Cam housing removal procedure?
 

Hi all,

I have an '82 928 (I believe it is 16 valve), I thought I was removing just the valve cover, (to repair an oil leak), but when I got all the fasteners removed, I realized that it is a "Cam Housing", now it is just held on by the timing belt/cam gear! (See attached photos).

Anyone know what I should do next? I am concerned about interrupting the cam timing, etc..

Any knowledge you may be able to share would be greatly appreciated, I cannot find the camshaft removal and replacement procedure even in the factory shop manual or anywhere online so far...


Thanks from Tom!

that 16v is a non-interference engine, just take it apart.
when you go to reassemble it place the #1 Cyl at TDC (this should also be indicated on the harmonic balancer 0 deg TDC)) then align the cam gears to the timing marks and re fit the belt and set the belt tension.

The above in a brief description, please read the service manuals or do a search for a DYI on it.

depending on how old the timing belt is, you might want to change it. but if not, just loosen the timing belt tensioner so you can get the belt off the pulley.... you were only doing one side? if you keep tension on it with a bungie cord, you might be alble to keep It from coming off the other side. (hook the belt off the pully and attach the bungie cord some place out of the way.
the cam housing should come off now. replace the gasket. however, if the gasket is baked on the head side, you need to clean that real good, and that's a big pain. hopefully the gasket stays on the cam housing side.

edit: never mind about keeping tension you are pulling off the Disty side, so you are going to need to align and time the engine when you put the belt back on. put the engine at TDC and take off the disty cap so you can keep the plug wires attached.. still keep the tension on the belt when its removed and it might not come off the passenger side which might make it fairly easy to get the timing right when you reassemble.

doesn't look like you are at TDC. the marks have to line up at the cam housings. (the notch on the cam gear meets that little pointer near the disti area ) you are going to need to remove the other cam belt cover and timing it all out. get the crank to TDC . cant do that now with the cam towers ajar, so wait until you bolt it all back together you might get lucky and use your magic marker alignments of the belt and cam pulley, but that's if the other side doesn't slip or move. it probably will. all jobs involving cams should have the crank at TDC!!! your ok, it should be easy to time it out.

If you slip off the belt and put it back there's too much of a chance that it'll shift a tooth on other sprockets.

Put a couple of bolts back to hold it and then find the timing belt replacement procedure. Get the manuals, too. Those are available on-line as pdf if you search including through bi ttorr ent.

I don't think it will shift off the crank sprocket , but even if it does, he will be looking at timing it again by first aligning the driver side sprocket to the mark, then working on the passenger side .
I think finishing the job by loosening the belt and then pulling it off is the best way, unless he wants to change the belt. if so , a lot more little things to do to get the covers off, etc. at this point, I might just bolt it back together and live with the leak. :)

Guys,

Thank you so much! I thought I was in really deep fecal matter here.. I do have what looks like the original shop manual, but I guess they assume a Porshe mechanic already knows this procedure..

I did not start at TDC because I thought I was just removing a cover, that'll teach me to assume!

When I re-fasten a couple bolts to allow me to move the belt and get to TDC, do I just push the housing against the head to compress the valve springs? I can't imagine a special tool for this, but I am a rookie..

Thanks again, you guys are awesome!

I will probably have some more questions when I dive back in, I really owe you guys one!

Tom

that's exactly what you are doing.. compressiong the few valve springs that have the cam engaged with the furthest valve depression. you cant push on it and do anything. the bolts clamp the housing down and compress the springs..

don't worry, what you are doing is pretty simple. pull the belt off the cam in question, if you are wanting to replace that gasket..... because it is not at TDC, you will probably have to time the set up again. you might get lucky if nothing moves on the other side, but that's a chance. the driver side sets the fixed tension and then the variable side is on the passenger side.
either way, put it back as close as you can and after both sides are on again, rotate the engine and cams to TDC. then, check. worst case you might have to move things around a few teeth here and there .