S4gasm (LoTR)

This is solely my input, take it as you will..first of all, i think the 3366 (cam tensioner tool) is just about worthless. Its a great idea, but its just too puny. You have this decent sized tensioner and this beefy cam chain, yet the 3366 bolt is smaller around then a pencil. I stripped the bolt on the drivers side and i'm not one to normally strip bolts... i was able to find a matching bolt at a local hardware store....you could do it without the tool IMO.

Great idea, but highly under-engineered. I HATE this tool.
<img src="http://www.samstagsales.com/images/vw_matra_3366.jpg">

Heres how it went in a nutshell, drivers side, remove valve cover and adjacent parts, simple enough...install tensioner tool, tighten some, chain doesn't compress, tighten some more, nothing, tighten some more, strip bolt on tool, remove 3366 tool in a rage, throw on ground and kick it across the garage....step back and ponder how u will get the tensioner gasket and half moon gasket out...grab the tensioner and wrestle with it like a 6 yr old having a fit...get 1/2" of clearance and realize there is no way in hell u will get enough clearance to get the old gasket out or the new gaskets in...

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/78580/tnsrgasket.jpg">

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/78580/tensrgskt_002.jpg">

Begin removing bearing caps one at a time in order to lift the intake cam up to free up some slack...remove all caps and grab cam by the rough casting with some channel locks, cam pops out of its "seat"...grab tensioner and rejoice that now you have about 3/4" of clearance..barely enough to get the old gaskets out...install new gaskets with heart surgeon like skills, drip sweat into open head..stand back and smile that you finally got that bitch out....without the help of the tensioner tool.

Sweet, hard parts over right? WRONG...go to push cam back into its "seat" and realize it is NOT BUDGING at ALL...have an anuerism right there in your garage, get up off the floor...push on the cam some more...nothing...quit for the night...come back the next night assuming it will be easier this time, push, kick, swing, pounce, punch the cam...nothing...go back inside for the 2nd night, slam a beer in depression....realize you will need a 2nd hand, call bro who is an old tech, ask him if he wants to come over tomorrow night.

Bro comes over next night, he takes a pry bar, pushes down on the metal lip of the tensioner as i push down on the cam, and doesn't really do much....stand back and cry some more...then realize you are down to the last resort, what we did next if not for the faint of heart....

First we loosened all of the exhaust cam caps, do not remove, just loosen significantly..then we took one cap at a time, and while my bro tried to compress the tensioner with the pry bar, i installed one cap at a time, starting from the back, and hand tightening each cap. We were attempting to "suck" the cam back into its seat, this is extremely nerve wracking as you risk scarring the cam bearings or cam. We were very cautious to never over tigthen them. After finally getting the cam to seat itself by doing so, we then very lightly tightened them with a ratchet, we then went back and AGAIN removed each bearing cap one at a time on the intake cam, checking for scarring...looks good. Lube up each cap by finger, reinstall one cap at a time and lightly tighten, after all of them are snug, go back and torque them to 10NM.

The point of re-removing each cap after they had already been seated and pulled the cam down, was to 1) check for scarring, and 2) to make sure the caps were in there correct spot and not tightened down with any resistance against the cam. Reinstalling them allowed to do so without any tension on them and to very easily (and properly) tighten and torque them. Remember aluminum scars very easily.

FINALLY, install new valve cover gasket, (why i originally started all this) and put gasket goop in 4 corners and the "valley" and anywhere else u might feel needs some extra love....install VC and all parts...stand back and rejoice, and move onto the passenger side...4 days later.

Remove "stuff" and the valve cover, stare tensioner dead in the eye, swear under your breath, install 3366 POS tool..tigthen, see it barely work at all...say fvck it and grab the tensioner by hand and yank on the bitch and to your surprise see it pop up almost a solid inch. Pull out old gaskets and again install, very carefully, the new gasket and half moon gasket....pray, plead, beg, that you dont drop either one. Remove 3366 POS tool, install 4 T30 bolts to the tensioner, grab 3366 tool set on fire and throw it across the garage and wish it the deaths of a thousand fires.

Stand back and have a happy cry, suddenly recall you're not done yet...install new valve cover gasket and stuff...put all back together and finish passenger side in under one hour. Pick up the melted 3366 tool and curse at audi for making such a worthless tool and contemplate calling audi to bitch at them and sue for emotional distress....log onto audiworld and bitch about it to your friends instead.

Wait 24 hours for gasket goop to dry, start car, smile ear to ear, no more leaks.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/78580/mix_032.jpg">

Again, this was just my personal experience, i'm sure some people had better luck with the tool, but it was essentially worthless to me.

Cheers

Ram@S4-MTM

Having a $hitty day...

Best wishes,

Ram

S4gasm (LoTR)

ah, damn..will do. TGIF though.

Rolf

Then again, my motor was out of the car which probably made it alot easier. However, in reference to the problem you were having on the drivers side .. you said it was tight and you could barely get clearance under the tensioner, yet the passenger side gave you alot of clearance.

When I was doing the job, I noticed that there is a "loose" spot for each side. For example, if the chain was really tight on one side, I would rotate the crank with a 12point 24mm open end wrench. the tensioner would move up and down, and then you would see the chain on only one side at a time all of a sudden release some tension. This would allow plenty of clearance. THAT would be the time to install the 3366 tool. I had no issues with that tool. Then keep rotating the crank, and one side would regain tension but the other bank would release. If you had rotated the crank, I think you would've had a much easier time with the drivers side ;P

Most of my time was spent cleaning under and around the tensioner with goo-gone and a Q-Tip. Hours doing this.

S4gasm (LoTR)

i'm sure if you had the motor out or even doing a timing belt, this would be 100x easier. But yet, the passenger side was a million times easier for whatever reason. I never tried rotating the cam, it did cross my mind but wasn't sure that would help much...good tip.

Jason @ Streetwerke

Having done this job myself, I know how things can get frustrating. However, the tool is fine. The trick to to try to get as much chain slack as possible on the upper side of the head. Sometimes you get lucky and there's a lot of slack. Other times you're not lucky and it's worth turning the crank a little to get more slack.

To get the old gasket out can be a little bit of a bear. Shouldn't be that bad though. Getting the new one in is usually more of a challenge. I hope you cleaned everything up with solvent (between tensioner and head) before installing new gasket and half moon. I use a pick to install the half moon. Insert the pick into the side of the half moon to position it. Works great. Also, make sure you apply sealant along the entire edge of the new gasket. Don't assume the little sealant on the gasket from the factory is good enough...it's not.

cgman84

you have to tap the starter wich causes the tension to move to the uper half of the head the part u r workin on then use the tool/tap key with valve cover off just tap and that should be enuff

prehayem

Piece of sh*t tool stripped my cct plate as well. One question, in order to pull cam's up without messing anything up did you have to pull the timing covers to set it at TDC?

GomerPyle

The trick is to not force the tool. Use a serpentine belt tool to turn the crank over and you will see the cam tension and loosen. I've used the same tool on two engines now (2.7T and 2.8 30V) with no issues. Both engines were in the cars.

You may have to search around for a good serpentine belt tool as from my experience most of them are 1/4" or 3/8" drives. 24MM sockets have 1/2" drives. The fan shroud aligns right with the centerline of the crank, therefore there is no room for an adapter. If there was, you'd be able to use a standard ratchet.