Variocam Issue?

[freserf]

I now have the cylinder 1-3 head cover off and have found some wear on the timing chain rail guide from the IMS. Is there a way to replace this guide without removing the transmission?

[freserf]

Pulled the 1-3 cams and found very worn and broken guides on the variocam actuator. Also the chain rail guides for the IMS chain are worn ... not as bad, but still worn. It looks like I can remove upper and lower so I will see what happens. As far as the cams chain ... I am not sure but it looks like it may have skipped a tooth causing some of the rough running. Along with the wear on the variocam guides ... when they activate, it was enough to cause my misfires and camshaft position sensor codes.

I have only seen a tooth skipped engine code once in my life and that was on a Dodge Neon. No low end but good high end torque with that issue.

So I will probably go down the mini rebuild road replacing items that do not require engine removal. See attached photos.

[blue62]

[QUOTE=freserf;628151]Pulled the 1-3 cams and found very worn and broken guides on the variocam actuator. Also the chain rail guides for the IMS chain are worn ... not as bad, but still worn. It looks like I can remove upper and lower so I will see what happens. As far as the cams chain ... I am not sure but it looks like it may have skipped a tooth causing some of the rough running. Along with the wear on the variocam guides ... when they activate, it was enough to cause my misfires and camshaft position sensor codes.

I have only seen a tooth skipped engine code once in my life and that was on a Dodge Neon. No low end but good high end torque with that issue.

So I will probably go down the mini rebuild road replacing items that do not require engine removal. See attached photos.
[img]http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02/IMG_20201223_12592116


[img]http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02/IMG_20201223_1302331608747871.jpg[/im

Looks like you have been able to do all this work with the engine still in the car.
I see six links between cam timing marks. Six is the correct number of links right??
Or am I looking at the wrong head in the picture???

[freserf]

As far as I know ... 6 links between dots is correct. That is the information that I have read and seen pictures of online. I don't have a manual to give me a baseline ... my experience with manuals and specs is you can't trust them 100%. That's the main reason I like bouncing ideas off others in the forum and asking, sometimes boring, routine questions. I'll probably try removing the guide rails this evening if time permits ... will post about what I find.

[freserf]

Pulled the bottom guide for 1-3 without any issue ... apparently the top guide rail is attached in two places but it does not have any abnormal wear that I can see. Ordered parts to replace, but will have to wait until after New Years to install. Thanks for the help so far ... I'll keep you guys posted as to my progress. Have a Merry Christmas and a better year than 2020 next year

[Homeoboxter]

Originally Posted by freserf

Pulled the bottom guide for 1-3 without any issue ... apparently the top guide rail is attached in two places but it does not have any abnormal wear that I can see. Ordered parts to replace, but will have to wait until after New Years to install. Thanks for the help so far ... I'll keep you guys posted as to my progress. Have a Merry Christmas and a better year than 2020 next year

Yes, the number of the links is six. Looks like something got chewed up there and that`s what jammed your side rail. When my chain pads fell apart I found pieces that traveled to the other bank and got stuck at various points in the head. Did you look into the the other bank too?

[freserf]

I haven't opened up bank 2 yet ... I am sure that the actuator pads are worn. Almost afraid to open it up ... I had some luck on getting the parts for bank 1 from **************************** ... they will be here Monday so I will go ahead and put them in and run the engine to see if the misfires go away. Then when I return from New Years vacation, I will open up bank 2 and have a look.