timing adjustment

[sscroquet]

i replaced my cam housing gasket on an 83 944. from reading articles on this site after i had already started i learned i started wrong. i didnt set the engine to tdc. but i put the cam housing back on, with the rotor in, hopefuly, the same position. the car runs like what it used to so it must be close. now how can i check the timing to make sure it is right on?

[TCMdocs944]

Year and model of Porsche?



If you took no belts off you are fine. If you took off the belts without aligning tdc etc. and you are running fine....I am amazed.

These cars have no timing to "set"...it is either on or your valves are gone. The balance shafts on the other hand, are a different story. They can be very off without hurting the engine, you will just experience vibration.

Try to put your year and model in your signature line so we can help you better in the future.

Welcome to the board.

Mark

[sscroquet]

i replaced my cam housing gasket on an
83 944
i had to remove my timing belt to remove the cam housing. are there alignment marks i can use to make sure i didnt put the belt on a couple groves off

[Britwrench]

Firstly, buy a book before working on these cars, or check out Pelican technical articles or Clarks Garage. Broken belt 944s are worth less than $500.

[carsontc]

a broken belt 944 is worth less than $500...worth repeating

[pokey]

Clarks garage has good diagrams of the timing marks you are looking for. One is visible on the front of the cam sprocket thruogh the little hole next to the dist. cap. The other is a little awkward to see sometimes. It is on the flywheel visible through a hole in the bell housing at the back of the engine. Lay accross your driver side fender, and line your head up at the firewall about 4 inches to the left of the center line of the car, and look down with a flashlight. The markings on the flywheel are generally pretty faint, so look carefully. (The trick is to line up the mark on the cam sprocket first, then go looking for the one on the flywheel.)

[fred cook]

I just did this job for a neighbor last Saturday. In addition to aligning the cam gear timing mark and the flywheel mark, I use a piece of chalk to mark the timing belt so that I am ABSOLUTELY certain that everything is synchronized. With a little effort and the right tools this job can be done without pulling the radiator, hoses or fan assemblies. The only part that is stressful is getting the timing belt retensioned correctly since the working room around the adjustment pulley is limited. By the way, Porsche says to install the head to cam box gasket dry, but adding a ring of loctite sealer on both sides of the gasket at the high pressure oil hole will keep things dry a lot longer!

Fred Cook
'80 911SC coupe
'88 924S (gone to a new home)

[SoCal Driver]

I would have replaced the timing and balance belts too. Thought there was a rubber sleeve that goes between the cam galley and the head for the high pressure oil.

[fred cook]

I have had two different 924S engines apart and neither of them had a "rubber sleeve" in place to seal the oil gallery between the head and cam housing. However, since I am fairly certain that both engines had been apart before my turn, it could have been left off by a PO. I don't recall having seen an oil gallery seal in 924S/944 head gasket sets now that I think about it. Anyway, if the mating surfaces are straight and clean the gasket is all that is needed to keep the oil in the engine.

Fred Cook
'80 911SC coupe
'88 924S (gone on to a new home)

[SoCal Driver]

Must be my old VW engine rebuild days getting in the way of my recollections.

[sscroquet]

i lined up my marks and i was only 1 tooth off. thanks for the help

[TCMdocs944]

Wow....very lucky.

[sscroquet]

i guess i just do good work

[pokey]

One more tooth and you were looking at valve replacement$$$$$$$$

[sscroquet]

one more and it would of been right on

[Britwrench]

Hugh is right, the 944/924S uses an O-ring on the cam housing which is
999 701 602 40, a smaller O-ring for the oil gallery 928 105 184 00, a thin plastic seal for the sleeve to cam shaft 944 105 321 00 and a cam seal 999 113 282 40 (depends on year). All 944/924S 8V engines use these parts and without the large o-ring the housing will leak oil.

[SoCal Driver]

O-ring? On the front and rear covers -- right?

I was thinking of the high pressure oil passage right over the oil cooler area that feeds the lifters. Mabe it looks like the later VW oil cooler seals????

[Britwrench]

Hugh, the O-rings are only on the front cam housing cover. The rear plate on the cam box uses the leak-prone cork gasket. The oil feed to the lifters is more to the rear of the cylinder head and the cam box gasket seals that..most of the time. Check out the Porsche parts catalog and you'll see exactly where it all is.

[hpaulb]

I got a head gasket kit and have installed all parts eccept one. It's a large rubber "O" ring about 2.5 inches accross. Anyone know were this goes.

[pokey]

Thermostat?