Question About Changing Cam Seals On 98 With Vvt-I

[sha4000]

Ok so I have the whole front end tore down doing timing belt and water pump. I replaced the pump, pulleys and crank seal already and cleaned everything up pretty good down there. I can tell my valve covers have been leaking for some timing but I also believe my cam seals are leaking also since there is lots of oil behind the pulleys. I bought the Aisin kit from Amazon and got the crank/cam seals, valve cover gaskets, throttle body gasket, spark plug seals, PCV and grommet as well as the thermostat/seal from South Atlanta so I'm prepared. I have the valve covers off and now comes there scary part in my mind.

The timing belt job was fairly simple and I'm good with that part. The manual says to turn both left and right exhaust cams up ( A large 24mm hex wrench fits on the hexagon shaped part of the camshaft by the way ) to line up the hole where you place the bolt in to lock the exhaust cam and the markings on the intake/exhaust cams. Now this is where it gets a little nerve wrecking since the manual does not do a very good job of explaining things sometimes as we all know.

I have everything at 50 degrees past TDC already. The passenger side cams were already lined up when I got the valve cover off so I put the bolt into the exhaust cam. So I'm feeling good at this point. So I go over to the drivers side hoping that is lined up as well but it's not. My question to those knowledgeable about this is would it be ok to move that cam into place without any issues? And how would I get the cams back to 50 degrees past TDC when I re-install them? The manual is not clear at all IMO! I might be over thinking this but I Don't want to jack up this engine either. halfway down the pdf Is the procedure for removing the cams. I'll post this in the other forum too.

em-34.pdf

[sha4000]

I guess I'll have to wait until Landar shows up. I'm cleaning all the oil from around the PS pump and alternator. It does not seem like the pump is leaking so I'm guessing it's all the oil being thrown around from my cam seal/valve covers.

[landar]

Oh, I was afraid you might be wanting me to chime in! I must confess that while I did the timing belt when I had my 98, I did not do the cam seals because they were not leaking and mostly because, its a lot of work. I did pull the cams out of my son's 92 ES300 and it was somewhat similar. I had to lock the gears with the service bolt and pull the pair out (I was removing the head). However, that is not going to stop me from attempting to lend some support. ;-)

With the crankshaft at 50 ATDC, I think you are ok to rotate the cams somewhat. Mine would snap-roll due to the valve spring force maybe 10 degrees but I just put them back. That's the reason for the 50 ATDC... to get the best clearance for some cam movement.

So, let me see if I understand correctly...the dots of the RH cams are lined up with each other but the LH cam gear dots are not? If not, how far are they off from one-another (approx)?

If you notice step 3 for the LH cam is different from step 3 for the RH cam:

3. 
   "Align the timing mark (2 dot marks) of the camshaft

   drive gear by turning the hexagon wrench head por-
   tion of the exhaust camshaft with a wrench. "

It appears that the LH is expected to be non-aligned and you then align them before removal.

[landar]

Another thing when you remove the cam bearing caps, keep the caps/bearings in the same locations, do not mix them up. The caps should be marked and have an arrow pointing to the front of the engine but I still like to get a shallow box and carefully place them in order so as not to damage any of them by (possibly) banging together. You probably already know this but just thought it was worth mentioning in case.

[sha4000]

Thanks for responding landar. The timing belt was a breeze thanks to your tutorial. I would lie to point out though that the manual states to line up the crank bolt and pulley timimg mark with the idler pulley and not the the camshaft bolt. I debated whether to follow you or the manual. I went with the manual but obviously it worked out for you and the many ppl that used your instructions since.

Anyway The manual states to move both left and right exhaust cams up to get all the markings on the cams to line up so you can insert the service bolt to lock the exhaust cam. It just so happens that the passenger side cams were already lined up. My worry is that when I move the drivers exhaust cam to line up the hole and remove the cams I will effectively be moving it out of the 50 degree past TDC. How will I get it back to that position when re-installing? Am I right to think that since the belt is off that only the cam on THAT side will move and not both driver and passenger cams?

One other thing I'm having an issue with is removing the throttle cable out of the attachment to the throttle body. It seems like it's stuck in there and I've spray PB blaster and brake cleaner on it to see if it would loosen up. Even though I was planning to remove the whole throttle body to give it a good cleaning I must remove it so I can get the oil control valve out on the passenger side. There is one bolt hidden under the OCV that needs to come out to remove the front bearing cap. Is there another way to get the throttle body off?

[landar]

Yes, you are absolutely correct in thinking that only the cam side that you move will move. How would the other cam side move if the T belt is off? That's the sole purpose of the belt...to move the cams in concert with the crankshaft. No belt, no movement (unless you move it by hand). Just move the cams carefully 'feeling' for spring pressure and be ready for possible 'snap roll' because of the valve springs.

