we had a thumping noise coming from underneath and it turns out one of the cam chains was coming apart . Is this a big fix ? thanks in advance .. 2002 996

 

If you caught it before it broke and did a lot of damage then the engine should be rebuildable. Unfortunately the replacement of the chain, particularly on a 3 chain, VarioCamPlus engine, requires the tear down of the engine, and once the engine is torn down there is really no reason not to change the bearings, etc., so you are really looking at a total rebuild.

I saw a post once about cam chains with master links on a aftermarket basis but have never seen one. If it was available then if the bad chain is one of the IMS to cam chains you could replace it without a total teardown. Again, this is if no damage had occurred.

You might want to check with Jake Raby on these replacement chains.

Good Luck.