Timing chain + Wear Pads replacement
 

Hello all,

I decided i wanna tackle the hassle that is the timing chains and wear pad replacements. I have seen many do this job with the engine still in and that's what i plan on doing myself. If possible, could i get any insight as to what ill need or expect form a job like this ? Aside from the chains and pads themselves, i DO know ill need to Porsche specialty tools which have ready to go although if there's anything else ill need, any information would be much obliged. Ive tackled timing jobs before on other branded cars however a 99 boxster will be a first for me, any tricks or items i might need would be helpful

Definitely need to do both the pads and chains. Measure your cam deviations before and after. Consider replacing the solenoids because they are not externally serviceable on a 99. You may also want to do the lifters as well but they may make this job worth doing more as an engine out. You will need to make sure that you clean the mating services real well and clean out extra oil that is in the top end or else you won’t get a good seal. Make sure you don’t get sealant in any of the high pressure passage ways.

I have seen where this job has been done in the car but I can tell you it isn’t fun even out! Dropping the engine is relatively easy. I highly recommend this path.

I'm about to change the wear pads on an engine that's out of the car. From what I've seen of the procedure, I wouldn't attempt it with the engine in the car. Sure, it can be done, but it's also possible to check the compression while hanging upside down from a trapeze. Why make a difficult task more difficult? Newsguy is right; it's not that tough to drop the engine and transmission.

Check this out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O037gHuapCI&t=1631s
Personally I have always done it with the engine out.

I don’t think they replaced the chains just the pads which improved things somewhat but did not completely return the car to spec for cam deviations.

If you are talking about the chains between the camshafts, they have to be removed to change the pads so can be changed if you want. If you are talking about the other chains the crankcase has to be split to change them...

I was referring to the chains between the camshafts. I’ve followed this repair by a couple of different people and replacement of the camshaft chains has a significant impact on restoring the deviation to specification.

the decision has been made that I will be dropping the engine in my garage to go ahead with this job. As far as ive read, a majority claim dropping with the trans is probably the ideal way to go, unless someone says otherwise here.

With the job itself, Im hoping someone can drop any input as to what ELSE i should do while replacing the wear pads. Given my car is at 188k miles, I will most likely be doing the chains as well just for safety measure. I did see a forum stating rod bearings would be ideal as well while im there, or lifters given the mileage and age, though another opinion on that would be great too. Truthfully id rather not split the case unless someone can give a good reason as to why and what i should do it for but thats also just preference.

Aside from the Porsche specific tool needed to lock the cam, pads, and chains, depending on the quality of other things like hoses / lines, what else should i look for in terms of replacing while i have the engine out ?

i did this with engine in car and it was not a big deal at all .. but i do a lot of wrenching so.... seems so much more work taking the engine out and much more opportunity to break things along the way, but every scenario is different.

if i was doing it again though i would rebuild the actuators for the cam pads with new orings and seals. They are available as a kit and i was just unaware then.

i'll definitely look into that rebuild kit. i was initially all for doing the job with the engine inside as well unfortunately i do not have access to a lift so id be laying down the entire time. which id imagine wouldn't be entirely ideal for retiming as well

i actually find a lift harder to do work like this,

i had it about 18 inches off the ground on jack stands... and that was perfect..

On a lift you are reach over your head all the time and that is actually hard on your shoulders neck and back..

On jack stands lying on your back you are just essentially reaching forward, which personally i found a lot easier. A little trickier getting the cover on with sealant on it, but a couple of dry runs and it was fine.
you can get the timing tool on one side of the engine , but you cant on the other so have to eyeball it. Funny thing was the side i eyeballed is better than the side I put the tool on.

More than one way to skin a cat i guess.

Change also the timing chains between cams (where the actuator operates) on both heads.

Yes, not replacing the chains is often why replacing the pads doesn’t return the cam deviations within spec.

Just adding this as a checklist to what i might be needing, if i miss anything or recommend, feel free to reply.

Assembly grease
Cam cover sealant
Cam caps
2x Timing chains cam to cam
2x Timing chain rails
Porsche Tool #9632
Timing kit w/ cam locking / brace
oil pump seals
Tensioners

oil
oil filter

tensioners?

you want tensioner rebuild kits .. search around the net and you will find a racing shop that sells them , i think they are in the UK.

Also you want the threaded rod and nuts to compress the tensioners, they are not in the kit, depending on your car it is a right hand threaded rod or a left hand, I got mine off AliExpress . did once side with the zip ties and its a nightmare , don't do this , i can go into a long explanation why but just get the threaded rod and this will be a breeze.
definitely need those oil pump seals, when i took mine off they were not reusable.
Also i would suggest getting the Porsche pads. they are expensive but you will likely do this once in the life of the car.. the ones i got did not SNAP on and merely expected the tension of the chain to keep them in place, did not leave me with a good feeling. They were a beige colour instead of the red.

Get spark plug tubes , they are cheap off rock auto and come with the orings. want to make sure everything is sealed up.

i got the seals for the cam solenoids too ,, and thread sealer for when putting the cam bolts back in.

https://i.imgur.com/9LFVr8y.png

what i do is look for where porsche updated the part numbers . i can't speak for the 2.5, but for the 3.2 the pads and the tensioners were updated. typically there is a reason for this. make sure you get the updated part #'s regardeless if from porsche or jobbers.

