Mike Murphy

Maybe they are a wear item, I just don’t think they should be. Maybe Porsche should sell a pre-oiler as an option to reduce startup wear on these engines?

Perhaps the design choice to get rid of the IMS completely in the 9A1 helped solved this problem.

The problem is, I believe one has to split the case to have a good look at the other chain ramp pads. So it’s a lot of work to go and take the whole engine apart to service a wear item. That just doesn’t seem right to me. What if the pads and chain ramps are fine after doing this work? Maybe if someone is going to rebuild the engine, of course. Kinda like reusing old bearing that’s are in good shape, it makes sense to replace those items, but not proactively unless there’s a known defect.

Imo000

The IMS has noting to do with the vario cam tensioner pads. This tensioner has 2 pads, one wears faster than the other. So, when the valve cover is off, it's a good idea to look at both and not just assume that since one looks good then the other must be ok too.

Also, lack of lubrication is not a known problem on these engines so "pre oilers" are not needed. I don't know any car engine manufacturer that does this.

Mike Murphy

I see what you mean - there are 2 pads on each bank by the tensioner. And you are talking at all about the other pads that serve the chain guides. I wonder if they looked at the bottom pad. I will have to ask them.

stancedeuros

Thanks for the follow up!!

Mike Murphy

No problem - car is still good, problem hasn’t returned.

Now I need to figure out where the convertible top hydraulic fluid is disappearing off to. I sense a pair of actuators being a part of my future

AdamIsAdam

How much was the bill?

Mike Murphy

$3000.

stancedeuros

I had a 1531...turns out it wss the tensioner sticking after varioccam kicked in. While the RPMS returned to idle, the tensioner and it's functions were sticking. Mine only stuck when it got fully warmed up btw. A new tensioner kit, and she's good as new.

AdamIsAdam

I've been reading up on this topic. I hate how complex and labor intensive it is to get at the solenoid. Add to that the fact that the engine in a Porsche is basically hidden, and you have a frustrated shade tree mechanic! (Can you tell this is my first Porsche? &#128559

I have a QuickJack, so that helps, but man, these things are not DIY friendly! The good news is I have a very trustworthy Indy. The bad news is he ain't cheap.

Sorry, rant off.

Imo000

Since you have some sort of a lift, this isn't that hard to do. All of this is accessible from below. If you need a bit more room just loosen the rear engine mounts and drop the engine a couple of inches. Save you hard earned money and do the work yourself. There is a lot more satisfaction doing it yourself then just forking out the money for a shop.

AdamIsAdam

Question: if one of the solenoids is bad, is there any benefit to doing the other side solenoid at the same time, preventatively? Some of the labor would need to be duplicated, like dropping the motor, but not all of it obviously.

For anyone who has had a solenoid fail, did the other one eventually also fail?

pesuazo

In my case, it eventually started to appear in front of the rear wheels....hydraulic cylinders started leaking. Relatively easy DIY to replace them with rebuilt ones

Mike Murphy

Maybe, it depends on if the mechanic gives a deal on labor for both. But not likely.

For starters, the solenoid is a $500 part on the VarioCam (early 99 cars and up to 01). Mine took 20 years to fail, so will the other fail any day now or run another 10-20 years? Most parts on these cars will NEVER fail.

The early VarioCam needs the valve covers removed to change the solenoid, which involves taking off the exhaust headers. So just one side is 5-7 hours of labor.

The later VarioCam Plus engines have solenoids that can be removed without having to take off the valve covers. That part might be cheaper and easier to replace, which begs the question: if it’s so easy to replace, should I go ahead and wait until it fails because it’s so easy, or should I go ahead and replace it anyway because it’s so easy.

My advice is to trust that most of the parts will just not fail, and we can go broke proactively replacing things that don’t fail, while other parts that weren’t included in the scope, fail.

If I were rebuilding any components of the engine, though, such as tensioner/pads, that’s when a I would go ahead and service and replace those items, including the solenoids.

AdamIsAdam

Thanks. Yea, $500 for a solenoid - sheesh! And I did read up on the job. The cam cover is really, well, a misnomer. It's more like the head is just split in half, so it's a big job to get to it, take it off without screwing things up like having cams pop out onto the floor (i hear they don't like that), etc. LOL

Next week my Indy will evaluate. Maybe he'll get lucky and find a short somewhere, since the car runs and idles perfectly. And my mechanic is honest, so there is that.

AdamIsAdam

Two questions:

1) of the folks who did one bank, did the other bank ever go out on them later?

2) How often was the tensioner assembly the problem or was it usually just the servo?