SOLVED: Intake Cam Almost Flush?

[ykarabala]

I almost have the motor in time. The exhaust cam sits flush with the blocks, but the intake cam is almost there. I need to rotate the cam ever so slightly to get it right. I removed the lock pin and blocks, rotated crank twice, lined up the tdc mark, insert pin, and the intake cam is still barely off. Any ideas?

[kronus]

that doesn't look right to me.

is your chain tensioner installed? is your vanos installed? did you replace the main timing chain?

[kronus]

it's also possible that your intake cam sprocket is not installed correctly, which limits the degree to which the cam can rotate relative to the exhaust cam. I think it puts it about half a tooth off, which looks about right given your cam block alignment.

[ykarabala]

Primary and secondary tensioners are installed. Vanos is in and caught right away. Timing chain not replaced.

Is the intake cam sprocket you are referring to the one with the 3 elongated slots?

[kronus]

your vanos is likely at its travel limit due to either the cam sprocket issues mentioned above, or due to being a tooth off. you should take it out, loosen the three nuts that hold the sprocket spring plate, and use the cam rotating tool to get it aligned. if it's impossible to bolt together after that, something is installed backwards.

[ykarabala]

I installed the 2mm plate, spring bowing out towards me, 4mm plate and torqued to 89in lb? Are you referencing the sprocket with the 3 elongated slots? I could be a tooth off on that?

[ykarabala]

Am I doing something wrong?

[Rugbyfan]

I set my timing with a dummy tensioner. No issues.

[ykarabala]

Bump bc I need help please

[ZekeTheSneak]

https://youtu.be/23jXHhkpV_I

This guy does a good job explaining the process. He has 3 videos on cam removal and install with vanos.

[ykarabala]

I triple checked with this video to make sure I'm doing everything correctly and I am. Followed along and I still get the same result. Pelican article on setting time will show a similar picture to the one I have posted above in regards to the upper chain sprocket relationships.

Online reading led me to find someone with a similar issue, and someone replied “Sounds like you did everything right. If your cam is only a tiny bit off your DME will make the adjustments.
One other thought comes to mind....your vanos could be stuck causing the timing to be off.”

Should vanos cup be able to slide in and out easily? I can push it in, but I have a hard time pulling it out. Is this reason legit?

[ZekeTheSneak]

You have the cam tensioner installed correct? You are using something to apply slight pressure to the chain tensioner on the side? Are you rotating the engine clockwise?

[ykarabala]

Yes the upper chain tensioner is installed.
I removed the spring from primary chain tensioner and put in 8 pennies to maintain a constant tension.
I only rotate the motor clockwise

[AndrewBird]

Is this just a case of needing to tap the cam lock tool down with a soft faced hammer? The cams will have tension on them from the valve springs, so you kind of have to make the cam turn some how to get the block on. Rotating it back and forth slightly with a wrench while pushing on the block usually works too.

[ykarabala]

I haven’t tried tapping the blocks at all. Extremely little effort is needed to move the cam to make it sit flush. Can the vanos cup not sliding out be a legitimate issue? Should I just make that adjustment and continue putting the valve cover back on?