Cam/cover question 98 s70 glt Topic is solved

[stephansvolvo]

Putting new head on all is well up until now.
Putting the cams in, no problem except they were sitting up on the backside. I put the cam cover on( drew it down slowly) checked the back as I was tightening it down and after the last pass I realized the cams were off. I tried to rotate the cams and I could not. Marks down below on and of course the timing marks on the cams are off.
My question is
1) why can I spin it freely?
2) Am I going to have to take the cover back off to fix the timing?
3) what would have caused the backside of the cams to sit higher?

Thanks

[erikv11]

Cover has to come off to free up the cams, be sure to inspect for minor cracks in the cam slots in the head. Cracks there are not deal breakers but they can happen.

The cams don't sit flat because the cam lobes are in various directions, some hitting valves some not. Basically they don't sit flat because, well, they don't. It's very important to draw the cams straight down as you put the cover on or you can damage the grooves/guides in the head adjacent to the cam seals, where the cams sit. The head casting is thin there and can crack. Cam tools make it easier to lower the cover straight down but they are definitely not required. My guess is the cams are wedged into the grooves, instead of sitting in nicely.

[stephansvolvo]

Cover has to come off to free up the cams, be sure to inspect for minor cracks in the cam slots in the head. Cracks there are not deal breakers but they can happen.

The cams don't sit flat because the cam lobes are in various directions, some hitting valves some not. Basically they don't sit flat because, well, they don't. It's very important to draw the cams straight down as you put the cover on or you can damage the grooves/guides in the head adjacent to the cam seals, where the cams sit. The head casting is thin there and can crack. Cam tools make it easier to lower the cover straight down but they are definitely not required. My guess is the cams are wedged into the grooves, instead of sitting in nicely.

I guess I’ll need to clean the head and cover the reapply the sealant?

[erikv11]

Yes, unfortunately!