I know we have some very experienced and knowledgeable people here, so I'm curious if anyone has tackled this repair themselves.

 

I'm planning on tearing into that (full chain cassette + head gasket) over Thanksgiving week. I'll probably have the special tools for sale after I'm done if you want.

So far, I've pulled out all of the relevant sections of the Bentley manual and I'm in the process of retyping and consolidating steps as well as finalizing the parts list. I can keep you updated of the progress if you want.

 

KochDeutsch: It would be great for all of us on NAM if you would do a "How To" on this difficult project. There may be a number of us attempting this ourselves given the frequency of these issues. Keep me in mind for the special tools...Thanks in advance, Mike

 

I would be very much interested on this as well... Performing the tensioner-only part of the SIM is pretty straightforward, but takes patience.

The risky part with taking the chain out, is to keep the camshafts correctly positioned and for that I think you need a special locking pin... Good luck to KochDeutsch!!

 

I'm definitely interested in hearing your feedback on the repair. I'm not afraid to try it myself, but more info is always helpful.