[987kmns]

I always tear open the old oil filter after every oil change. In the past I have been fortunate in that I haven't found any foreign materials in the filter, but recently, at 187,000 miles on the odometer, my filter was covered in bits of plastic that look like chain ramp material.



A quick check of the camshaft deviation showed that the timing is out of spec. I wasn't able to find out if the limit specified by Porsche is +- 4 degrees or +- 6 degrees. Regardless, mine is well beyond that.



My wife has been driving the car lately and she noticed some engine codes that seem to go away on their own every now and then. It turns out the codes indicated that the camshaft deviation was out of spec. So, even though I wasn't planning on it, I decided to pull the engine out and tear it down. I was suspecting that some of the chain ramps (particularly those on the Vario Cam units) are really worn down.

First step - engine out.



Intake manifolds and other ancillaries removed.



Long block. Gotta love the mess left behind by the power steering reservoir and its leaky habits.



Engine stand plate attached.



First order of business was to turn the engine upside down to soak the header bolts in WD40. I really didn't want to snap any.



Luckily they all came out with no issues.



Time for some brief cleaning before the tear down.





And ready to start removing the 1 - 3 cylinder head.



Camshaft hold down tool installed.



Oil pump removed.



Valve cover removed. Very happy with the wear on the camshafts.



Camshafts removed.



Lifters (valve tappets) removed.



Lifter housing removed.



Cylinder head removed.



Cylinders look beautiful IMO.



Repeat the process for 4 - 6 cylinder head.



Short block.



Oil pan removed. Nasty looking sump.



4 - 6 cylinder case half removed.



Crankshaft carrier removed.



IMS tensioner paddle not so happy.



Likewise, the Vario Cam chain ramps were incredibly worn down. I'll post pics when I separate them from the chains and camshafts. So there you have it. Engine tear down complete. I'd say that process was pretty straight forward. My brother, Ion (fcotanis on Dorki), helped throughout. It took the two of us 14 hours to tear the engine down. This included some cleaning time and a couple of meals.

Here is Ion ready for battle.



I am currently forming a list of parts to order and will post more pics here when I begin the assembly.