Hey guys, so i'm in the process of replacing my camshaft adjusters and had a question regarding the timing tool used to lock the camshaft in place.

After rotating to 40 degrees and switching out the exhaust cam adjuster, I accidentally removed one of the locking plates while the cam bolt was loose which caused the entire exhaust camshaft to rotate out of position.. I was able to manually rotate back with a wrench and then eventually slide the front locking plate on flush but am now seeing that the rear locking bar doesn't slide into both cams - it slides perfectly into the rear of the left intake cam but the right one seems to be rotated the slightest bit (~0.5mm) which prevents it from going in all the way. Is this normal and should I proceed with putting everything back together? The adjusters are replaced at this point.

Here's a quick visual I put together for this issue

Tldr: Confused because the front locking plate is bolted in and sitting flush on both the intake and exhaust camshafts but the rear locking plate is unable to slide in due to slight rotation/misalignment in the rear of the exhaust cam.

 

Check your rear locking bar is 100% flat, the cheap ebay ones bend very easy then won't go in when the front is aligned and vice versa.

 

Thanks for the reply - yeah it's definitely flat. But what's interesting is that I was able to fit both the front and rear locking plate in place. However, after removing the rear plate, its seemed to have shifted in the back just a bit and now I can't fit it in anymore. Are cams typically supposed to have minor play? Both the intake and exhaust cam bolts are torqued to spec so it's definitely not loose..

At this point, i might just proceed and put everything back together but not sure if that 0.5mm difference in alignment will cause timing issues on startup

 

make sure they're aligned correctly. if you've removed your cam phaser bolts you'll need to replace them as they're one time use. since the cam phasers don't align using a keyway or alignment pin you'll need to ensure you align everything correctly using the alignment tools.

 

Cam bolts have been replaced with new ones but i'm having trouble with the alignment tools - the front alignment tool fits but the rear one no longer fits for some reason so i'm wondering if this is fine or not? If not, is there a way to realign the rear?

 

sounds like your camshaft and cam phaser shifted. you'll need to redo this as like mentioned, they do not have an alignment dowel or keyway for the camshaft to cam phaser. they rely on the alignment tool.

 

Can you clarify what you mean by redoing with the alignment tool? Just want to make sure i get these steps right.

Im comparing the adjusters on the driver side with the ones on the passenger and am seeing that i might've put on the adjusters incorrectly. The part numbers are up but the hole on top seems to be off a little - is there way to make sure it's situated correctly? Happy to provide pics here if it helps.

Sorry for all the questions here.. first time working on the cams so just trying to avoid any doubt here

 

The cam adjuster popped out of lock. The pin is likely not in its home position. Need to adjust it outside of the engine and retry it again.

 

^ This. Realign cam phasers to camshafts first, then align the cams. Both front and back should line up perfectly.

 

I have done a few of these engines :-)
Be aware of the fact that there will always be a little play in the cam adjusters even when they are brand new.
As all cams are under tension from the valve springs the play in the adjusters will be forced to one side or another.
That can be a bit tricky to work with when you are timing the engine because there is also a little play in the front timing tool.
What I normally do is I'm counter holding the cam with a wrench when I torque the cam phaser bolt to 45NM.
At 45NM i check the timing with the rear timing tool. If it's not perfect i loosen the bolt and redo it. When it's perfect I do the angle torque(90) - still counter holding.
When all cams are perfectly alligned I turn crank two times to 40 mark and recheck timing. If they are perfect - job done! If they are not I redo the ones that are not correctly timed, turn cranck and recheck again. I always order two extra bolts and friction discs when doing this as there is alway one cam that is tricky to get perfect :-)

Funny thing is that because of the play in the adjusters, even when you get it 100% perfect, next time you reopen the engine, the rear timing tool will not go in unless you use a wrench on the cam to adjust :-)

Remenber to carry out the camshaft adaptation with Star diagnose when engine is back together.

 

Wow this is really helpful - wish i'd read this earlier. I managed to figure out the timing tool / play eventually and get everything seated correctly.

After restarting the engine, everything was working fine (no CEL) but after a day, i'm seeing that the CEL is now on. Unfortunately I didn't 1) recheck the timing again by cranking two times and 2) carry out the camshaft adaptation. Is it possible that the CEL is related to either of these?

 

Get a scanner and read the codes!
CEL can be casued by a million things. After I replaced the camshaft adjusters, my car threw a CEL and two timing codes. Clearing them got rid of the CEL and the car is running fine years after that with the timing in place.

 

Yep, just ordered a carsoft reader off Amazon! But just to confirm, CEL can still show up even if everything is fine? Car is running great currently (if not better than before the adjusters were replaced)

 

Lots of things can cause a CEL. But to answer your question, yes timing being of will definitely throw a CEL and not doing the camshaft adaptation can also throw a CEL.
Have it scanned :-)

 

Ive rebuilt all my adjusters twice with out getting a CEL as everything timing wise stays the same if done right like AMGator said in post#10.
Might definitely be different if fitting new cams
First time to replace the bucket lifters and do the Tasos pin flip and second time to fit new "63Motorsport" base plates and pins.