OK, much better day 2 than day 1...it felt like real progress. Next job in the sequence is water pump removal. Not to get too confident, but the long bolt through the service cover came out pretty easy, so hopefully that's a sign that the rest of my water pump bolts are not frozen. I'm not sure what to do about the tensioner idler that is on the water pump...my giant puller (see above) won't fit around it...do I just need to bite the bullet and go get a smaller puller? Probably...

Here's a few more pictures...let me know what you think of the gears, and oil leak evidence. My thoughts...crank and oil pump gears look great. PS cam gear looks mostly good, a couple tiny wear spots. DS cam gear looks a lot worse than the PS cam gear...is that normal? Lots of wear through the coating at the mid-point of the gear teeth. Is it bad enough that I need to re-coat (or purchase replacements, although I'd much rather not)? Also note the oil leak evidence. Directly under the crank gear the sludge appears the worst, but there was build-up on the top of the air pump and compressor as well. Also, evidence of oil spray on the oil filler cap and the underside of the fuel line. Roger has a shipment on the way of oil pump, crank and driven cam seals...but I would prefer to replace only if evidence exists that they're bad, otherwise I'll wait.

I did find a stray hex bolt...from what I have no clue....sitting on the ledge directly underneath the crank gear. Yikes...





Lots of sludge on top of airpump, bracket and tensioner





With air pump out of the way, significant sludge all over compressor and AC lines...keep in mind both are new and were replaced this summer! In other news...HOLY CRAP MY TENSIONER STILL HAD OIL! I was shocked. The very wet oil in that area and on the top of the oil pan directly below is from me taking that off.





Not sure if this proves anything, but significant sludge build-up, including some fairly wet still, directly below the crank (bottom left of picture) but not so much directly below the oil pump gear. Meaningful? Very sludgy through that opening where the ABS Power wire is routed...not sure where that would be coming from...





Passenger-side cam gear. Small small areas have worn through the coating.





Driver's-side cam gear...a bit more wear here than on the other side. For what it's worth, the tooth side of the timing belt looked as good as new.

One funny thing, and about the most "Jeff" problem I've had to date. I used a one-way ratcheting closed-end wrench to loosen the front compressor bolt, but I got it to the point where the wrench was trapped between the extended bolt head and the compressor wheel. And I couldn't tighten it to get it out of the way, because the wrench only ratchets one way! I let it dangle for a while, thinking eventually I'd have to remove the bolt entirely, and I have bad memories of trying to get the compressor lined up properly, but once the air pump was removed, I could easily use a different wrench to tighten the bolt and the captured wrench could be removed. Still...kinda funny...

 

+1
Would replace idlers/rollers as well.

 

feel the idler . its a non use item, and if it feels good when you spin it, leave it be.. not worth repacing.
the gears (pulleys) look fine. again, in 300k miles , you might have a wear issue. certainly will last until your last belt change. i think i have seen the most worn pulley ever seen, it was alumiunum on a euro car (not mine).. these things are steel and will not wear like that. most of the wear is caused by over tensioning. just tension it correctly and you will be fine.
replace the tensioner shoulder bolt. if that breaks or bends, you have a problem. (old ones can do this)

 

The idlers turned very smoothly, but I'm actually going with the PKTensioner. Otherwise, I'd rebuild the stock one...

 

Good choice/decision.

 

Look at the wear on the gears, divide wear by miles on them so far, and project how they will look at the next belt change. If the hard coating will be worn through by then, recoat or replace yours now.

A small puller will easily get that roller off the old pump. If the roller is worn and at all grumbly, replace with new while it's easy.

---

Some folks work on their cars with a philosophy of 'cheapest and easiest way I can get away with'. Sometimes that's needed to buy some time or money, but it can't be the long-term method if you want to have a reliable car. Generally, i project that if there was a cheaper and easier way to do it that met all the original design parameters, it would have been done that way from the factory. So when dreaming up things to 'fix' on the car, go forward rather than backwards if you possibly can. Cutting corners will quickly lead to a car that's less than what it was. There are garages and barns and treeshade and grass fields that hold the remains of too many 928's that could have really used those corners that were cut off. They sell for barely more than scrap value, and often for less.

[/soapbox mode]

 

Jeff,

Do you have a lot of time in front of you or you need to finish the job soon?

If you don't have any time frame, clean everything well.
Simple Green, water (in a spray bottle), nylon brushes and rags work well.
It will be a lot more enjoyable when you will put everything back on.

Your gears are quite good but it would be the right time now to have them recoated.
Not very expensive. About 100$.
I had mine done here in 2014:
http://finishlinecoatings.com/
Great product and service.

Change your crank and oil pump seal.

Take your time and have fun!

 

Hey Jeff, in regards to push rod on the clutch slave, I had same finding. You can skip it right now and pretend you didn't see it...but then you could suffer from TBS, "torn boot syndrome". This can happen when you know a boot is compromised, and even though the function is still fine, it eats at you knowing that there is something on the car that is not perfect...
I believe there is a rebuild kit out there or you can replace the slave. If you do, then see Stan's thread on trimming the rod on the new units.

 

I don't HAVE to finish the job soon. I WANT to do so...here in South Florida, winter is the best time to drive the car. That being said, I fixed the AC this last summer, so summer time heat does not prevent me from driving it. Also, Dr. Bob asked for me to think about when the coating would be worn through...it's not worn much, but I imagine that once it begins, it goes more quickly. I suspect it would probably be the prudent move to recoat them now. While I'm sure they could last 'til the next change...probably the smart money is on sending them out now, while I work on the crank and oil pump seals.

