951_RS

Hello, I'm going to be replacing the can tower gasket soon, unless I take the car to a local shop (would much prefer to do it myself.)

I know that I'll need a flywheel lock to keep engine TDC but as I'm trying to sell the car I don't particularly want to buy one if I don't have to.

Is there anyone in Houston with one I can use perhaps?

Thanks for any feedback.

Tom M'Guinn

You can change the cam tower gasket without locking the flywheel, no problem.

951_RS

So just get it to TDC and take off can tower or what?

Droops83

Yup. The most important part of the job is to loosen the cam tower bolts gradually and evenly, and replace them with new. These bolts stretch easily as they are clamping against valve spring tension and are really only good for one or two uses. Failure to replace these bolts is the #1 reason for the main cam tower gasket to leak. Also, don't overtighten the 6MM bolts for the rear cover, as it will break the cork gasket.

Be sure to tighten the new bolts gradually in the order shown in the manual in many states and torque to spec.

Good luck.

Tom M'Guinn

When I put the cam tower back on, I usually put the motor at TDC using the flywheel mark in the bell housing, then I back up the motor maybe 20 degrees so that all of the pistons are down in their bores. Then I bolt the cam tower on, trying to keep the cam aligned with its TDC mark as I bolt it down evenly. The cam tends to turn a little when you bolt it down, but with the pistons out of the way it isn't a concern. Once the tower is torqued down, I then correct any movement of the cam so that it is back on its TDC mark, and then roll the motor forward to put it back to TDC (i.e., only roll it forward the 20 degrees you backed it up) and finally install the belt with the cam gear and flywheel marks both at TDC. You can put a dab of white out on the front a/c pulley to mark TDC, so that when you are rolling it back to TDC with the tower on you know about when the TDC mark should appear in the bell housing window -- you don't want to lose track of TDC with the tower installed...