Sybco, I am not trying to discredit your mechanic in any way, but these are far from Titanium. I have had both old and new in my hands at the same time, and they are identical in weight and softness. Titanium is heavier, slightly magnetic, and much harder. The hope in this situation is that they are higher grade of aluminum in the new assemblies, like a 7075 alloy.

 

Keith - might I ask where you found samples of the new bolts? Are these available somewhere? There is no part number on any Porsche parts listing. If people can get the old bolts out - with the adjusters in place - finding the replacement bolts would be a Dogsend..

BTW - unless it's a steel/titanium alloy - titanium is basically non-magnetic. There are some long scholarly papers on the subject - but for simple references http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?Art...tic_Properties "Magnetic Properties: Commercially pure titanium and all the titanium alloys are non magnetic. The permeability of commercially pure titanium is 1.00005-1.0001 at 955 H.m-1." or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titani...cal_properties "Titanium is not as hard as some grades of heat-treated steel; it is non-magnetic and a poor conductor of heat and electricity" There are lots of other references to it - there was only one reference to it being sort of magnetic: http://www.kobelco.co.jp/english/titan/characteristic/ "Extremely low magnetism - Magnetic permeability 1.00005"

There is also mention of it having surface oxidation much like aluminum has - and the use of coatings to prevent or slow this down, which might explain the PFTE coating on these. The statement that titanium bolts weigh more than aluminum is correct - 1.6x more is the number I've found for more common alloys of both.


BTW - this is all like arguing the number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin.. since we haven't heard of any failures of the redesigned adjusters.

 

well my mechanic has started his kids college fund over my car alone, so no love lost. I will say, he has been very well trained and experienced imo. He's doesn't seem as though he is defending PNA. He is in agreement with 'us'...The original part was ****. He in no way defended Cooperate. I get the impression he is well versed and trained in all Porsche vehicles. Titanium is quite light, so very well could be that feeling the difference is difficult to differentiate. I have a string impression of this guy. His experience level aooears to be substantial

 

In the WC-22 there are four 948.105.254.00 Hexagon round-head bolt, M12 x 1.5 x 110 required.

Are these the bolts under discussion? They are also used in the Panamera (#10 in the picture).

 

has anyone talked to these guys? http://www.fifthgear.biz/fifthgear-b...adjuster-bolts

Fifth Gear Automotive
1975 Archer Way
Lewisville TX, 75077
972-317-4005

they seem to be on to this issue..

Actually I just called them.
They said:
1) They are replacing the bad bolts with the SAME BOLTS, as if its a wear item - They said that there are NO improved bolts available yet
2) it usually happens on the passenger side
3) Sometimes you end up with "just" bent valves, sometimes the entire engine is taken out (along with power brake/steering failure)
4) No way to tell ahead of time if the bolts are about to go

Not saying I believe it all but thats what they said

 

Oh sure, now you tell me about Fifth Gear's solution. I am literally picking my car up from the dealer later today after paying to have my adjusters replaced! And these guys are local!

I'm glad that I got it done. Now I can drive it and sleep at night.

 

Yes, I spoke with them as well. The gentleman I spoke with was not their Porsche specialist, so it was somewhat difficult for me to ask about very specific questions. Overall their story definitely corroborates with others. I really like that they came out and made a post about the situation.

 

So they claim to only replace the bolts. This sounds questionable, considering the consensus here is that locktight was used upon factory insertions of bolts, making them nearly impossible to remove. My next question is, who is their source for these replacement bolts?

 

#1 - Bull**** plain and simple. If this was true there would be anti-tamper pins in the center of the bolts on the new Variocam units - and there aren't. And we'd be seeing failures on post 2012 models - and we're not. Not a single one I've heard of.

#2 - Can't say if that's true or not. How many have they personally seen?

#3 - True

#4 - Probably true

So you can believe 3 out of 4 things they told you.

 

On a BMW board someone developed a way to tell if the bolts were going bad. Basically, they took off the valve cover and tried to shake the cam adjuster gear back and forth by pushing on the cam chain side to side. They said you could actually see a bit of movement at the failing bolt head. They turned the engine by hand to rotate the cam gear around and to try pushing on various places around the gear, looking for movement.