Everything inside me is saying "Oh that stuff is probably fine, wait until next time." That is the thing in me I'm trying to fight lol. I do think the right thing is probably to fix all of that stuff now. Gah!

 

Well if I do all this other stuff I know I should do, I'll have plenty of time to rebuild it. And I thought I'd get done over the holiday...HA HA HA :-(

 

Planning is everything, and works great so long as you have a parts reserve acount that can stand things like new gears to install while yours are recoated. My biggest fear on extending projects is that some critical tray of bits will get scattered to the four winds before I get it all back together. As it is, I can't remember half the stuff I've forgotten, and it only gets worse I hear.

My TB (or any other project really) method is to have a row of trays set up to receive removed parts and the associated fasteners in the order they come off. Clean everything, replace what needs to be replaced in the trays. Then start putting things in the trays back on the car starting at the last tray. When I run out of parts in the trays, I'm done. If I get interrupted for some reason (like getting parts repaired or replaced), I can pick up the process right where I left off. Works so long as none of the trays gets moved or the contents scattered. All but the tool trays and the immediate-parts tray have snap-on lids. I could number them I guess.

 

This would have bben a great approach...wish I had taken it!

 

Absolutely on the money (wouldn't have expected anything else) dr bob.

The pre planning and arranging of hardware is a big part of the job before even the ground strap gets detached. I go to my local JC Pennys and get about a dozed sweater boxes. Various things get placed in each box that I need for each phase (i.e. replacement hardware, various Loctites/Permatexes, small torch, specialized tools, electrical connectors, etc.). They get stacked and brought in to the fight when needed. The empty boxes are for the removal. I go over what comes out and goes in like in I do in the sterile field. No surprises here - the only ones would be something like a frozen bolt, but I have those tools aside and at hand to make quick work of this surprise. As I move around and trade to the next box I have time to stretch, have a new cup of coffee and settle in to the next thing. I don't get stuck anymore, and really have fun with it doing big jobs that I am familiar with. When getting into a new big job I do have to take pauses, but the pre planning and organization really helps keep it moving forward. I work at a slow deliberate pace for it is my pastime and I enjoy a job well done.

 

What dr bob and MainPorsche said.

Planning and organization is especially important when you do something for the first time.

Also, take A LOT of photos. You will never take too many!

I can understand that you want to drive your car as soon as possible but
take your time (do some research, ask questions), have fun and everything will be fine.

It will be more rewarding at the end to know that the job is well done.
You and your car will be happier!

 

I've sort of "standardized" on a flavor of Sterilite storage bins I can get at Wal-Mart or Big Lots (or Target or Fred Meyer or...). They are about 16" long, 8" wide, and come in a couple handy heights. They nest for storage, and have snap on lids that allow for stacking.

For the "working" stuff at the car, I use a few Rubbermaid dishpans similar to what you put your shoes in at the airport screening. If the work is in the engine bay as for a timing belt, one of those goes up on he intake with a towel under it if I --have-- to have it that close to recive removed parts. Otherwise, it sits on a table next to the car. At no time are tools or parts set down on the car anywhere, even with service covers and towels protecting the paintwork.

Tool management: Two of those dishpans are placed strategically on the worktable next to the car. Clean tools in one, 'used' tools in the other. I don't like working with dirty tools, so they tend to get wiped clean after each duty if they somehow get dirty. Periodically, they are all cleaned again as needed. Except for ratcheting tools, they all get washed and thoroughly dried. Ratcheting tools need a little more care to maintain the grease in the ratcheting mechanism, so they usually get cleaned with Windex spray.

If a tool or part is dropped while working, it needs to be recovered immediately and put in its appropriate place either bin or car.


On a longer side table, parts get moved from the working dishpan to one of the bins during disassembly, the bins then lined up in order as they are filled.


Cleaning: I try to keep the engine bay pretty clean, but I do drive the car so there may be places where dirt has gathered. The TB/WP project includes fluids that are normally contained in normal use though. So oil from the tensioner, small pockets of coolant, and some dribbles from the oil and transmission cooler lines and coolers themselves will inevitably "fall out" during disassembly. Coolant issues can be largely mitigated by draining the block via the galley drains, then draining and removing the radiator. Then cleaning again.

For parts coming off the car and into the bins, everything except the alternator can go into detergent and water. Fasteners too. If there are fasteners that are more than casually cleanable, I have a plastic coffee jar, the one with the screw-on lid and a handle. It gets a few inches of odorless mineral spirits in the bottom. Fasteners go in there, lid goes on, shaken not stirred, until everything inside is clean. Use a magnet to recover the fasteners. Wash them in detergent and water to remove any traces of the mineral spirits (OK to use another coffee jar...), dry them and put them back in the bin they came from. An ultrasonic bath is good for fasteners that don't respond adequately to the coffee jar treatment.

Larger parts are cleaned in a dishpan sitting in the utility sink. Larger than that gets cleaned as needed.

I only put clean parts back on the car. Dirty parts never go back on the car.


Cleaning the front of the engine after parts removal is done using the same techniques and cleaners used prior to project start. Use a detergent spray that's only strong enough to get the job done. Nothing caustic or alkaline gets used on anything aluminum, so no Purple Power or similar degreasers ever get near the car. No low-boiling solvents (read: Brake Cleaner, acetone, MEK, etc.) get near anything plastic or rubber. Rinse with a low-pressure spray from the garden hose. Avoid spraying the alternator and and any electrical connectors. Otherwise, go to town and make everything clean enough to put your sandwich down. Then clean the floor, put the work mat back, and start the assembly process.