I Really Messed Up - Please Help

[cwinters01]

Hello,

I am new to posting here, but have been lurking for a year or two now.
I have a 1983 911 SC that I purchased approx. 5 years ago. The engine has approx. 107K miles on it.

To my mistake:

I purchased the oil fed chain tensioner set from our host, and had nearly completed the installation. I was putting the new passenger side timing chain cover back on when I noticed that it wasn't fitting exactly right in the lower left hand corner. I pulled the cover back off, and thought that I might not have tightened the 13mm nut down on the chain tensioner enough, so I tightened it more... I obviously over tightened the nut on the stud, because the nut just turns now...and it won't back back off for me to take it off. The stud itself isn't turning.
I can go to Sears and get a nut splitter, but do I have to remove the aluminun stud and replace it with a new one? If so, can someone tell me how to remove the stud?
I know this is a long shot, and likely not wise, but if it isn't a problem, can I just go to a smaller nut on the stud?

I sincerely have appreciated all of the board's insight over the past couple of years, and would be very grateful if someone here could help me out.
I promise to contribute to the board going forward!

Thank you very much ahead of time,

Christian

[john walker's workshop]

it sounds like the threads on the nut, or the stud have stripped. if you had a mig welder, you could weld the nut to the stud and extract them together. can you get a prying tool of some sort behind the tensioner to help force the nut outward as you turn it? easy does it, if you try that. giant visegrips could squeeze the nut tight against the stud and maybe cause it to get a bite in whatever threads remain so it can be turned off. a nut splitter, if you can get it in there. grinding and grit would be the last resort.

[cwinters01]

John and Colin, I sincerely thank you for your quick replies!
Unfortunately, I don't have a very large tool collection yet, so I will have to use basic means to get this nut off.
If I do have to remove the stud, would I use a pair of vice grips and turn it counter clock-wise to remove it? Also, would either of you know where I would find a replacement stud? Is that something that a local Porsche dealer should carry?
Thank you again again for your help with this.

Sincerely,

Christian

[Zeke]

I tend to agree with JW (who would dare disagree? LOL) that it is the nut. Let's hope so. I don't understand why it won't back off, but sometimes they do that. It must be really stripped out inside.

If the threads on the stud stripped, it would hold the nut. Again, let's hope that is not the situation. If you find it is after finally getting the nut off, you will need a stud removal tool or the Vice Grips.

I would heat the area where the stud goes in the case, you don't want to compound your problem and end up having to helicoil the case. When removing a stud, they like to take the threads with them. So rock it back a forth a little with the heat and make sure it is free to turn out w/o bringing the threads with it.

As far as getting the nut off to begin with, you could try turning the nut splitter while clamped to the nut not too tight, but tight enough to deform the nut. Too tight and you're apt to be turning the stud. Having said that, that could be the ticket to removing nut and stud at the same time. I would try it at different levels of tight. Use the heat.

Unfortuately, I have seen this movie. I hope yours has a good ending.

[cwinters01]

Zeke,

Thank you very much for the reply. I managed to dremel the nut off just now after going to Sears only to find out that they were out of nut crackers. Unfortunately it is the stud that is stripped.
I unfortunately don't have torches, so I guess I'm going to have to try this without heat. I'm gonna say a prayer that I don't mess this up.

Would you or anyone else out there reading have any idea where I would find a new stud for this?

I sincerely thank all that have responded to my posts.

Thanks again,

Christian

[Zeke]

All you need is a cheap propane torch. I don't have an answer for the stud, but you can call pelican in the morn and your local dealer.

If that doesn't work, there are a number of metric suppliers around. There's even one down in SD called Metric Man. I don't know a thing about him/them. If you find out anything, please report back.

[cwinters01]

Thanks again Zeke. I appreciate your help.

[scottb]

Christian:

Please don't take this the wrong way, but you sound like a bit of a newbie when it comes to mechanical work on your P-car. Given the situation, would it make more sense to have the car towed to your local mechanic, and let him handle the removal and replacement of the stud? You don't want this to go from bad to worse...

Just a thought. Whatever you do, good luck!

Scott

[cwinters01]

Hi Scott,

No offense taken. I am a complete newbie when it comes to working on this car. And in all honesty, it is pretty intimidating. That said though, I want to be able to do the *lighter* stuff on my car. This is a bit heavier than I would have liked, but at the moment I'm considering it trial by fire...
I'll pick up a propane torch in the morning and give it a shot-thankfully I have all week to work on it.
If all else fails, I'll have it towed, and pay someone to fix what I have messed up. I'm just not there yet.

