944 S2 Cams required -

944 S2 Cams required -

Author
Discussion

lojohn

Original Poster:

41 posts

206 months

Monday 10th June 2019
quotequote all
Hi,

I have a 944 S2 that is undergoing a full restoration - body, suspension and engine.

One key problem is that the cogs on the cams are worn, so the full cams need replacing. (Or can the cogs be rebuilt??)

Please does anyone know where I can get a set of cams?

Thanks,

LoJo

rufusgti

2,536 posts

199 months

Monday 10th June 2019
quotequote all
As an owner of a very high mileage S2 I've briefly looked into wether cams are available, as the chain teeth can be a bit of an issue it seems.
They are available from Porsche but I think they were around £500 each plus vat.
I couldn't find any aftermarket cams and couldn't find any knowledge of re profiling. Although a friend who does this kind of thing on big machinery thought it was the way to go.

blade7

11,311 posts

223 months

Monday 10th June 2019
quotequote all
RS Barn in the US rebuild the cams, it ain't cheap though.

DRH986

293 posts

151 months

Monday 10th June 2019
quotequote all
I replaced the cams on my last 968 at about 80K miles with new genuine Porsche items but much later discovered that a subsequent owner had to replace them again after about 30K miles due to wear on the sprockets again!

My first 968 (and two previous 944S2s) were fine with no evidence of cams being replaced but my first Porsche, a 944S, had previously suffered cam sprocket issues as I discovered a few teeth in the sump! The cams in the car were fine when I bought it.

On this basis, I suspect that there was some variation/quality issues in the manufacturing process. If I had to do it again, I recon a set of used cams in good condition are as safe a bet as new, assuming you can find some?

rufusgti

2,536 posts

199 months

Monday 10th June 2019
quotequote all
Well there's a set of used set on ebay right now.

lojohn

Original Poster:

41 posts

206 months

Tuesday 11th June 2019
quotequote all
Thanks for that EBAY spot - I looked before but must have missed them.

I have asked my mechanic to have a look and may buy them if they are suitable -

Cheers,

LoJo

Magnum 475

3,650 posts

139 months

Tuesday 11th June 2019
quotequote all
DRH986 said:
I replaced the cams on my last 968 at about 80K miles with new genuine Porsche items but much later discovered that a subsequent owner had to replace them again after about 30K miles due to wear on the sprockets again!

My first 968 (and two previous 944S2s) were fine with no evidence of cams being replaced but my first Porsche, a 944S, had previously suffered cam sprocket issues as I discovered a few teeth in the sump! The cams in the car were fine when I bought it.

On this basis, I suspect that there was some variation/quality issues in the manufacturing process. If I had to do it again, I recon a set of used cams in good condition are as safe a bet as new, assuming you can find some?
The 968 had a significant difference though - it had an early form of VarioCam that somehow moved the tensioner block to alter timing of one of the cams. This seemed to lead to a significant problem with 968 cam sprockets losing teeth quite regularly, in a way that was never a problem for the 944. Having said that, 944s are now much older than when I last had one, so it's quite possible that their cam sprockets are also starting to fail due to much higher wear / age than when I had my last one.

GC8

19,910 posts

197 months

Wednesday 17th July 2019
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Sprocket wear as a result of tensioner wear was an issue for the S engine in the mid-nineties. This is why there are lots of S2 engined cars around, as heads or engines were hard to obtain.

I had a friend who was a specialist who had TEN Ss parked in a warehouse waiting their tur for parts to repair! The S2 suffered far less (at the sames age/mileage): proably due to your not needing to wring its throat in order to make it go anywhere.

blade7

11,311 posts

223 months

Wednesday 17th July 2019
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Magnum 475 said:
The 968 had a significant difference though - it had an early form of VarioCam that somehow moved the tensioner block to alter timing of one of the cams. This seemed to lead to a significant problem with 968 cam sprockets losing teeth quite regularly, in a way that was never a problem for the 944. Having said that, 944s are now much older than when I last had one, so it's quite possible that their cam sprockets are also starting to fail due to much higher wear / age than when I had my last one.
The VarioCam may be a contributory factor. Though I've read it doesn't take much wear/stretch in the chain for it to ride higher on the sprocket teeth.And then it's just a matter of time before the teeth wear and snap off. Perhaps the chain should be replaced at the same time as the belts.

wildoliver

8,995 posts

223 months

Sunday 21st July 2019
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I'm a bit torn, I have a spare set of cams I kept just in case. Part of me wants to sell them to help you out (and cash will help me get mine back on the road) the other part of me worries I may need them myself as spares by the sound of it.