cam cover "pull-down" tool?

[trtvolvo]

If you plan to use the cam locking tool, fab one yourself - I picked up the parts at Home Depot for <$15 - but then talked myself into just alternately tightening the bolts.

[j_cd]

If you plan to use the cam locking tool, fab one yourself - I picked up the parts at Home Depot for <$15 - but then talked myself into just alternately tightening the bolts.

Yeah, I'm not a big tool maker. Maybe a friend of mine will be inspired to build them though. The kit has clamps for both sides of the cams, and another pair of weird looking clamps that appear to do what the cam pull down tool does.

[erikv11]

...
FWIW, my infamous neighbor says that using clamps defeats the purpose of tightening the bolts down in a star pattern, and risks warping the head. Me, I think I'm going to buy the cam tool on ebay for $170.

You know this is ridiculous, right? There is no way the soft, lightweight cover is going to even make the head flinch after the head is bolted on. Just looking at the head bolts will give you some idea, then once you've tightened them down and through the angles, you'll have no doubt. Nothing you do from up top is going to matter.

The cover needs to go down straight to ensure it seals well (no leakage) and most importantly, to ensure the cams don't crack the little slots in the head, at the front and the back of the cams. The latter is a big deal but if you pay attention, just tightening them all down gradually, from the inside out (NOT in a star pattern!) you will be fine.

[j_cd]

You know this is ridiculous, right?.

Yes I figured it was. He didn't look at the picture in the writeup, maybe he thought I was talking about some monster clamps or something. I'll tease him about it later.

[rspi]

I think I'm going to clamp a little but mainly draw it down with the secrews. Seems more time consuming.

[rspi]

Man, the head cover drew down nicely with the screws. I did have some clamps, like Tracy's write up. Two on the back side were hand crank down type used for holding wood together and on the front side I had some plastic squeeze clamps just to put a little pressure on it as it drew down.

The anerobic sealant was awsome. I used a small fine sponge roll to apply the stuff and it was just as wet in the pan 2 hours later. So the stuff is not suppose to dry as long as air is on it. Once torqued down and there air between the surfaces gets pushed out, it's suppose to dry between the metal. I just went out and touched the stuff a minute ago and it's still wet/tacky. That's been 6 hours.

Plan to finish up in the am. I couldn't work in the heat anymore today.

[cn90]

I am thinking one way to get around this "Cam Cover Pulldown Tool" issue...
- Get LONGER studs (may be 2cm longer than factory bolts) and nuts as "temporary tool"...
- Use these studs/nuts to pull the Cam Cover down. Just snug the nuts, don't tighten them.
- Once the Cam Cover is pulled down, replace the studs/nuts with factory bolts.
Of course you would replace the stud/nut (with factory bolt) with one at a time.

Thoughts? Critiques?

[sawtooth4x4]

i looked at the tools and thought that it was a bit over kill.

i slathered all the moving parts with molylube assembly grease. then i cleaned all the mating surfaces very well. applied the special sealing compound and then started in the center and worked my way out tightening the bolts down. working from the center out. i cranked it over by hand to make sure there weren't any bad noises. then turned it over with the starter to confirm everything was kosher.

everything seems good. if i can get the thermostat housing to seal to the head tonight, i can finally fire this pile of crap up. 2 months later after buying the broken car for $300

[osman]

It's useful to know that the lift force under the camshaft cap is only at two points (both toward the "back" end of the engine. They are exhaust #4 and intake #5. Those are points you need to pull down before any others to avoid damage.

I suggest wiring your cams onto the camshaft cap, carefully setting the assembly in place (being cautious not to touch the underside / mating surface which has the sealant) then with the whole assembly set in place use a 2 inch screw at # E-4 and I-5 to gently pull down the cap at those points. You really don't want to pull it down any place else until the E-4 and I-5 are close to contacting the head.
Then spin in your other screws to finger tight, pull down the E-4 and I-5 to contact and do the criss-cross sequence to tighten them to torque.

We covered this recently in a different thread this seemed to be the consensus.

[rspi]

I am thinking one way to get around this "Cam Cover Pulldown Tool" issue...
- Get LONGER studs (may be 2cm longer than factory bolts) and nuts as "temporary tool"...
- Use these studs/nuts to pull the Cam Cover down. Just snug the nuts, don't tighten them.
- Once the Cam Cover is pulled down, replace the studs/nuts with factory bolts.
Of course you would replace the stud/nut (with factory bolt) with one at a time.

Thoughts? Critiques?

The screws are already long enough so you can use them to draw the cover down with no issues.