my DIY engine rebuild

[mikeman]

Originally Posted by BruceH

Even if you get one, you still get to hang out here Definitely one of the most civilized forums.

lol kind of the same thought I have... keep eyeing a used 996 c4 for sale locally. ...winter is coming, after all.

Just don't want to start wandering over on those other forums. I usually need a shower after to get the stank off.

[JayG]

Originally Posted by mikeman

lol kind of the same thought I have... keep eyeing a used 996 c4 for sale locally. ...winter is coming, after all.

Just don't want to start wandering over on those other forums. I usually need a shower after to get the stank off.

maybe if enough of us 986 owners get a 996 as an extra car we can take over the 996 forums and civilize them.

[flaps10]

You know, there's a time for glitter. If your daughter likes unicorns, for example.

If you're pressed for time or just impatient, the short version is that I have a failed double row IMS bearing.

The long version goes like this.

First off I feel like an idiot because I've been talking about the cam chain tensioners, which for some reason I had hallucinated as having their metal tips riding directly on the cam chains, when in fact they merely push on the non-metallic cam chain guides. My Bentley manual showed up yesterday and the diagrams cleared this up completely. While they are a likely source of cold start chain rattle, this would seem to remove them from the list of potential suspects. Duh.

As it turns out, finding Godzilla didn't turn out to be difficult anyway.

Read on.

After some challenges removing the flywheel bolts I managed to remove my flywheel. The main problem getting the bolts off is that the socket head isn't very deep, so you have to have some pretty good steel in your T55 bit if it's going to get anything off. Average tools from the local auto parts store need not apply. My 1/2" impact wrench didn't have the go power to crack any of them loose, so I had to at least get them to turn using mechanical advantage.

After years of looking around and finding something I could use as a cheater pipe I finally broke down and got a proper 1/2" breaker bar and by being really careful I was able to get all the bolts to turn and then zoom them off with the impact wrench. Prior to removing the dual mass flywheel I tested it and it returns to center fairly well.

After that I removed the firewall panel from inside the car, rotated the engine to TDC, plucked the cam plugs out and locked the cams. By the way, if the cam locks you have don't come with the bolt used to hold them to the cylinder head, the bolts that held the pressure plate to the flywheel (you know, the ones you were going to replace anyway) are the perfect size. After locking I removed the tensioners for the IMS to crank, and the right side chain.

Nothing to see here, move along.
Another by the way: If you have a 5 chain engine and the book tells you that you don't have to remove the camshaft end plugs for the upper cams, they're not kidding. Even if you're an exploratory belt and suspenders kind of guy there are no notches in the upper cam shafts to lock anything to.


Crappy phone pic. Sorry.
It was go time. I removed the three bolts holding on the IMS bearing cover and removed the cover. Then I installed the IMS bearing puller and got to cranking.

The snap ring eventually snapped the way it is supposed to and the bearing came out. The tool worked perfectly by the way.

So about the unicorns... :ah:

This is what greeted me when I got the bearing out of the removal tool:




I pried the seals out and gently worked the bearing cages out, then got it all apart.




F word.

In other news today, I ordered all the parts for my clutch from Pelican on Thursday and just took the free ground shipping. The package was here today on a Saturday morning. Can't get much more awesome than that.