Cam locking tool advice - 2004 S60 - CVVT Topic is solved

[ionianp2]

Hi Everyone,

I hope all is well and everyone has a great Friday. I'm planning on tackling my timing gear job this weekend and as part of that I procured a cam-locking tool set from Tilman, mostly to lock the crank shaft in place as I extract the timing gear pulley.

When I started prepping the car I noticed that my engine is CVVT on the intake side. I see the cam sensor which I need to pull out. On the exhaust side there seems to be a plastic plug?

Has anyone removed it without breaking it? Maybe this is an overkill but I really wanted to go slowly on this job and make sure that no cams move?

Alternatively I could just set the timing per the timing cap, set the crank locking tool in place and use a cheap universal cam locking tool on the cams-sprocket side. Apparently the cta-2883 does not work on CVVT engines per description.

Let me know your thoughts and thanks in advance.

-ionian

[jonesg]

timing gear job?
are you changing the crankshaft gear?

If so, then the timing belt will be removed, there is no physical connection between the crank and cam shafts.
cam locks are for removing the cam gears from the cam shaft.

To remove the crank gear I hit the 32mm? crank nut with the impact first, once loose I set everything on the timing marks and removed the timing belt.
But if doing it by hand ist best done by locking the crank, remove starter and install crank lock tool. 130 ft lbs ?

I had to use a puller to get the gear off the crankshaft.

[ionianp2]

Thanks for the input jonesg! Yes, I am replacing my timing gear as it has a hairline crack which is going towards the key portion. Rather be safe than sorry.

I do have an impact and I can zap out the crank nut and set everything in place. Sounds like you just set the timing and didn't concern yourself with the cams (since no load will go to them).

If so I may do that as well, by at least lock the crank with the tool by removing the starter.

I assume you used a regular pulley extractor (2-3 jaw) and then a big mallet to slide it back in?

[volvolugnut]

This link has a wealth of info on actual camshaft work and use of cam locking tool.
viewtopic.php?p=677983&hilit=vvt#p677983
And yes it is possible to pry the LH cam shaft dust cover out and reuse. Use a very small flat screwdriver to pry at the edge and get the old cap removed. If you have any damage to the sealing surface of the cap, place this damage at the top when reinstalling to avoid an oil leak.

It would be good to use the bolts to pull the crank hub back on the crankshaft rather than beat it on with a hammer.
volvolugnut

[chrism]

If all you are doing is replacing the timing belt, and not going any deeper than that, you don’t need ANY locking tools.
Before you remove the old belt rotate the engine to the point where both cam sprockets are aligned on their timing marks. Then use a Sharpie to mark the crank sprocket and a matching mark on the engine case.
Then remove the plastic dirt shield that wraps around the bottom of the crank sprocket (2 10mm bolts). You can now remove the old belt and crank sprocket. (Don’t panic when you see the VVT hub and sprocket “spring” a few degrees off of the timing mark). Stack the old sprocket on the new one with key slots aligned and transfer the Sharpie mark to the new sprocket. Install the new crank sprocket onto the engine. Make sure that when you install the new belt that both cam sprockets are on their marks and that the Sharpie mark on the crank sprocket aligns with the matching mark that you put on the engine case.

Correction: if you are replacing the crank sprocket anyway then you don’t need to remove the lower plastic dirt shield.

[volvolugnut]

I am sure everyone is aware to remove the RF wheel and tie the inner fender plastic out of the way for clear access to the crank end.
volvolugnut

[ionianp2]

I am sure everyone is aware to remove the RF wheel and tie the inner fender plastic out of the way for clear access to the crank end.
volvolugnut

Absolutely!

[chrism]

I am sure everyone is aware to remove the RF wheel and tie the inner fender plastic out of the way for clear access to the crank end.
volvolugnut

Both P2’s that we owned had a sheet metal access cover that you could easily remove to see the crank sprocket/bolt.

[jonesg]

Thanks for the input jonesg! Yes, I am replacing my timing gear as it has a hairline crack which is going towards the key portion. Rather be safe than sorry.

I do have an impact and I can zap out the crank nut and set everything in place. Sounds like you just set the timing and didn't concern yourself with the cams (since no load will go to them).

If so I may do that as well, by at least lock the crank with the tool by removing the starter.

I assume you used a regular pulley extractor (2-3 jaw) and then a big mallet to slide it back in?

timing gear, yeh, mine was loose, actually the 32mm nut was awol. No wonder the belt was tracking across the cam pullies.
The splines had become damaged, the new gear went on a lot easier than the old came off.
I hammered the new nut on with impact with blue loctite to make sure it stayed in place.
The gear barely moved when using the impact, I just turned it back to the mark and alls good. 4 years ago, still fine.

If using a crank lock you can use the torque wrench and get it right.

[ionianp2]

Wanted to express my gratitude to everyone on this forum. We are all set! Got to drive it last night for the first time in a while without having to worry about it.

Thank you all!