Head Removal...

[ZeroG]

Ok, guys..  I am kind of stumped on this one...

The vehicle is a '95 E36 M42..  I noticed last time I was at the track, I seem to be going through radiator fluid, about a half a gallon every two track days..  I crawled underneath the car and bam antifreeze everywhere.  I trace it back to the source it looks like it is coming from the head.  Car runs fine even at the track, so no compression leak.  I ask a few peeps and they say that it has to be the profile gasket.

So I figure I must as well pull the head since it is a track car anyway.  I am about 80% done with disassembly, and I get the car to TDC and lock it with the pin and go to put the CamShaft tool in place and the square pieces are not in line to to attach the tool.  They should be totally squared off at TDC, and mine are both angled. parallel, but angled.  

What the F**** does that mean?

Did the guy that installed my cams way back when not get the timing right?

Is there away that I can move them to line them up without messing up the timing or am I pretty much screwed and will need to realign them anyway?

[D. Clay]

If it's just a little bit - a variation that can be adjusted using the slotted holes on the cam gears- I wouldn't worry too much about it. If it's off more than that, double check that the flywheel pin is in correctly. Other than that you would have had valve damage or noticed a loss of power from major cam misalignment. Hope it's no big.

[ZeroG]

If it's just a little bit - a variation that can be adjusted using the slotted holes on the cam gears- I wouldn't worry too much about it. If it's off more than that, double check that the flywheel pin is in correctly. Other than that you would have had valve damage or noticed a loss of power from major cam misalignment. Hope it's no big.

Thanks for the reply.  I think it is only a little bit, I'll have to check a little later tonight if by adjusting the slots it is enough to make the cam lock tool fit.  

So the adjustible slots is that the so called adjustible cam sprokets on the M42?      Do you know how much you can advance or retard the timing =/- 5 degrees?

Do aftermarket adjustible cam sprockets offer a greater amount of adjustibility then the OEM ones?

What is the set up that is recomended by most for the cam adjustment.  Straight up at zero?  Advance ignition, retard exhaust?

Sorry, for all the questions this is my first timing pulling the head!  

[ZeroG]

Ok, so I loosened  the cam bolts on the cam sprockets and used a wrench on the Hex to adjust them as much as possible and I am still unable to get the cam to line up enough to place the locking tool on when the car is a TDC.

Here are some pics:

[Tonyb]

Had the same problem after a head swap. Make sure the crank is at TDC and adjust the cam's to spec. I felt like passing out when turning the key, but my car never ran better!

[Tonyb]

In the picture, it looks like the arrows on the sprockets are not pointing up. They both have to be at the 12 o'clock position, rotate the cank until they both point up.