Earlier variants of Porsche’s 16 valve engines (2.5 liter 944S and 3.0 liter 944S2) used a similar setup but without the Variocam mechanism. Possible Causes of Variocam Failure. Tensioner pads 1 mm (max deepness of tracks in the nylon pads) Camshaft chain 2mm (half stretching of the closed chain, corresponds to 4mm of stretching of an “open” chain). The chain stretching can be measured easily and precisely only by dismounting the old chain (requiring removal of both camshafts) and comparing it with a new one.
