Swapping engines

[LoneWolfGal]

After I obtained the metal washer for the compression tool I managed to get the VarioCam out — not without some difficulty, but any victory's a good victory.



The bottom pad indeed had considerable wear, no doubt enough to cause some cam deviation:



I snapped the new pads into place (after carefully inserting the o-ring under the bottom pad). Note the new material's lighter color.



After an hour of trying to reinstall the VarioCam between the camshafts without success, I tightened the compression tool's nut a few more turns (using my little box-end wrench) to get a bit more clearance. However, the nut didn't seem to be moving on the rod. So I removed the tool, and then I saw the reason why — the threads had stripped. The compression tool seems to have been made of soft metal. You can see the spot about 3/4" from the end where the threads are flattened. The nut just spins at that point.

Addendum: I was using a small 8mm box-end wrench, not a ratchet, and it didn't take all that much force to tighten the nut. I've stripped threads before and it usually requires considerable force, unless the metal's soft. I'm going to contact the aftermarket parts company's customer service department and see what they have to say about it.



Surprise! Yet another oddball work stoppage! And the $36 I paid for the compression tool is down the drain. That's bad enough, but I'm dead in the water until I get another compression tool. Time lost.

I was crossing my fingers that things would go smoothly from here on in, because I'm working under a time crunch: I need to have the car on the road by the end of May, because the owners of the house I'm renting are putting it on the market. I bought another house, but I hoped to finish the car here and drive it to my new place. The logistics of moving a half-finished car and another engine would be a nightmare.

I will overcome this latest wacko problem somehow, but in the meantime I say, damn, damn, double-damn hell!

[LoneWolfGal]

Post mortem: The most likely way thread damage could occur in the middle of the rod is by tightening it to the limit of compression and then continuing to tighten it. But I was aware of the warnings not to overtighten it or risk breaking something on the VarioCam. I estimated the unit was compressed no more than 90 percent, judging by the tautness of my chain compared with the laxity of chains in videos I've seen. If I had reached the compression limit, I'd think I would have felt some resistance, more than when just tightening the nut. Perhaps the progressively increasing force required to tighten it was just too much for soft threads to handle and they gave out. That said, I have to acknowledge the possibility that I overtightened it, despite being very careful not to. Regardless of the cause, I'm going to need another compression tool. First, I'll see what the company that sold me this one has to say.

[LoneWolfGal]

More proof the compression tool was made of soft metal and therefore the defendant is not just a careless idiot who overtightens things. If it please the Court, I present the following photograph as Exhibit 1:



Note the 6mm wide, 1mm deep channel in the shaft near the threads. The nut was full of metal bits from the damaged threads and therefore difficult to turn, so the defendant used a pair of small vice grips to hold the shaft. Apparently, the vice grips weren't cinched down enough, so they carved the channel during a single rotation of the shaft. A channel of this depth could not be created so quickly unless the metal was soft.

And so, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I submit to you that this entire fiasco resulted from too-soft metal and therefore LoneWolfGal is innocent of boneheaded workmanship.

The defense rests.

[LoneWolfGal]

I located some left-hand threaded rod, M5x0.8 thread size, at Grainger:



https://www.grainger.com/category/fasteners/threaded-rods-studs/fully-threaded-rods-studs?searchQuery=Left-hand+threaded+Rod%3A+M5x0.8+Thread+Size&sst=4&searchBar=true&tier=Tier+4

One problem: They're closed on Saturday and late afternoon Portland traffic is suicidal, so it will have to wait until Monday. In the meantime I'll try to figure out how to open the convertible top manually so I can put the car into service mode.

[piper6909]

Originally Posted by LoneWolfGal

I located some left-hand threaded rod, M5x0.8 thread size, at Grainger:



https://www.grainger.com/category/fasteners/threaded-rods-studs/fully-threaded-rods-studs?searchQuery=Left-hand+threaded+Rod%3A+M5x0.8+Thread+Size&sst=4&searchBar=true&tier=Tier+4

One problem: They're closed on Saturday and late afternoon Portland traffic is suicidal, so it will have to wait until Monday. In the meantime I'll try to figure out how to open the convertible top manually so I can put the car into service mode.

