?While I?m in there? in bank 1 and 2

Had a few questions while I was in here, so I figured I�d put all of my head questions in 1 thread. I have the cover off, cams out, and I�m set to replace the Variocam pads that have 100k miles on them. 1. I hadn�t originally planned on it, but should I replace the valve lifters as well? LN sells a set of 12 for $294, and it�s made by INA (I assume I�d just get 2 of these) but I�m not sure of the quality. My current lifters are just fine, no ticking or failures so far. I have 100k miles on the car. I hope I�m not replacing OEM parts with faster-failing aftermarket stuff. 2. Is there anything other than chain pads/possibly lifters I should be replacing while I�m in here? (Hence the name of the thread) 3. Why is my gray cam chain link not where it�s supposed to be? If you look at the cam pic below, you�ll see the gray chain link and the dot on the sprocket are off by 4 links. The exhaust sprocket is also off by exactly 4 links so the cams are in time, as all the tools lined up fine, I had no issues with timing prior to disassembly. It looks to just be the chain that�s not aligned to where it�s supposed to be.

Ignore the position if the grey link. What is important is the number of links between the dots. Somone may have been into that engine and not bothered to put the chain in the factory position. Also replacement chains dont even have the grey link.

Thank you! I figured as much. Any takers on questions 1 and 2?

Because of the number of total links isn't equally divisible by the link spacing they would only line up again after a certain number of rotations. If the lifters are quiet that would seem to be a waste. I replaced the small chains.

#2. Assuming u verfied the variocam seleniods were working then unless u want to spend an additional $2500 replacing them as pm then no there isnt much else to do in the engine. U could replace the short chains and long chain pads if u want to take more off the motor? Dont think i would do lifters either. Lots of things on the outside like coolant hoses and vac lines, oil cooler o-rings, oil filler pipe, idler pulleys and belt, motor and trans mounts.

I plan on verifying the solenoids work but I'm pretty sure they do. I hadn't planned on replacing the short chains, but I might as well do that. Good call on the long chain pads from IMS to cam sprocket - I'll do that.

With regard to changing out the lifters, I changed out my original lifters with INA replacements when I had my cracked head fiasco of 2019. The original lifters were not making any noise, just thought it would be good preventative maintenance "while I was in there". Well, when I put the engine back together, I immediately experienced the ticking lifter debacle of 2019. Upon first startup after reassembly, I noticed a lifter ticking so replacing my original lifters with INA lifters was not such a good idea after all. This ticking only occurs for the first 30 seconds after startup and not every time, usually when I haven't started the car for a week or so. It would appear the INA lifters' tolerances aren't as close as the originals, so the oil leaks down between starts and they tick until the oil pressure pumps them up again. My advice is to keep your original lifters if they are not making any noise.

@Weazer Thanks - good to know as those INA lifters are probably part of the LNEngineering's rebuild engine kit. The obvious problem here is of course especially if there's a bore scoring is that engine makes all kind of noises that makes it difficult to distinguish those from lifter noise - although Jake says in one of those videos that lifters do not make noise as they are almost never the issue. Perhaps there's a lifter guru that could make video about cleaning and rebuilding those original lifters and test them properly - if they are in rebuildable condition in the first place.

I dont know if you are pulling the heads but I found this kind of disturbing: https://newsite.hamheads.com/2018/01...e-seat-issues/

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I read a thread somewhere with almost this exact situation but I don't think it was you. So it seems to lend credence to the fact that INA lifters are inferior, or, just less desirable than OEM lifters. I'll stick with my current ones. I believe you can actually replace the lifters with the engine still in, so it seems it's possibility for the future without another engine-out project.

INA makes the Porsche lifters, and lifters for about every other German car too. Ticking lifters are pretty common on cars that don't get used a lot. The solution published by VW is to get the engine oil hot, then with the car parked and in neutral rev the engine to 3500-4000 RPM for 2 minutes. This always works for me. I'd say that if your lifters are not making noise now, and you are not replacing the camshaft, then leave the lifters alone.