2tg - playing with cam adjustments - help!!

[o_man_ra23]

Hmmm... sounds like the way i learned to do it...

Thanks Owen, you are really helping me and encouraging my train of thought along, you are the only person who seems to be able to answer what I have been pondering. And sorry if Im being a PITA and sounding really dumb about it all, Im just learning on my own, no-one really to teach me I just try figure it out myself using a manual and some nous

[auzzi_17]

Does anyone know the original cam dowels? Im rebuilding my 2tg and did not mark the cam dowels on intake or exhaust. When I got it back from a head service, the cam sprockets were off the cams.

I know everyoine is talking about advancing and retarding. But does anyone know the specified dowels for intake and exhaust?

[o_man_ra23]

Does anyone know the original cam dowels? Im rebuilding my 2tg and did not mark the cam dowels on intake or exhaust. When I got it back from a head service, the cam sprockets were off the cams.

I know everyoine is talking about advancing and retarding. But does anyone know the specified dowels for intake and exhaust?

There is no specific dowel. The adjustment is there to take up the slack of machining the head, stretch in chain etc. NEVER think that there is a majik dowel that should be used for factory performance, as there isnt. Line the cams up so the notches in the cams line up with the arrows on the cam caps... shit im getting de-ja-vue here. re-read this thread from the beginning, and do it 5 times, 4 before you attempt putting your motor together, and once when you get stumped doing so (youll learn how to do it the 5th time). Forget about factory setting dowels.

Cheers, Owen

[auzzi_17]

thankyou for clearing that up owen..

and the kick in the teeth was nice to.

Its a shame that people learning this stuff for the first time have to go through such a lengthly process to get a simple answer without having the knowledge of someone who has been doing this for years or at least once before to throw it in their face or try and publicly humiliate someone. Cos it was that easy.

BTW i did read through this thread 2-3 times. And I am stuck on this engine. Last time i will ask a DUMB question. For a minute there was an idea behind having a public forum.

Blake

[barned01]

sorry blake i am with owen.
All the information is here.
put your cams in, chuck the chain around it, choose a dowel hole to initially put the dowell in(obviously one of the middle 2 holes would make sense to start with). then rotate the engine by hand 720 degrees looking at the notches in the cams, if they are straight up then congratulations you picked the right hole.
if, on a single cam the notch is slightly to the left, remove the dowel and put it in the hole to the right, if the notch is slightly to the right then put the dowell in the next left hole. do one change at a time and then rotate engine and repeat the adjustment if required until 20 minutes later you have the magic upright cams. .
there is a specific number of chain links between each of the cogs that the chain goes around (numbered from the small marks on the cogs usually), so you can't get that bit wrong, the fine tuning is done with the dowells.
I can only tell you an 18r's not a 2t.

[shelldrake]

Blake,
There's lots of information available to you on these forums. Perhaps this "lengthy" process may have lots of extra information that proves beneficial to the job you a trying to complete. People on these forums often get frustrated when the same questions are asked over and over - This begs the question if the person asking the question is too lazy to read a few threads (and learn something along the way), why should I bother wasting my time to answer him/her instaneously?

[o_man_ra23]

Blake,
There's lots of information available to you on these forums. Perhaps this "lengthy" process may have lots of extra information that proves beneficial to the job you a trying to complete. People on these forums often get frustrated when the same questions are asked over and over - This begs the question if the person asking the question is too lazy to read a few threads (and learn something along the way), why should I bother wasting my time to answer him/her instaneously?

My point exactly, ive actually done a full writeup on this before (might be old thread) from when I learned to do it on my own, with incomplete books, midnight working, and a requirement to have the car on the road the next day. I thought that if i wrote it in a different way for this thread, then between the 2 threads, anyone should be able to understand the process.

Barned, ive never counted teeth (could be why i normally need to re-align cogs), but then again normally when i do this sort of work, theres not much more light than your average bat cave... so it becomes un-viable. Good diagram tho, I normally take the tensioner out all together.

Blake, next time you feel like asking a "dumb" question, see if its been asked before. people dont mind answering seemingly stupid questions... they get annoyed when it gets asked twice... especially in the same thread. And if i gave you a kick in the teeth, you would have less rep and a sore jaw. So if you think your going through a lengthy process, I can tell you that you have it much easier than when i went through the first time.

I wasnt having a go really... you never really learn till you try, so the last comment about reading it, then reading again when you get stumped... thats the best way to learn. Make any mistake you want, just dont make it twice.

Cheers, Owen

[o_man_ra23]

Forget about chain positioning, and shiny links, and marks on cogs, they mean nothing other than setting up for dummies that work in assembly shops. Anyone serious about setting up a car will look at cam position.

Blake, read this part, its pertinent to your original question.

[auzzi_17]

I know exactly what you are saying, I would be getting annoyed if someone asked me the same stupid question too.

But i asked if there was a specific original slot?

Not, does it matter where you put the dowel?

I now know it depends on each individual engine. I thanked you for the information you have provided. On more than one post i have thanked you and river for your input. But i am trying to finish this project without spending endless nights working on the same problem. Hence why i asked.

Sorry sillycar chick for temporarily hijaking your thread

[YelloRolla]

Hey Sillycar Chick - I have been away and I have not been on the forums for some time. I also have not taken the time to read through the above replies - so please bear with me if this is already answered.

I had this problem when I set up my engine the first time (ie the cams would not position exactly where they were needed). The problem occurred at the intermediate chain gear (in that it was not lined up in the dead correct location, making the upper chain about half a link out).
What I did was - I timed the cams exactly where I wanted them and locked them in the location with the front bolt. I turned the engine over to make sure that the cams had not moved. I then removed the cams and drilled a new pin hole in each cam opposite where the original ones were.


HTH Jase

[shelldrake]

lol. interesting idea.

[o_man_ra23]

Ive heard of that being done before. If you offset them to different locations (you wanna be accurate on this) then you can get even finer adjustment.

Cheers, Owen

[Rinmax]

The 2TG that I have just finished rebuilding has had this done. I wasn't too sure about it at first but makes it shit easy to set timing as there is a hole for every instance. I'm not sure if I will do it to the other engine, but it did make this one easier to set up.

[sillycar chick]

What I did was - I timed the cams exactly where I wanted them and locked them in the location with the front bolt. I turned the engine over to make sure that the cams had not moved. I then removed the cams and drilled a new pin hole in each cam opposite where the original ones were.

Jase, I have been thinking this over in the back of my head for a while. I wont have the time just yet to tackle it but am getting a lot closer, and thought its time to think a bit more about it. If you drill one cam and gear, do you need to do the other cam and gear to keep it balanced? or is that not an issue.... the intake cam is spot on, its just the exhaust cam that is giving me grief. And I would assume this still would be very hard to drill?

[o_man_ra23]

Jase, I have been thinking this over in the back of my head for a while. I wont have the time just yet to tackle it but am getting a lot closer, and thought its time to think a bit more about it. If you drill one cam and gear, do you need to do the other cam and gear to keep it balanced? or is that not an issue.... the intake cam is spot on, its just the exhaust cam that is giving me grief. And I would assume this still would be very hard to drill?

You shouldnt drill it on vehicle... thats just not good practice (and you get filings all through your motor... yuk!!). You only need to drill a cam if its out, you dont need to drill its partner. Thats why the cams are independant in the first place, otherwise its just about no advantage having twincam.

Cheers, Owen