18rg cam/timing chain.

[keseventy]

Hey there, im in the process of changing the headgasket on my 18rg, got the gasket in and the head bolted back down no worries, but how on earth do i get the timing chain back on.

Can someone pretty please give me a quick rundown? and yes i know i should of brought an engine manual... im kicking myself for it now

Thanks

Corey

[airfireman1]

when you put the head on you need to slip the cam chain thru the head and make sure that it does not drop, usualy a 2 person job. Did you remove the tensioner ?.

[o_man_ra23]

Did you put the chain on before putting the head on?? If so, then it's a simple case of putting the chain around the cams before you put on the upper slipper and the cam sprockets.

If you didn't put the chain in, then you better have a split link in your chain somewhere!! You will need to break the chain, tie some stiff thin cord to one end, loop the cord around the lower sprocket, then pull the chain up while turning the crank - this is best done with the cams off. Once you have the chain looped back up, re-join it with the split link, and re-assemble, putting the chain around the cams before putting the sprockets and upper slipper on.

Good luck.

[Willofan]

Have you taken out the hydraulic tensioner on the carby side to release the tension on the guide that pivots at the bottom,

Aslo check to see the chain has not bunched up at the gear below the head or under the fixed tensioner.

PM your number to me and I can talk you through it while you're at the car.

Hey there, im in the process of changing the headgasket on my 18rg, got the gasket in and the head bolted back down no worries, but how on earth do i get the timing chain back on.

Can someone pretty please give me a quick rundown? and yes i know i should of brought an engine manual... im kicking myself for it now

Thanks

Corey

[keseventy]

yeah my mate help me put it back on, the chain was hell tight before i took the head off.. had to tap the gears off with a rubber mallet. Yep, tensioner has been removed.

[Omegaman]

As per above. But you'll need to take off the cam gears or loosen them.
slip the chain over the gears and push gear into place one at a time.
You may need to turn the cam shaft to allow some play in the chain.
it's tricky, but doable.

[78celica]

I've just done the same job on my 18RG and was hoping someone could give me a guide to how tight the tensioner should be, we loosened it of a bit but just used fingers to push it down while we got the chains back up around the sprockets (Did it the hard way :/ wish id seen this thread last night lol).
And is there meant to be a locking nut in the end of the tensioner...?