I am in the middle of a RMS and clutch job. I decided to replace the IMS cover/seal as well since it was showing signs of leaking. I took the cover off and it surprised me that the bearing did not seem to be centered in the hole. I tried to install the new cover but it was not possible becasue it will not fit, due to the bolt not being centered (pls, see pic).
I tried to push the bolt (and the whole bearing) so it will go to the center, and then the bolt got loose and the fall to the inside of the engine. it did not fall completely, but it is loose>

So, how much of a screw up is this? Why is the bearing not centered? How do I fit the bolt back in the middle of the bearing?


thanks in advacne for your help

 

Take out the tensioners, 3, that tension the chains to the cams and the crankshaft. Two are easy to be at, the one for the drivers side 1-3 cylinder cams is on the bottom of that head toward the front of the engine, the one for the IMS to Crankshaft chain is on the passenger side of the engine, on the side, not too hard to get at. These are the two that put pressure/tension on the chains at the flywheel side.The one for the passenger side 4-6 cylinder cams is alot harder to get at. It is on the top of the engine, cylinder head on the passenger side at the rear of the engine. To get at it you are going to have to remove the airbox, serpentinve belt and AC compressor. Then the hoses for the powersteering pump are partially in the way. You will have to remove the bolt in one of the brackets for these hoses to get a socket in to the area of the tensioner. However you might get away with not taking this one out as it is at the other endo the the IMS.


Remember that each tensioner is specific to its location so you cna't interchange them. The first two will come all the way out. The last one only has to be loosened so it comes out of the threads and takes all pressure off the chain. They take some pressure to get them back in far enough to engage the threads. For the first two you just have to push on the socket/wrench hard enough to engage the threads, carelful you don't want to misthread them in the aluminun cases. For the last one the trick I use is to put something in the socket so the tensioner can't slide all the way back into the socket. I used a axle spacer from a harley.

 

Dharn55 is correct. It looks like you have the chain tensioners still installed, they are the reason why your bearing is not centered. With all three tensioners removed the IMS bearing will flop around loosely. That being said, I leave the tensioner for bank 2 installed when I'm doing this job. Removing the bank 2 tensioner is a real pain due to the A/C compressor and the P/S hard lines. With only the primary tensioner and the bank 1 tensioner removed, you'll have enough play to install the new seal with relative ease.

HOWEVER THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Before you run and take out the chain tensioners make sure you have the bank 1 cams on overlap and you have the crankshaft pinned. If you don't do this before you start pulling tensioners you run a huge risk of the engine jumping out of time. Without the tension of the chains holding the cams, the valve springs may cause the cams to turn in any direction if the tension is released.

Tread carefully.

 

I thought that having the crank cly 1 on TDC was all that was required to change at least that's how I did mine.

 

wow guys, I didnt understand any of that... is the OP just as confused???

 

OK, I removed the tensioners and installed the nev IMS cover, but I did not read this post until now...so how can i check if the timing was changed, because of not having the crankshaft pinned?

thanks for all te inputs.

 

The only way the cam timing could have changed is if any of the chains jumped a tooth. Not likely, but possible. The only way to check the timing is to pull out the green cap on the chain side of each intake cam, and the greencap on the exhaust cam on the other end (where there are two caps). Then with the engine set to TDC, and on bank 1-2 the groove toward the outside on the intake cam, the grooves on the 1-3 exahust cam should be straight up and down on the intake cam, with the narrower side toward the outside.
Then rotate the engine 360 degrees to TDC and look at the exhaust cam on the 4-6 side ( I forget which way the groove on the intake cam is on this side) the grooves should be straight up and down, narrow side out.

 

Thanks Dharn for refreshing my memory and it was easier with the eng out.

MMASSE: If you don't all ready have try to get a manual it's a great aid.

 

Damn.... thats some technical **** right there.

 

Me too! It is not that the instructions weren't clear, it is just that they were way over my head!

Dharn & PETC great info for the OP! The knowledge on the 996 Forum rocks!

 

+1 for Tim's comment..... I didnt even have to duck it was so far overhead .... just stood in the field and looked around wondering

 

Dharn,

Can this green plug be taken out with the engine in the car? How do you take the off? In particular the lower on the flywheel side looks like mission impossible. I tried to pry the upper one out but I got scre to brake it. Is there any special procedure or just fit a crewdriver and pry out?

thanks

 

Actually Porsche recomends that you use a screwdriver like tools that has selft-tapping threads on the end and screws into the plug which allows you to pull them out. But the plugs have to be replaced. Most of the time I have used a small screw driver to punch a small hole into each plug and then pried the out. But be careful, you don't want to push the whole plug into the engine. You will have to replace the plugs
(996.105.215.54). They list for $9.19@.

 

GReat, thanks a lot

 

Out of curiosity, if the bolt was not centered why would the cover not fit on properly? Also if it's not centered while the old cover was on, what would change when he replaced with the new cover? Would everyone expect this to happen with the IMS cover/seal change?