Podguy

As you can see in the picture above the early S3 motors had a stand off and a bolt. The idea here is for the distance to determine the proper tension on the cam cover gasket and not the torque. Sadly the standoffs sometimes begin to untread for just a bit. Then they lock up and break. If you are going to stay with the old method then use anti seize on the bolts so they will come out before stand off.

The alternative is to get a set of bolts from a S4. Remove the stand offs and use the S4 bolts. The S4 bolts have a ridge that determines the depth. In taking out the stand offs you should use Kano or some good penetrant and perhaps some heat. Be ready to drill a couple.

Good luck.

BC

Strange how that document states the cutoff in the G engines, yet I have an 81F that had the newer version and a G that had the standoffs.

Porsche, translated from German, means "Use whatever parts you find by your workstation"

Podguy

There is always a chance of people messing with things after the car left the factory.

Mike Frye

True, but I've also read that the parts were often just put in a bin near the assembler and whatever was closest got used. I doubt they would mix and match, but I get the impression that they just switched parts during assembly one day and then afterward kind of noted when it took affect. -All part of the deal for a hand assembled car, right?

GregBBRD

Only need to get out the Loctited stock spacers. No other modification required.

The '86 updated pieces have been NLA, for years. Hard to even find used ones. They are different than the bolts used in the '87 and later cam covers and do not interchange....although the "short" bolts are very close to the same.

JHowell37

You've owned yours for about the same time that I've owned mined. You've spent your fair share of time turning wrenches on it. Tell me you don't get a good laugh when you hear someone espousing the virtues of "hand built quality."

vetter59

I just recently had this same problem, luckily the one that broke was in the center row,of the right side cylinder head, and I was able to get a angle drill started in the center of the broken stud, then use a 6mm heli coil to repair. Roger at 928'rus was a big help -he sold me one new style S4 type with the allen head, new stainless steel dome type washers with rubber that do not re-loosen like the old ones do.
One other thing to reccomend, is try to find newly manufactured valve cover gaskets. The first pair I installed 6 months ago were new old stock , the ended up splitting and cracking. They where bought locally from a foriegn car supplier, and where on the shelf for years.

BC

Cool. Thanks. What I have right now is about two sets of those, but will only be left with one until another engine comes. I think I have two sets ofthe "S4" type that the texas guy "Daniel" made a while back. Of course, we can't use those, really, on the S3 engines. And I wouldn't want to waste those anyway. I actually have a third set of "real" S4 ones that I have had chromed. They look spectacular.... in the box.

Podguy

I am confused on the S4 upgrade of S3 cam cover bolts. I had no problem what so ever using S4 bolts on my S3 85 motor.

As far as stand offs they can be reused when they break. Smooth off any rough parts from the broken bolt. Then drill the entire spacer with the correct drill for a 6 mm tap. A drill press helps here. Thread the entire spacer. Thread in a bolt with some red loctite. Cut off the bolt head to the correct length. Putting nut on the bolt first helps restore the theard.

I restored a couple this way.

Ducman82

so what is needed being that the "update" parts are NLA?

Ducman82

Anyone have pics/measurements of the S4 bolts handy?

JayPoorJay

Have to revive this thread (don't ask) but how prone are covers to oil leaking if a bottom bolt shears and others are intact? 100% chance?

dr bob

Besides losing the tension on that particular section of the cover, you'll have a hole where the bolt passes through the cover, where said bolt normally maintains pressure on the rubber seal.

To say that the system is torque-sensitive is an understatement. Regardless of bolts used, the max torque that should be applied is around 6 lbs/ft. Requires the use of a 1/4"-drive torque wrench or "torque driver", set to limit at less than 48 lbs/inch. Relating to Stan's guidance in post 2 above, that's two very gentle fingers on the Allen wrench.

The sealing is all managed by the cam cover "gasket", a close to round cross-section seal that indexes in a groove in the cover. The compression on that gasket is complete as soon as the bolts are drawn snug. Increased torque on the bolts beyond guidance does not increase compression on the gasket, but does stretch the bolts towards or past failure. If you see a little seepage from the gasket, waste no time or effort tightening the bolts more. Instead, --loosen-- and remove all of them, remove the old gasket, clean the groove in the cover, and correctly replace the cover and gasket. A thin film of your favorite non-hardening sealer on the gasket is appropriate, as is the two dabs of silicone gasket maker as called out in the WSM instruction. I like Hylomar for the non-hardening sealer, while others recommend Hondabond or the WSM-recommended Dreibond sealants. Any will get this job done.

There's a TSB that recommends adding thin washers to all the cam cover bolts to add a little to the compression on the gasket. Prior recommendation was to use these washers only on the lower bolt locations. Our Favorite 928 Parts Vendors have these recommended washers available.

Lesson: Regardless of how tempting it might be to just snug the bolts a tad to try and stop the seepage, you must resist. If you can't help yourself, at least pull out your trusty tiny torque limiter and use it to stay south of 6 lbs/ft or 48 lbs/inch. Stop when it clicks. Stop when it clicks. Stop when it clicks.

davek9

Two things I'd like to add/point out for successful sealing, one is to work your way from the center out to the edges (like you would for a head gasket) and the S4 Cam cover bolts and washers can be used on an S3.
Once you tighten all bolts from the center out, go back and redo a second time

Dave K

dr bob

By "redo a second time", you are loosening than re-torquing the bolt to 48 lbs/inch, just barely north of finger-tight. With an actual torque-limiting tool. Right?