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I removed the head on my 78 Z, and now during reinstall I can't get the cam sprocket back on (chain is too tight).
Are there any tricks to getting it back on?
I didn't put the wedge in when I removed the sprocket as described in the Haynes manual, and my guess is the tensioner has expanded and took up the slack I need to get the chain lined up correctly.
One guy told me I might be able to force the tensioner back by loosening the camshaft tower bolts, tilting the cam from the rear, sliding the sprocket back on with the cam tilted, and then pushing down on the rear of the camshaft and using the tower bolts to tighten the camshaft back down.
This sounds like it's too risky. I don't want to damage any of the bearings or strip any of the tower bolt holes, or stretch/snap my timing chain.
Is the tensioner hydraulically operated, or pure mechanical? Seems like if it's hydraulic, then this trick would probably be OK, but if it's mechanical I might be in for trouble.
Any help out there? Has anyone successfully compressed the tensioner without having to remove all the timing cover stuff?
-Rob
Are there any tricks to getting it back on?
I didn't put the wedge in when I removed the sprocket as described in the Haynes manual, and my guess is the tensioner has expanded and took up the slack I need to get the chain lined up correctly.
One guy told me I might be able to force the tensioner back by loosening the camshaft tower bolts, tilting the cam from the rear, sliding the sprocket back on with the cam tilted, and then pushing down on the rear of the camshaft and using the tower bolts to tighten the camshaft back down.
This sounds like it's too risky. I don't want to damage any of the bearings or strip any of the tower bolt holes, or stretch/snap my timing chain.
Is the tensioner hydraulically operated, or pure mechanical? Seems like if it's hydraulic, then this trick would probably be OK, but if it's mechanical I might be in for trouble.
Any help out there? Has anyone successfully compressed the tensioner without having to remove all the timing cover stuff?
-Rob