I was wondering if you were going back to the place you originally got the tool or get the Grainger allthread I told you about. It looks like Grainger's may be a harder metal. At least it's steel. Get a new left-handed nut. Grainger sells a bag of 50 for $1.61.
https://www.grainger.com/product/Hex-Nut-M5-0-80-Thread-22YK31

I imagine they are not high demand parts, so I'd make sure they have them in stock before driving all that way. You may have to order them in advance.

Still, it makes me wonder how the guy whose video I posted got away with using a modified aluminum rod.

Regardless, good luck. I hope you get past this without any more troubles and you have smooth sailing the rest of the build.

[LoneWolfGal]

Originally Posted by piper6909

I was wondering if you were going back to the place you originally got the tool or get the Grainger allthread I told you about. It looks like Grainger's may be a harder metal. At least it's steel. Get a new left-handed nut. Grainger sells a bag of 50 for $1.61.
https://www.grainger.com/product/Hex-Nut-M5-0-80-Thread-22YK31

I imagine they are not high demand parts, so I'd make sure they have them in stock before driving all that way. You may have to order them in advance.

Still, it makes me wonder how the guy whose video I posted got away with using a modified aluminum rod.

Regardless, good luck. I hope you get past this without any more troubles and you have smooth sailing the rest of the build.

I'm definitely going to contact the company that sold me the tool and express my dissatisfaction. But before that, I'll let my friend the metal fabricator have a look at it, get his take.

Thanks for pointing me to Grainger; that was a good call. Their threaded rod has a tensile strength of 55,000. Wish I knew the tensile strength of the one I bought. Grainger's rod is one meter in length, so I could make ten 10cm-long compression tools out of it! Then I can dole them out to folks who are attempting the same procedure, along with a prayer book.

[LoneWolfGal]

Update from Grainger:

Web Price
$6.66/ each
Ships from supplier. Expected to arrive on or before Tue. May 13.

May 13 wouldn't work for me. Unless...while waiting for it to be delivered I could drop the original engine. And if the rod still hasn't been delivered I could unbolt the transmission and bolt it on the new engine with a new clutchplate and throwout bearing. Which reminds me, are M96 flywheel bolts single use only? Haven't seen any references.

[Hamstuh]

Originally Posted by LoneWolfGal

More proof the compression tool was made of soft metal and therefore the defendant is not just a careless idiot who overtightens things. If it please the Court, I present the following photograph as Exhibit 1:



Note the 6mm wide, 1mm deep channel in the shaft near the threads. The nut was full of metal bits from the damaged threads and therefore difficult to turn, so the defendant used a pair of small vice grips to hold the shaft. Apparently, the vice grips weren't cinched down enough, so they carved the channel during a single rotation of the shaft. A channel of this depth could not be created so quickly unless the metal was soft.

And so, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I submit to you that this entire fiasco resulted from too-soft metal and therefore LoneWolfGal is innocent of boneheaded workmanship.

The defense rests.

quite the rollercoaster of emotions all for this tool that i now need to buy for my timing job. just off all of this im thinking Pipers nudge towards building the special tool 9632 from the youtube video might be ideal and effective with time and price

[LoneWolfGal]

The engine's at the new place. This was taken just after it was unloaded. I had been sweating unloading it, but I needn't have worried, and I didn't have to use the come-along after all. I merely guided the engine while it sailed down the 4x8 ramp in stately fashion. It began gathering momentum toward the bottom but then it encountered the stack of moving blankets I'd placed there. I attribute the trouble-free unloading to the heavy-duty 4" wheels (with brakes) I installed on the pallet. Moving the 500 lb engine around on a level surface is easy as pie.

[Gilles]

Originally Posted by LoneWolfGal

The engine's at the new place. This was taken just after it was unloaded. I had been sweating unloading it, but I needn't have worried, and I didn't have to use the come-along after all. I merely guided the engine while it sailed down the 4x8 ramp in stately fashion. It began gathering momentum toward the bottom but then it encountered the stack of moving blankets I'd placed there. I attribute the trouble-free unloading to the heavy-duty 4" wheels (with brakes) I installed on the pallet. Moving the 500 lb engine around on a level surface is easy as pie.

Welcome to your new home!

[LoneWolfGal]

Originally Posted by Gilles

Welcome to your new home!

Thanks, Gilles. I'm not finished moving yet, but one more trailer load should do it, except for the Porsche. I'm going to rent an auto hauler for it from U-Haul next week and deliver that 986 to its new digs in style. Then I'm going to kick back for a while to recharge. Moving is rather taxing. As in totally exhausting.