Just when you think everything is ok....

DonE · 07-05-2009, 06:15 PM

I was out enjoying the new drivability of my car when I smelled oil smoke at a stop light. Thought the guy beside me had problems, but after sitting in one place for a couple of minutes for gas, I found out it was me - not a big oil leak, but a leak all the same. Now what.....

I got it home Fri night and found the leak - between the cam chain housing and the cam tower. Great.... Pain in the a$$ factor - 8.5. At least it's not major.

After a couple of hours tearing it apart and CAREFULLY keeping the cam and chain indexed/marked, I found the problem. The gasket between the chain housing and the cam tower was "squished" out (not broken though), allowing oil to leak out. WTF... Never had that happen before. Since I've had this motor out so many times, I have plenty of extra gaskets laying around and found that I had two gaskets with different thicknesses. In fact, one was nearly twice as thick. Guess which one I used.

Anyway, after another couple hours putting it all back together and ensuring the cam timing hadn't changed, a drive to watch the fireworks showed no more leaks.

I tracked down my source for the latest gaskets and it was an on-line discounter. I guess you get what you pay for even in gasket quality.

RarlyL8 · RarlyL8's Garage

Man that sticks (literally). Glad you had the parts, time and knowledge to get it back on the road quickly.
Good call on the gaskets and thanks for posting that. I've had similar results with less expensive gaskets. No place to save a couple bucks for certain.

x98boardwell · x98boardwell's Garage

Don,

For the confused (like me), what would be considered a "discounter". If I knew the company names it would be very helpful for us who are not sure.

Would Parts Heaven be a discounter or are they a legitimate place? I know Pelican is legitimate and I assume they only purchase genuine Porsche parts/supplies. Am I correct?

Glad to see everything worked out for you. I had the same leak last month and is now also fixed. Just didn't seal right for some reason.

Thanks,
Bryan

carrera turbo · 07-06-2009, 02:32 AM

all hes saying is cheaper is not allways better.
and buy pelican!

Ken911 · 11:07 AM

Thats where my leak is also huge pain in the butt. I had a guy at the track tell me his old 930 would start leaking there about 15 to 20k miles. Caused by that chain box and it's close proximity to the turbo. The expansion and contraction caused by the heat. So about every 15k miles he would have to pull that chain box and replace the gaskets.

JFairman · 07-06-2009, 09:43 AM

I had 2 sets of those gaskets too.
One set was the oem greenish color victor reinz (or spelled something like that), and the other set is no name aftermarket, a little thicker and coated with dark gray graphite.

The 930 engine uses 3 of those gaskets. The third one is in between the other end of the cam tower and the turbo scavenge pump.

When I replaced my cams last summer I used the thinner and better quality looking oem victor reinz gaskets with a thin smear of hylomar on them.
So far no oil leaks.

Pelican sells a kit with all the oem chain case gaskets, nylocks, and aluminum sealing washers for around $13.

The silicone o-rings for the cam thrust plates and chain tensiners are seperate.

DonE · 07-06-2009, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JFairman

I had 2 sets of those gaskets too.
One set was the oem greenish color victor reinz (or spelled something like that), and the other set is no name aftermarket, a little thicker and coated with dark gray graphite.

snip

Yes, I went with the greenish colored gasket. I just measured both:

black graphite coated thin gasket - .53mm
greenish gasket - .75mm

Up until recently, I've always kept 4 handy - two for the cam chain housing to cam tower, one for the oil scavenge pump and one for the cam position sensor located on the front of 4-5-6 cam housing.

I think I'll order a couple more for insurance....from Pelican.

x98boardwell · x98boardwell's Garage

I purchase almost everything from Pelican but it would be nice to know who to stay away from... that's all. I have no idea who would be considered a "generic" seller.

Bryan

DonE · 07-06-2009, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by x98boardwell

I purchase almost everything from Pelican but it would be nice to know who to stay away from... that's all. I have no idea who would be considered a "generic" seller.

Bryan

No problem - I favor Pelican and EBS. There may be others, but these are my core suppliers.