is not in fact filled. I've tried pumping the tensioner, as mentioned in the 83 bulletin, but I've never quite figured out how to do it effectively with the motor in the car.

heinrich

Honestly Bill, I am everytime AMAZED that the thing takes so much!!! It seems to take more than its total volume ... very deceptive. It may be because i fill the thing only after installing it. i NEVER add oil before installing. I think that activity is what causes leaks with contaminated seals.

FlyingDog

I lubed the internals when assembling, but did not fill it until it was installed.