RED87944S

so i had the head of..i am putting everything back together,how do i know at what position i need to install the cams? i did take some pictures before taking it off but i dont know how close i can get..is there ant other way? thanks

jstand22

Here's a picture of my cams set at TDC. Behind the chain tensioner there are little "pointers" machined on each cam. Make the the pointer on the exhaust cam is pointing up and the cam lobes for cylinder 1 are oriented like in this picture. Now look at the cam chain. Make sure there are 7 links between the sprockets (5 not touching the sprockets)

jstand22

These are the pointers to indicated TDC.

RED87944S

thats not going to work...because i dont think i set the engine to TDC the right way...i put a straw down to cylinder one and when the piston was at its highest i stopped there,and i could not find anything in the square box..i guess i did it wrong because on my pictures its totally different..do you think i am still good? as long as i have 5 links not touching and looking at the pic setting them up best i can?

RED87944S

i think i can line it up 100% how it was..

jstand22

don't install the cams until we straighten this out....

If the cams aren't installed you can still move the block to TDC... If you didn't see anything in the box and the piston is at the top you're on the wrong stroke....Turn the engine over again until the 1st piston reaches the top again then check the box, it should be there. A piston on a 4 stroke engine reaches the top twice during a cycle.

Do not try and line it up the way it was....you'll need a new engine for christmas

RED87944S

ok ok,ill do that right now

RED87944S

i am not sure what i should be seeing????i dont get this? should there be letters? when the piston is at the top do i line something up?

jstand22

Are you looking through the inspection port for the flywheel? It's located on top of the bellhousing...so you look down from the top of the engine, not under the car. You have to kinda lay on top of the engine to see it, it's the very back of the engine bay.

http://www.clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/eng-13.htm

There's a tab that doesn't move, you have to line the mark on the flywheel up with this tab. Use a flashlight the mark may be very worn.

RED87944S

ok..i think i got it...its a mark few mms wide and line that up with the non moving mark? its so hard to see in there at a angle..

jstand22

right...but you don't want to set them while looking on an angle...you need to lay on top of the engine and look at them straight down to make sure they match up.

Then we'll talk cams

RED87944S

correct..i talk about right side angle if looking from passenger side door...i got the cams to look like yours..so yeah what about the cams now? so the pointers should face straight up

jstand22

You haven't bolted the cams in yet right?

If you haven't already done so lock the flywheel if you're confident it's at TDC. Then position the cams the way you want them when they're to be bolted in. Don't put the tensioner in yet, but have the chain on the cams.

RED87944S

the bolts on the cams are loose and the upper clamps are not even on...i dont have flywheel locking tool..i thought i read that i would not need it if removing the head?..

jstand22

Eh, you're going to want it to set the timing, unless you're very very careful....the block cannot move under any circumstances. Since the belts aren't on the block will move independent from the cams, so if it budges it's will be out of time with the cams.