rotating camshafts after new head gasket

[johnnyboy55]

I recently acquired a 1996 gst in which had a head gasket leak. The motor is fresh so i had the head checked and done.. Got a new head gasket and all the timing goodies.. I made a mistake today when installing the the head.. I torqued the head bolts to specs from the service manual but I didnt not put the cam gears on untill afterwards and I noticed everything is timed right except the cams.. I have not put the belt on or rotated anything but I would like to know if I can rotate the cams to get them back in the right timing?? The crank is at tdc but the valves I believe are 180 degrees if Im not mistaken.. They are shut.. I know its a bad mistake but id rather not remove the bolts to remove the head if i dont have to.. Any help would be greatly appreciated..

 

[Delta Cam]

roll the crank about 90 degrees until the cams are in location, then roll it back. This will move the pistons a bit down the bore to not allow them to touch the valves.

 

[BogusSVO]

+2 On what Delta said!

 

[NOSLO2PT0]

You haven't done anything wrong yet. Put the #1 piston (closest to driver side) to TDC. Make sure your oil pump gear is lined up right (if you have balance shafts). Then install the timing belt, making sure the cams are in the correct position. You sure you are confident enough to set the timing correctly? Sounds like you need a little help as you don't quite fully understand how everything works or in what order they should be performed.

 

[johnnyboy55]

thanks for the help guys. Got it all lined up and in phase today..

I am confident that I can do the job but I was not sure how far the valves pertrude so i wanted to be safe... I am a hands on person whether I like it or not and mechanics have been letting me down lately so I figure I will time the beast myself and replace everything along the way... I am mechanically inclined for the most part but have not done my own timing belts in the past so Im taking it slow and making sure I am doing everything by the book...


I have another question and I see no need to make another post so.. I put in the bs belt and tensioned it find.. When i put the crankshaft blades and sproket back on it looks like the belt is kind of rubbing on the blades. Is this normal because everything is installed the same way it came off??? thanks again

 

[NOSLO2PT0]

Personally, I would just cut the balance shaft belt and never worry about it again. You are just eliminating one possible thing to go wrong and possibly take out the timing belt and ruin your head.

 

[Spoolin18]

Personally, I would just cut the balance shaft belt and never worry about it again. You are just eliminating one possible thing to go wrong and possibly take out the timing belt and ruin your head.

"Cut" as in razor cut the belt into or BSE?

 

[NOSLO2PT0]

Cutting the belt is 100x easier and doesn't require dropping the motor and pulling the oil pump case off in order to install a BSE kit.

 

[johnnyboy55]

Thanks for the response.. I wont be removing the belt but I believe the tensioner is my problem vfaq says that my year may need the lip on the outside and I agree with that so Im gonna switch it around.. I am giving the car to my sister so I am taking out the urethane mounts and leaving the balance shaft for a smoother ride untill I get it back after school.. thanks for all the help..

 

[Spoolin18]

Cutting the belt is 100x easier and doesn't require dropping the motor and pulling the oil pump case off in order to install a BSE kit.

Explain how this would work, I was under the expression the BS could get out of phase doing that and cause severe vibration which cause engine damage. I'm just curious how this might work on a DD without hurting anything.

 

[NOSLO2PT0]

Explain how this would work, I was under the expression the BS could get out of phase doing that and cause severe vibration which cause engine damage. I'm just curious how this might work on a DD without hurting anything.

The front balance shaft is driven by the belt, which runs off the crank sprocket. You cut that belt, the shaft just sits there and does nothing. You have eliminated reciprocating weight, eliminating drag off the crank. You still have the dead weight of the shaft sitting inside the engine, but that isn't costing you any hp.

Now the REAR shaft is a different story. That is run directly off the oil pump sprocket. The only way to eliminate that one is to remove the front case, oil pump and install the BSE kit. THAT shaft must be in phase, or you will get the nasty engine vibrations.