Broke my bank 1 intake cam

I am replacing all of the lifters due to a misfire in cylinder 4 (1st intake lifter on cyl. 4 confirmed failed in collapsed position on disassembly). Everything was reinstalled and I was starting the cam timing process with cam covers off using the 2 internal cam caps per cam and 2 bridges from an amazon cam tool kit. All bearings, lobes etc. were lubed and everything was torqued to 14 nM. After testing rotation to confirm that the cams were phased correctly, it looked like I got bank one wrong so I began to disassemble for another try. Not my engine but now bank 1 looks like this: Anyone have one of these for sale? - Rennlist - Porsche Discussion Forums Anyone have thoughts on what I might have done wrong to cause the cam to break like this?

Flexed it while removing or installing the caps? It may have been previously stressed? The cams r brittle and do not like to be bent so u have to tighten the caps a little at a time.

May need to change your username to Brokencam, I think. Kidding aside, sorry to hear you’re having that kind of trouble.

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What do you mean? Did you rotate the engine with the tools in place? What is the sequence of things you did when you installed the tools?

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I think De Jeeper hit the nail on the head with regard to flexing the cam when installing the caps. I am doing this with the engine in the car, and I think I may have let the cam slip off the alignment pin at the gear end bearing while balancing everything against gravity. The cam was mis-aligned in the bearings and when rotation began the tension from the valve springs snapped it.

Well that stinks.....I pulled the engine out of a customer's 996 to pull the cam cover and cams, this was bank 2, I just couldn't imagine doing it in the car. Best of luck with the repair.

Before just getting a new cam installed,,, Might be a good idea to pressurize(100psi compressed air in spark plug hole with no cam in). See if cylinders hold pressure and valves didn't get bent when cam busted. If it were me, and i didn't verify valves and everything else wasn't 100% ok, Murphy's law would/has always jumped up and bit me right on the a$$... Curious, does your screen name really mean you also busted up a crank..? jmo

I would drop the engine to do this work. It's really not that hard to do, especially if you have QuickJacks/SUV adapters/jacks. With the engine out you're less likely to make more expensive mistakes. I also recommend watching the Jake Raby/Knowledge Gruppe "Focus ON: M9X Engine Assembly" Volume 4, Stages 14-16. Years ago you could purchase individual Stages on Amazon Prime. I bought the entire DVD series, and I'm glad I did. I would have missed lots of info on rebuilding M9x engines. I personally would re-watch those stages before attempting to do the timing myself.

I think the misalignment of the pin a the gear-end of the cam is the best guess. That makes the cam sit up a little higher and when you go to tighten down the caps, the cam breaks. Again, I would never to this work with engine in. Too late now.

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This misalignment really seems to be the most likely culprit. I know now that this really should be done with the engine out but not spending the money on quickjacks or other lift to enable enough clearance to drop the engine, allowed me to buy the lifters, a new IMS bearing and all of the related tools to get both jobs done. I'm a glutton for punishment and am truly of the mind that if it doesn't kill me, I will become stronger for it! Thank you for the suggestion. I have been watching all of the videos I can find (not as many 3 chain videos available for some reason) and am comfortable with this part of it. It's the 'move slowly and confirm your work' part of the cam install that seems to have bitten me! Murphy and I are old pals! As I have been replaying events in my head, I now recall a faint 'pop' when I was torqing the cam bearings, and before any rotation of the crank. Dismissed at the time thinking the bearing was just not seated all the way. I'll check leakdown before proceeding. The Brokencrank screen name is a reference to an early miata issue common on '89 - '93 1.6 engines. I bought a used '90 in '97 with this problem and have been using the screen name on forums ever since. Thanks to all for the replies and helpful suggestions!

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SNC keyway problems sure seem lovely in the context of 996 repairs. Best of luck this go around getting this sorted! -Fellow NA6 owner

I would do / and have done, 996.1 5-chain engine cam R&R in the car all-day-long, ...........but on the 996.2 3-chain engines if the Vane Adjusters have to come off and be re-torqued, It's an "engine-out " job because you can't even get the tools in there with the engine still in the car .. Good luck on getting a good cam and back on the road....

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Indeed... Bank 1 is a cozy fit for the tool and a torque wrench! I have a couple thoughts on that and will report back if any work out. Previously loved cam on it's way from California, so I'll be giving it a go the weekend of the 11th/12th.

� I know now that this really should be done with the engine out but not spending the money on quickjacks or other lift to enable enough clearance to drop the engine, allowed me to buy the lifters, a new IMS bearing and all of the related tools to get both jobs done. � I dropped my engine/transmission with a couple jacks, �lift bars� and some jackstands. It took a little while (probably 45 min to an hour) to do it safely (making sure along the way that nothing was wobbly or not solidly grounded) but once it was up (IIRC, I lifted to 251/2� to the bottom of the oil sump) it was rock solid and stayed that way for around 4 weeks while I did everything I needed to do (The Solution, Water pump/thermostat, cam chains & pads, AOS, oil cooler, Clutch, coils & plugs, etc.)while the engine was out. So, my point being that while Quick-jacks are nice, they�re certainly not necessary to drop the engine/transmission.

Thanks again for all of the replies and help! Everything is back together and turns fine by hand. I filled the oil and tried priming via the "LN method" of a few 1 second or less starts but I am not getting a reading on the oil pressure gauge (the needle moves a hair but does not climb). As a data point, I did have to replace the sender as 1 of the terminals broke. As the engine sat dry for a couple of months, I understand there may be air pockets. Does anyone have any alternative priming methods I might try?

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Well, you are correct in wanting new engine to be fully primed. If not, a lot of wear/damage could take place very very quickly... An accusump works best. But even a home depot 1 gallon spray bottle with some thin break in oil, plumbed/rigged/tee'd into to the oil pressure gauge port, or any other port you may have, like the empty port on the head, will fill the galleries full of oil and might even get to 10-20 psi or so if you're lucky. Keep pumping keeping pressure up.. I'd do that and fill engine with oil this way. After you get some pressure, turn over engine by hand a couple times while re-pressurizing system... jmo

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The HD sprayer is a very interesting idea, many thanks! The port in the bank 1 cam cover that matches the one for the oil pressure sensor on the other side looks much easier to get to with everything back in place.

Update: zero oil pressure reading was due to incorrect connection at the sensor. The old sensor was so corroded that I didn't see the markings for the terminals and the new one (URO) is painted so either the marks are buried under the paint, or it doesn't have any. Wired correctly, I am getting 5 bar at startup dropping to a bit over 2 once warm after a drive - just like before! 25 or so miles and all is well so far. For future reference: Be extra careful installing the intake cam. Too easy to mis-align the bearing at the chain end and ruin a perfectly good cam in short order. Take the engine out of the car. While doable engine-in, the extra time spent working around the body of the car is not worth the hassle. For misfires: definitely start with the easier / less expensive possibilities (plugs, coils, injectors) first but be prepared for a stuck lifter as apparently it does happen! Many thanks to all who offered guidance.

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Amen.

Brokencrank, should you change your username to "Brokencamshaft"? What is the meaning of your user name?

The 996.2 3-chain is definatly an engine out job ..... ( unless you are doing it for a living and feeding a family of 4, and don't have to remove the cam vane actuator ) On a 996.1 5-chain it can be done in the car much faster, but you need to be a skilled wrencher and not mind working in close quarters with finese .. IF you are a Rookiie wrencher or have all the time in the world and are claustrophobic, then by all means always remove the engine ...lol