You should get new cam cover bolts. Therapy are relatively inexpensive and have been updated too. The new bolts have micro encapsulation coating to help stop leaks.

will look into that threaded rod, i added the porsche # in my list although ill need to find out whether mine is left or right threaded as a 99' 2.5L. Regarding the pads thats the first im hearing about them not being the ideal upgrade, from my research it seems everyone gets the beige ones as they ARE the updated part. Both Pelican and Parts Geek seem to have the same ones labeled as genuine although ill look into the red ones as well. I did thankfully purchase new OE spark plug tubes prior to this job so thats one thing i can cross off too.

I would maybe ck my oil presure b4 i pull the engine,that way you would have a better idea on how your bearing's are holding up along with a oil analyst. Have Fun ! Frank

yeah they work .. but the old ones took a fair bit of force to pop off.. the beige ones just kind of sit there .. i even thought i had wrong ones but nope, they depend on tensioner to hold them in place. I don't know if anyone else noticed this.

yes your tool will do exactly the same thing. I goggled it after i posted and saw what it was, so good to go.
The Porsche service manual only states to reaplce bolt#2 with microencapsulated bolt, i just used thread sealer and have zero leaks.

i would consider the cam pads and actuators a 3 wrenches out of 10 for an experienced DIY guy. not hard just takes time.

When you get into crank bearings .. that for me shoots to an 8.5 out of 10 as now you are splitting the case and dealing with that crank box, which personally i found a friggen nightmare compared to the Mezger engines i have done.

i would suggest not splitting the case unless you plan to be off the road for quite some time.

just my 2c , no problem if others think different.

figured id add a video of the current situation. The chain is audibly heard upon acceleration with the misfires happening only in bank 2. Oddly enough no codes for cam deviation although dropping the engine seems to be the best bet for this issue and potentially any in the future

https://youtube.com/shorts/iTu4ZqKmRhs?feature=share


these are currently the codes ive been getting:
STORED:
P0300 - Random/Multiple Misfires detected
P0306 - Misfire Cyl 6
P0304 - Misfire Cyl 4
P0305 - Misfire Cyl 5

PENDING:
P1319 - Misfire Emission Related
P1318 - Misfire Cyl 6 Emission
P1316 - Misfire Cyl 4 Emission
P1317 - Misfire Cyl 5 Emission

P1524 - Camshaft Adjustment Bank 2

Just rechecked my 99–they are left-hand threads.

P1524 is essentially a cam deviation code.

Update: Time has come for me to start buying everything ill need. so far i have what ive put below. If there is anything else i might be missing feel free to correct me again. As of right now I would rather not replace the tensioners although given the high mileage its at, im guessing itd better to buy new ones as opposed to just putting new orings on em. the tension on em would probably be slightly shot being a 190k mile vehicle

Assembly grease
Cam cover sealant
Cam caps
2x Timing chains cam to cam
2x Timing chain rails
Porsche Tool #9632
Timing kit w/ cam locking / brace
2x variable timing adjuster seals
oil pump seals
Left and Right Tensioners
oil
oil filter

question too, would i need 4 replacement green cam caps ? and regarding Porsche Tool #9632, i decided im going to make it myself per a youtube video recommendation from another thread. though some have said the 99 boxster is a left while other sources online say right. so thatll be interesting to figure out.

another question regarding these guides. I know the new ones are the beige and the old ones were a dark brown / reddish colour. im hoping to get some insight as to which ones i SHOULD get. both Pelican and Parts Geek, the sites i use for genuine parts, both have beige as genuine although there has been some back and forth whether the beige is the best pick or not.
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1749001347.jpg

in regards to this, wouldnt they just be to 2 seals associated ? or are there literal part replacements because i know the sites that sell OE seals have 2 per tensioner, thatd save me $200+ on just new tensioners if im just replacing those

just keep in mind genuine is a crafty brand name for a company providing reproduction parts . as you are buying a "genuine" part. This is why i don't use that term , you can buy:

OE: original equipment with Porsche stamp that your car originally came with.
OEM: Original equipment manufacturer. the same supplier that supplied your original parts may or may not match OE quality standards.
Aftermarket: all other companies that provide substitute parts. ( "genuine" in this case )

to do again I would get the OE parts for this job as it is so critical.

you would have to research as i have never done it .. the whole tensioner from Porsche is in the thousands I think.,

6 caps total , 3 per side.

those are more expensive than the ones supplied by Porsche. Did you ask your local dealer ??

https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/99610525301.htm?pn=996-105-253-01-M100&SVSVSI=785&DID=363

always be aware of what you are buying:

https://www.made-in-china.com/products-search/hot-china-products/Genuine_Parts.html

thank you very much for the detailed responses. shortly after my previous replies i placed an order from pelican with OE replacements including the guides. i figured if the brown/red ones whatever colour they are, lasted me this long, id do it again. I do just have one more question regarding those rebuild kits, did they involve more than just the 2 seals needed to be replaced on the tensioners themselves or were they just those 2 that can be bought off Pelican ? thank you for the assistance again

as i said i haven't done it , but there is a user on here that has and bought the kits .. hartywags or something like that is his user name, he is pretty active on here so if you can find him PM him. I think he was going to try and start a business rebuilding them so he would know.

oh can you let me know if your new guides snap in when the time comes ? my old ones i used channel locks to pry off, my new ones just kind of sat there and kept falling off until i put the chain and tensioner on.

noted on the rebuild kit aspect and regarding the snapping portion yes i will. I plan on maybe starting a new thread with detailed pictures and responses with my personal process just because i know people like to leave out certain information and even the replacement parts required/ tips. i'll definitely leave a good chunk of that to the pads too