The 50 ATDC is only a rough estimate, it does not have to be precise. You can move your LH cam by hand to get them aligned and the service bolt installed. The cam gear will no longer be precisely in the 50 degree position but that does not matter. In reassembly, the important point it to get the two cams(exhaust and intake) precisely aligned with the 'dots' on each and then the cam gear will get realigned when you do the belt.

I do not know about the TB disassembly but I would be tempted to just remove the whole assembly.

[sha4000]

I got the cable of it was really stuck on there so I had to bang it out from the rear of the lever. Thanks for the advice on reinstalling. I got in touch with a member of the other forum through email and he's supposed to get back to me on how HE did this job.

[landar]

Good job. So, are you taking good pics to make a tutorial when you are done? These 'peripheral's issues are the tough ones. The actual timing belt remove and install is not too bad, its all the little issues that pop up. Would love to see a cam seal replacement guide for the 98 (and up) here on LOC.

[sha4000]

Funny thing I could not log onto my account all day and this is not the first time it has happened to me. It kept telling me my password was not correct and then when I chose the forgot password to try to reset it it went through but I never recieved the email. I did that like 6 times. Now all of a sudden it's accepting my password. Any way once I complete this project I will def post all the pics and explained what i did wrong and right. This is real nerve racling lol. The guy that did it a couple of years ago is on my thread in the other forum and trying to be helpful but is real sketchy on the exact details which I hoped he would provide. So I'm most likely back trying to do it on my own unless his memory gets a lil better. I did find out that I have the wrong seals though and need to reorder so this job wont get finished until next week most likely but I'm cleaning up this mess and hopefully have this sorted out by the time they get here. I'm just going to turn the drivers cam to get the bolt in and see where it goes. I'm strictly following the manual at this point. My main worry is how do I line that cam back up when putting it back in it's spot?

[landar]

When a password will not work, I always check my "caps lock" button first. Maybe the site was just having issues.

I would not worry too much about putting the cams back in. As I see it, you would do the following:

1) reinstall the exhaust and intake cams back into the head making sure to mesh the gears together such that the timing marks(dots) on each are aligned together.

2) reinstall bearings and caps and torque down in sequentially order and in torque steps. Do not try to torque in one step but ramp it up. Make three separate passes, increasing the torque on each pass until you are at the final torque.

3) install the cam pulley.

4) do the other side

5) install the timing belt making sure to align marks on the belt with the marks on the cam pulleys and crank. Torque the cam pulley bolts if not already done.

6) install the tensioner and pull the pin.

7) rotate the crank clockwise by two revolutions and recheck the cam alignment.

Would like to see a pic of how far off this drivers side cam is.

[billydpowell]

sometimes the LOC just will not fully come up, for me and I will have to go somewhere else (usually CL) and then come back and try again.... I thought it was just my PC that was cranky... sometimes it is an hour or so...

[sha4000]

sometimes the LOC just will not fully come up, for me and I will have to go somewhere else (usually CL) and then come back and try again.... I thought it was just my PC that was cranky... sometimes it is an hour or so...

Yeah billy that is my exact problem too and then I have to head over to the other forum also. The good news is that I found that OCV filter no one could seem to locate.

[sha4000]

Well I got the courage up and turned the exhaust cam on the drivers side to get the markings and the service hole lined up. It gave some resistance and actually snapped back on the last half turn so I had to move it back forward again. Talk about nervous! But that is done and I hope it's Ok since there is no turning back now. So I loosened all the bearing cap bolts in the sequence that the manual tell you to do, then removed them but ran into another issue. When I tried to lift the front bearing cap which is the one in back of the pulleys and the OCV ( Oil Control Valve ) goes into the cam seal was stuck to the bearing cap on top. You'll see what I'm talking about in the pics. So since the seal is stuck to the bearing cap when I try removing the cap it also pulls the intake cam up with it. I tried holding the cam down with the wrench while pulling on the cap to see if I could separate them but it was no go so I left it the for the time being since it was starting rain.

Some drops of water got on the cams from the slight drizzle before I closed the hood. Sort of like that annoying mist that gets on your windshield when it's not really raining yet. I hope that wont be an issue.

[sha4000]

Pics with the exhaust cams lined up and where the seal is stuck to the cap.

[billydpowell]

sometimes the LOC just will not fully come up, for me and I will have to go somewhere else (usually CL) and then come back and try again.... I thought it was just my PC that was cranky... sometimes it is an hour or so...

Yeah billy that is my exact problem too and then I have to head over to the other forum also. The good news is that I found that OCV filter no one could seem to locate.

sounds like you are doing a good job.... I am glad to know where the "filters" are,

[landar]

Yes, good job, sha4000.