 

Taking off the valve covers on these engines isn't something the average housewife is going to do.. and if the sprocket (which is what would move) could be seen to move - by then the head of the bolt had probably already fallen off or will the next time the engine is started. I can't imagine it would stay in place for very long at all once it allowed movement of the sprocket relative to the adjuster.

 

I am looking at couple of 2011 Cayenne's at a dealership close by. I was informed about this issue in the porsche fb group and was directed to this thread. How can I make sure the bolts were replaced on them? On one of the car's carfax history, I see this entry.

A/C refrigerant recharged
A/C system flushed
Accessory removed
Alignment checked
Antifreeze/coolant checked
Cooling system checked
Engine removed to complete repair

Does 'engine removed to complete repair' mean that the bolts were replaced? Any feedback is highly appreciated.

 

Since there is NO description of what the repair was - how would we even begin to guess?

Who knows?

If you read back in this thread, I'm certain I posted photos and a description of how to tell if the bolts are good ones or suspect ones. It's really simple - takes about 2 minutes. Requires a sophisticated tool - a dental mirror.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ailure-21.html

Dog helps those who help themselves..

 

Add me to that list, I just got the news from PORSCHE that they are pretty much offering me 3K to help with a $35,199 repair order.

So I wanted to tell my story here and so I can keep everyone in the loop.

BEFORE YOU BUY A PORSCHE CAYENNE 2011 2012 TURBO OR CAYENNE S PLEASE READ THIS AS IT IS UPDATED.

I recently took my personal 2011 Cayenne Turbo into an indy shop for what I wanted to ID as a loss of boost issue, after 2 visits and many replacement parts that was getting close to the 2K marker I finally DROVE IT IN as I had on the previous 2 occasions. This time I didn't bug then over needing my vehicle since I just wanted them to find the problem and not have to return.

Well I finally call and start asking questions 3-weeks after my car has not been returned or no calls, I finally get a hold of the owner who says that he had the car running and it was running great, during the test drive (only 5-miles were documented since it was left there 3-weeks prior) the engine blew. I was told that it was the infamous CAMSHAFT ADJUSTER SCREWS that broke, well I was then told that it was best if I could get it over to PORSCHE so possibly they would make the repairs under good faith since it just went out of warranty within the year.

Well after a few days and a few calls I get a $3,000 credit towards the repairs authorized from PORSCHE.

I have a 135K paper weight that I can't do anything with until I foot the bill of $35,199 (the estimation for the repairs to be made).

1. I wasn't the driver when the engine blew, the indy shop was "test driving it when it blew".
2. This is a well documented issue with PORSCHE and they have even started a "campaign" an other smooth word for "recall" due to this issue.

http://europe.autonews.com/article/2...a-on-camshaft-

I will keep you all posted on what comes of this ordeal, I just wanted to reach out and ask anyone here first off (LEGAL ADVISE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED) as to: A. is the indy shop responsible for any of this? B. Is PORSCHE responsible, of a know defect in these aluminum bolt failures?

Last has anyone pursued any claims against PORSCHE for this same issue OUT OF WARRANTY covered, I know many of you have had replacements under warranty but mine is out so if you have an out of warranty feedback that would be best.

BY THE WAY, I'M NOT WAITING FOR PORSCHE TO MAKE A MOVE, I'VE ALREADY PURCHASED A REPLACEMENT ENGINE THAT I INTEND ON GETTING INSTALLED VERY SOON. (GOOD IS THAT IS HAS ONLY 27K) (BAD IS THAT EVERYTHING IS OUT OF POCKET TILL I CAN'T GET THIS ISSUE RESOLVED)

I have submitted my report to the NHTSA/DOT just now

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE,

 

That sucks. I had to replace a blown engine in my prior Boxster for another well know issue. Porsche ultimately ended up giving me a new engine (I was just out of warranty time, but under mileage), and I had to cover the labor.

On the bright side, they didn't charge you for airing up your tires