Cam Shaft Reinstallation
 

I am reinstalling my cams after taking them out to replace my head gasket and was wondering how to do it, is there a guide?

So far I've greased up the buckets using engine assembly paste and put them back where they came from, I've greased up the bits where the cams turn on the head and will grease up the caps that screw them in place.

What I'm really wondering about is the cam oil seals. I bought new ones to play it safe when putting everything back together, do I need to seal these with 3 bond? Or just push the seals over the end of the cams?

Any info would be great,

Thanks

Ross

You should be able to download the relevant service manual for your MY (or one very close to it) on Slipstream_UK's manuals thread which should sort you as far as guides go.

You don't need to seal the shaft seals with Threebond but you do need to run a very thin sliver of it along the joint between the head and the front pair of cam caps. and I mean very thin - you want enough to seal but not enough to get into the bearing journals themselves. It's worth looking at a manual to get an idea of the optimal placement for it - you need to go round the bolt holes too.

And, for want of sounding like a stuck record, a very thin bead, just enough to see, is all you need - ideally wipe the mating faces of the head and cap with brake cleaner immediately before applying too.

The "proper" way to insert the shaft seals is after the caps have been bolted down, and there's a service tool to aid in tapping them squarely into place. You can make something suitable up from a piece of plastic or metal bar/tube - the only important thing is to make sure it bears on the outside diameter of the seal. If you don't want to do that you can assemble the cap with the seal already in situ, checking it's fully home and square as you tighten the bolts.

Check the tightening torque of the cap bolts too - there are a couple of variations and one of the manuals contains a howling misprint which will result in you shearing the front bolts if you follow it without thinking what you're doing.