I'll post how it goes when I get to a point where there is something useful to post.

Thanks for the perspective Scott,

Christian

[john walker's workshop]

i don't think you will need a torch to get that stud out. it should come out ok with micegrips, (small vicegrips), doublenutting, if there are any threads to doublenut, or a stud remover.

[Wayne 962]

If you have the part number for the stud, simply enter it into our search engine, and you can order it. Or, you can call sales and then can check on it for you (1-888-280-7799).

-Wayne

[speeder]

As John correctly pointed out, that stud should unscrew fairly easily. The factory does no even use Loctite on them, from my experience. Unscrew it and install a new one.

The problem that no one has addressed from your original post is this: You said that "something wasn't fitting exactly right in the lower LH corner", what was that? With these covers, ( and all parts really), you need to gently fit them before you start using fastener torque to "make them fit". That is a recipe for major ass pain. Those covers should slide on easily, if not, figure out WTF is going on before you put ANY fasteners on. Then try to use your sense of touch w/ all threads, if something does not turn easily, back off and investigate. Good luck!

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

You also have to stop saying, "I don't have the proper tools." Good tools are not _that_ expensive, particularly in comparison to 911 parts, and what this situation is telling you is, "Hey, you need some tools."

Stephan

[cwinters01]

Thank you very much John, Denis, Wayne and Stephan! I double nutted the stud and it came right out-no problem whatsoever. The new parts are on their way, so I'm back in business. Now off to the garage to tackle the valve adjustment and new air box pop-off...

And Denis, thanks. I'm looking into that problem with the cover not fitting correctly-it does with the tensioner out. It very well could be that the stud had backed itself out some when I unscrewed the nut to begin with, since the stud came out so easily just now.

But hey, I have a propane torch for when I need one now, and I'm sure that I'll need one sooner or later from all of the reading that I have done here. Adding to my tool collection as we speak.

Thank you again everyone!

-Christian

[vash]

pop off valve tip. use a brand new hole saw. the neater the hole, the tighter the fit. and that is a good thing. i borrowed an angle drill for the job.

[cwinters01]

Thanks for the tip Vash! Picked up a new set of hole saws for the job.

[82SC]

keep plugging away...we were all newbies at one point...even after some of the more extensive jobs I've done on my car I consider myself a newbie...that is the fun in these projects...and have an extremely low threshold to come to PP BBS for help (which it looks like you havE)

but it is always prudent to keep in the back of your mind when to call in the pros before you do irreversible and $$$$ damage...I think you are not in danger of that

good work, let us know the results and we always appreciate pictures!!

MJ

[cwinters01]

Just checking in after completing the chain tensioner upgrade, and the valve adjustment. The car is running perfect now!

On another note, I was having problems with warm idle (idle would drop to 400-600, and somtimes shut off, but only after I had driven the car, shut it down, and started it back up within 1/2 hour to ~3 hours). After reading other threads from a search on "idle problems", I tried leaning it out some, and that just made the problem worse, so I richened it up. It actually took a full turn or so, I think, but all is well now. I just did this tonight, so I'll know for sure tomorrow.

Thanks again for the help to my earlier questions.

Regards,

Christian

[scottb]

Christian: What was the cause of the ill-fitting cover?

You must feel a great sense of accomplishment in resolving this problem. The Board is a great source of information and support. Congrats!

Scott

[cwinters01]

Hi Scott,

I can only guess on this, because I don't know for sure...there was a little scoring on the inside of the cover (the part that fits over the steel arm that supports the tensioner) after putting it on and taking it off several times to try and get it to fit. I lubed up that area of the cover really well and got it to fit tight with a couple of light taps from a rubber mallet. I couldn't find any other area that would have caused the hangup.
I know that these covers are supposed to fit really well, but I think that somehow mine was slightly out of tolerance when they cut it. That's all I can guess.
In the end, I feel comfortable with the way it came together. The job took a lot longer, and I made some pretty good mistakes along the way (i.e. over-tightening studes...adjusting the valves 180 degrees off of tdc, and having to dump the oil and do the valve job over the next day because they were so loose that the car sounded like a diesel...)and there are some lingering issues that keep me from getting full satisfaction (the idle problem mentioned above, now after all the reading, I'm starting to wonder if the issue runs deeper), but I do feel a pretty good sense of accomplishment now ...

Thanks again Scott,

Christian