Sounds to me like you might want to put the (next to) front-most bearing cap back on and just snug it to keep the cam from rocking out when you pry on the front seal cap.

You are doing this outside in the driveway? Oh man, that is rough. I am glad to have a garage. What state do live in?

[sha4000]

Yes, good job, sha4000.

Sounds to me like you might want to put the (next to) front-most bearing cap back on and just snug it to keep the cam from rocking out when you pry on the front seal cap.

You are doing this outside in the driveway? Oh man, that is rough. I am glad to have a garage. What state do live in?

I'm actually in NYC doing it outside by my mothers housing complex since Your not allowed to work on cars in the development where I live. I can get away with doing light work that I can finish relatively quickly where I live but not major work like this where I have had the car jacked up since Monday. The good thing is that I grew up where I'm working and everyone knows me so it's not an issue.

That's a good suggestion about the second bearing cap that I will try tomorrow. While it was raining I decided to clean up the pulleys and assorted pieces that had oil all over them so I will have a clean engine when it's all back together. The throttle body looks like it had oil init and I'm wondering how it got there. The reason why I think it was oil is that I could wipe it off with mechanic towels without applying any solvent. There was some carbon build up but not anything drastic. Here are some before and after pics.

[sha4000]

Does anyone think that this nick on the head is going to be a problem when installing the valve cover gasket?

[landar]

Since it seems to be in the middle of the surface and not an an edge, I do not think it will be a problem when it comes to sealing. I cannot tell if that is a burr in the crevice but if so, you might want to remove it. If you are still concerned about sealing, you could apply a very small amount of RTV to the crevice to fill it but I really do not think it is necessary.

[sha4000]

It's a small gash in the aluminum that is raised above the surface slightly. Maybe a mm or so.

[landar]

I would smooth out the surface as best you could (small file maybe?) without too much fuss. Aluminum is easy to damage as you can see. Sometimes I just take a pocket knife and carefully shave off the raised portion. The gasket should take care of slight deviations so you do not need to get it extremely smooth.

[sha4000]

I'll probably just cut the raised portion with a razor as that thought came to mind. A file would be good but I don't have one in hand. I'm taking lots of pics and will some sort of how to to make it clearer for others when changing the can seals. Even though looking back if you DO follow the FSM it should work just fine. Is Just that the manual can be confusing to some of us at times.

[landar]

I have never been too impressed with the FSM but it is made for the experienced technicians who work on cars all of the time and not so much for us weekend 'hackers'.

However, when we have forums, such as this one, it makes it much easier to share our collective experience and that helps a lot.

I know it is a lot of work and I would encourage you to make a tutorial to share with others. It will be much appreciated. I am impressed with your tenacity in tackling this job, especially working outside in the weather. Good job!

[sha4000]

Thanks landar I don't mind working outside as long as it's not freezing or burning up. I do miss my 2 car garage in Georgia but that's another store. Anyway I'm having the same issue as others before me. I can't get the TB on the passenger cam. I remember when I helped/watched do the first TB at 120k that the right cam actually moved clockwise but not actually turn when you pull on the ratchet. This time however it turns but doesn't actually remove the tension. Any ideals? And I'm well versed on your TB thread but a lil frustrated now. I wasted 2 days agonizing over turning the cam when there was nothing to worry about at all. I even found a thread today after the fact that would of helped me on day 2 of this job. It clears up the question of turning the cam.

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls400/580161-how-to-turn-the-camshaft-pulley-to-match-timing-mark-on-the-belt-3.html?styleid=14

[landar]

The TB is tight for sure even without the tensioner sprung. What I did was thread the belt onto the crank and LH cam sprockets(drivers side). Then I took a socket and pulled the LH cam CCW to give some slack in the belt towards the center of the engine and slipped the belt onto the RH cam. However, I do not recommend this method.

What I would do instead is thread the belt onto the crank, LH cam and idler pulley leaving the belt off of the RH cam and tensioner pulley initially.

Then, get the belt started onto the RH cam but not all the way on. Next, start working the belt onto the tensioner pulley which, with smooth edges and smooth surface should begin accepting the belt. Continue working the belt onto the cam and tensioner. You might, at this point, put a little CCW tension on the LH cam with a wrench while working the belt on.

Once you get the belt threaded onto everything, you can pull the tensioner pin to apply full pressure. You do not want to rotate the crank without the tension pin pulled. Otherwise, the belt stands a good chance of jumping a tooth or three and you could actually damage the belt. When ready, rotate the crank two revolutions and recheck the crank and cam timing marks. Forget the belt markings after rotating because these will no longer be correct (and that's ok). Only the crank and cam marks really matter anyway.

My son and I just got done doing our 92 LS this past week and that method worked pretty well. It does take some patience and trial and error but that is the best method we have found so far.