Cam swap rant thread, stupid GT4's

$200GT-4

New member
I really hope the performance benefit of rocking the engine back 15 degrees is totally worth it from a handling standpoint. I swore/threw a lot more stuff than I thought I would doing the cam swap. That being said, I could do it again in a fraction of the time. Bear in mind RHD cars have the brake master cylinder less than an inch away from the timing belt cover, so that made it even more fun. Then that stupid ass hydraulic tensioner that wouldn't retract with a prybar and even when I did retract it and stick a pin in it I still couldn't get the belt over the gears. I don't know how you guys do it the way you're supposed to, remove the water pump idler and throw it back in last? If you do that, how do you knock where TDC is after you remove the timing cover? I'd love to see the BGB procedures, because I couldn't get the crank pulley bolt loose with my breaker bar! I finally wrapped the belt around the intake gear, then shoved the exhaust gear into the belt and used a prybar to lift the cam gear onto the camshaft and I got it on my 2nd try. After that I was fortunate to retrieve the broken drill bit that I shoved into the tensioner and the car fired right up once I had it all back together. It's still breaking up under high RPM/boost. I need to install a boost gauge and see if I'm hitting boost cut or if I just need new plugs (were clean). I really wish I'd had these cams when I did my clutch (2nd gen N/A) because it would have been 999999999999999x easier! :shoots:
 

hacker_720

New member
ya It sucks, no doubt about it, timming belt on this car is very difficult to do. I find the 1st gens way eaiser cause to stuiped tensioner pin.
 

tw2

New member
Haha yeah it sucks, I have done it 3 times. To get the crank pulley bolt out... stick your breaker bar on it and have it rest horizontally on a concrete block in front of the car. Then pull the EFI fuse and crank the starter over. The starter is 1.6kw or something and works really well.

I stick the tensioner in after I put the belt back on. It took a couple of goes before sorting out all the fun tricks you can use to make it easier. You will use tools in ways never considered. I have a RHD also but never had any trouble with the brake shit being in the way. Do you have any photo's of the cams lined up before replacing the valve cover? Which ones did you use?
 

$200GT-4

New member
Naw, didn't take any pics. I used 2nd gen N/A cams since they're the easiest to come by. There's 1 thing that would suck about your method: installing the 2 bolts on the tensioner with the intake cam gear in the way. I guess there's really no way around it sucking. I was lost on how the one guy would remove/install the water pump tensioner. In order to gain access to it you'd have to remove the lower timing cover and crank pulley, now how do you check TDC? Jam a screwdriver down the cylinder? That didn't sound very BGB-like so I figured there was a better way. Looks like there is no better way. All my marks lined up after I spun it around 2x so that's good enough for me. I did mark the gears and rear cover with a paint marker which made it 10x easier to see what was going on. Car seems to idle really low right now, I need to set the ignition timing with a gun now to verify it's correct. If it is, I guess I'll crack the air bypass screw open a little more on the IACV. Can't say if it's faster or slower because it's breaking up on top end now. Either boost cut or ignition is junk.
 

tw2

New member
I needed to adjust my timing and even now it revs a little lower than it used to and it may be causing it to run a little rough when its cold. I have both 2nd gen na cams also which is why i was wondering how you lined them up relative to the notches on the head. There is a small vertical line instead of a notch like the stock cams. The 2nd photo shows how I ended up doing mine marked in red. The top one is what I was stuck with... do you line it up to the blue, green or in the middle. What did you do?

Camposition.jpg


Camposition2.jpg


Yeah it usually takes me a good 10-15 minutes to get those two tensioner bolts in but I have small hands.
 

grip addict

New member
$200GT-4":3oshl5fl said:
I'd love to see the BGB procedures, because I couldn't get the crank pulley bolt loose with my breaker bar!

you should try the starter trick next time. stick a ratchet on the pulley, wedge it up against the frame and click it a second. worked beautifully for me. did you just install cam gears, or cams too? sounds like you needed some help man, or at least a chill pill. pry bars and cams don't belong in the same sentence. do you not have access to the bgb online? celicatech has it if you're a member...
 

hacker_720

New member
Where are you located, I have a timming light you can use if you in Ontario.

I have used that starter trick a couple of time, but it didn't work last time around, it was REALLY stuck on there. I got a screwdriver jambed in the flywheel pretty good, and had to use a big ass pipe on a ratchet, I ended up breaking two 1/2" extentions, had to cut my pipe down to about 18" so it would fit under the car and give her the old grunt-and-tug, finnaly got it off... back hurt though.
 

gt4tified

New member
You tried to use a prybar to move the hydraulic tensioner? :lol:

BGB says you need at least 1000kg of force to move it. I used a 20-ton press by a guy's machine shop and put in a steel pin....never use anything but a steel pin!

TDC is supposed to be marked on the factory cam gears, but the BGB procedure is more or less sound on how to change your t-belt.
 

$200GT-4

New member
Damn, can't see the pics at work TW2.
I never used the prybar on the cams themselves, I just failed miserably at retracting that beast of a tensioner with it.. I ended up sticking it in a vise which still required a bit of ass to get it to compress. Now that I know where to find the BGB online future projects probably won't suck quite as much, when I got to that damn tensioner I came in the house and started searching this site for other peoples' experiences but I was unable to duplicate said procedures which is why I just used the prybar on the cam gear (on the inside, NOT on the teeth) to get it on the cam. I don't think that paints a very clear mental picture but I'm sure as hell not about to take that stupid timing cover off for a pic! Oh yeah, did I mention I stuck a broken drill bit in there and the tensioner bowed it out? Needless to say I held my breath when I pulled it out.
 

tw2

New member
I think it is the same problem as putting 264's in as they were designed for the 3sge not the 3sgte anyway. They also have the small line rather than the notch cut out. Those are hks 264's in the top pic.

Your in Japan right?
 

$200GT-4

New member
Yeah, I'm in Japan. I timed mine externally, I lined up the dots on the gears with the marks on the back metal timing cover, the part that bolts to the head. Everything lined up good like that and that's how I was taught but I see you timed yours from the inside. What's up with that?
 

tw2

New member
Yeah you are supposed to line up the inside marks for the cams and then you put the cam gears on and line the crank up to put the timing belt on. I can't imagine how accurately you can do it using only the marks on the gear.

Did you do your ignition timing as well?
 

$200GT-4

New member
Funny story on the ignition timing, I marked it all with a hammer and screwdriver before I took it apart. Monday the wife was busy, Tuesday I worked late, Wednesday the shop was closed, and today I can't leave because I have to study for a test tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow's my day. <_<
 

$200GT-4

New member
My ghetto method landed me at 9* BTDC, not too shabby. Got it set at 10 now. The wife feels it's peppier, easier for her to get rolling from a stop and that it's more responsive. That says nothing for top end because she drives like a typical 24 year old Japanese woman. :lol: I just bought the coil off the parts car I sent to the junkyard as I had forgotten to grab it when I raped it. Oh the irony, now I can forge on with the big ignition wire swap and throw some new plugs in.
 
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