Cam Alignment on a 960

kluhrm123 · Post by **kluhrm123** » 19 Sep 2011, 07:12

I have started the replacement of a head. I have 2 960's one has the head off the other is in great running shape. My situation is I did not lock down the cam in place with TDC. So now I have them off and am putting them back. I have read that the line up is based on looking at the location of the groove location of the cam at the rear of the engine. One is supposedly up (ref the line between the cam carrier and head) and the other is down. (Intake cam is above the center line and the exhaust is below of center). If that is the case- If I line up my car on TDC (on the running 960) I can view the line up of those grooves. Is my logic correct? If so- what do I need to remove on the rear of the block? I know the camshaft position sensor- what else? Are there any plugs back there? (I did not start this job- on the car that is down- so I dont know what my friend took off).

Thanks for your help- I really like my 960- my Dad has the running one. Kaitlyn

Post by **precopster** » 19 Sep 2011, 08:19

Cylinders 3 & 4 almost at TDC and the crank notch on the mark. The cam slots at the rear will be horizontal and place lobes as shown in the photo, remember that the 'E' I've marked is the exhaust side which is photographed upside down.

Be sure you place the rear cam seals in with a cam seal driver, don't try to sandwich them in to the two halves.

kluhrm123 · Post by **kluhrm123** » 19 Sep 2011, 08:37

Just to clarify. As I view the photo- we are looking at the front- correct? If I am looking at it Upside down? (sorry if I am unsure). The cams are sitting on the engine block- Intake is to the right Exhaust to the left- but it is photographed upside down- any assistance on this is great, understand the placement of the lobes that is great (but if it is upside down???) Kaitlyn

kluhrm123 · Post by **kluhrm123** » 19 Sep 2011, 08:40

I guess it is sitting on the cam carrier? (correct) (which of course is upside down- that would make sense). So place it this way in the cam carrier upside down and place it in this way- the slots in the back line up vertically)

Kaitlyn

Post by **precopster** » 19 Sep 2011, 08:53

Be sure you use the right words, your cams are sitting on the HEAD, the preparation of the head is simple, use moly grease on friction parts such as lobes, lifters and cam journals during re-assembly. There is a temp switch on the rear of the early ones, be sure it's not leaking, perhaps remove and put new thread tape around its threads.

Yes it's the front (can you see the cam sprockets?) so just reverse them and place them on the block if you like. I usually place all 46 bolts cleaned and pre-oiled in the cam cover and slowly torque them down with a variable speed battery drill at the lowest torque setting. After three or four cycles (start from the middle and systematically work your way to left and right)

This way you won't have to buy any special tools. PM me if you need any more help but here in Australia its time for bed so good luck. Once the cam belt is on do 2 full rotations of the crank to see that nothing hits.

kluhrm123 · Post by **kluhrm123** » 19 Sep 2011, 09:19

I really think it may be a different in terminology. The block, the head and the cam carrier (at least what I/my dad referred to it as). Since there are the 3 parts. (At least there is in a 1995 model)If I am viewing the cam lobes as they are- shown- the left - which is the exhaust side- those lobes line straight up. The intake side to the right (driver's side) is lined up as shown- correct? Sorry to trouble you especially at that time. Kaitlyn

kluhrm123 · Post by **kluhrm123** » 19 Sep 2011, 09:25

I had a very small break on the edge of my head. Machine shop guy says it was the Mechanics fault. He also stated that if he (mechanic) knocks it loose carefully- there will be no future problems there- such as leaks coming from that area. I guess I am looking for opinions. Is this a common place of breakage? (see attached) Kaitlyn

Post by **precopster** » 19 Sep 2011, 09:39

I had two very similar breaks on the front of my 960 head; didn't matter at all as you still have about 90% of the area to retain the cam from moving. Break it off and it won't cause any problem.

Just to clarify the exhaust side is marked with an 'E' so just rotate it 180 degrees and place it on the head. Some people tie the cams to the cam carrier with wire at the front to keep things from moving. Also you can make a jig for the rear out of wood that stops the cams falling out and then you can place it straight on to the HEAD (if you were placing it on the BLOCK you would be putting the cam carrier on top of the pistons) Hope these extra pics help

danr960 · Post by **danr960** » 19 Sep 2011, 09:46

I guess it would not leak if it can be removed without any more damage. That was cracked by the person lifting it out of the head on dis-assembly, the cams need to be lifted straight up with one hand on the rear and the other at the front, keeping parallel to the engine.

A common fallacy about the inline 5&6 cylinder engines is that it needs to be a TDC. That is just plain wrong, there is a mark on the crankshaft that needs to be lined up with a mark on the oil pump, when it is correctly on it's mark, then all pistons will be below the deck of the engine block, at varying degrees but all will be below, then one can place the cams into the head "carefully". With the crank on it's mark, then both cams are free to rotate with out interfering with a piston.

Then assemble the head top, taking great care to be extra clean for the mating surfaces, use a fast drying solvent to do a final wipe down, use the Volvo brand sealant/glue, it does not have any time limits on when it starts to work, as other brands may only give you 20-30 minutes. One needs the time on reassembly. I need that time.

Do what precopster has posted, when doing the 40 something head top bolts, a gentle so touch is the best approach, use a torque wrench once the bolts have hit home and do not what so ever over tighten, those bolt holes have no tolerance for over torquing.

I have posted a picture of the back side of the crankshaft pulley, this pic is of one off the engine. This is what to look for to line it up to its mark.

DanR '94 964 360,000 miles (126,000 on the new engine)

kluhrm123 · Post by **kluhrm123** » 19 Sep 2011, 10:25

Thank you so much for the additional help and the photos. That will really help. I need to look at the car again and see where to go from here.

Hopefully this will be the last question for awhile. I do have this question. I have the newly rebuilt head from Clear water- my car is at another location- which is why I will look at it when I get there tonight. I had thought (or remembered) that the rear of the two cams are different. That one had a counterweight and one did not. And as I look at the photos I see the same in a distance (of that photo) which is what I recall. My issue is the cams that came from Clear Water has two cams (at least in the rear) as the same- neither of these has a counterweight. Did Clearwater send me two intake ones??? Kaitlyn (Do I need to phone them?)