How to Loosen Cam Lockring Nut

[LOUD MOUSE]

Each cam will come out the side it is on and the sprocket comes out the middle. .....................lm

A pic...as requested.

As you can see, the rt. half of the cam is separated from the right side of the cam sprocket. Note also how the ENTIRE cam assembly is headed right, and is hanging free. My questions is... now what?

1.) How to get the rt. side assembly out of the engine.
2.) How to separate and remove the left side from the cam sprocket.

The ball bearing "cages" are intact and a-ok. In my above post, I called them retainers b/c that's the vocab in bicycle mechanics, which is what I'm familiar with. Bearing retainers as opposed to sealed bearings, as opposed to loose balls. I'll gladly use bearings if that term keeps things clear for everyone.

Hope this helps!

[djohns]

I assume you have not gotten your can pieces out yet, so here is a breakdown of the cam removal. As LM stated the left cam comes out the left side and the right cam out the right side. The sprocket containing the spark advance mechanism comes out the top after the cams are out. Start by loosening the nut with lockwasher on the left cam (at the "coarse threads" which is the tach drive). Tap on the end of the threaded portion, using the nut to protect the threads. You should be able to jiggle it now indicating it has been pushed out of its matching taper inside the left cam. The left cam male portion that inserts into the spark advance mechanism (SAM) has slots cut into it which enables it to be expanded into the SAM hub. The taper on the shaft we loosened earlier holds this tight. The right cam is held in place within the SAM by the left handed nut you have loosened and is dangling there in the pic. This nut serves to swedge the female portion of the SAM hub on this side down on the male portion of the cam inserted into it. Left hand nut to keep tight against rotation of the cam train, which if it were right hand would loosen.

With the left and right side cam locks loose you should be able to pull the cams out. Obviously this has not been the case. It looks like the splines (see pg. 63 in my Bill Silvers book) are stuck. I would keep some solvent like Liquid Wrench on the splines to try to break up and rust, sludge in the spline area. On the right side with the nut loose you should be able to see the 2 slots in the SAM. Try very gently to pry these slots open with a wedge. This will allow the male and female parts to slide apart. Several gentle heat cycles may break the bond that appears to be keeping these together. With the right cam loose withdraw it and the bearings out of the head. The left side may need some heat applied also. Try some hardwood wedges between the cam lobe and the SAM. This will force the pieces apart. Once loose withdraw the left cam out the left side.

Check the spline on the cams and SAM for wear or burrs that keep them from sliding. By the way, the coarse threads you mention need to be dressed up before you reassemble as these mate with the tach drive shaft. Long explanation but I hope it helps explain the way it is put together and has to come apart.

[305explr]

Thanks, LM and djohns!

Though it may not be clear from my pic, I did follow Bill Silver's advice get the right side separated from the SAM. At that point, all had proceeded smoothly.

First the small concern: I noticed that getting the bearings through the bores to exit from the right side will be a tight squeeze. The outboard bearing is free and clear already, but the inside bearing still has to pass through the outermost bore. I've been reading on the board and seeing guys have heated the head. I may apply (carefully) some localized heat to the bore when that times comes, but am not sure I want to do that locally and risk deforming the bores.

However, the BIG problem remains. I haven't read this one on the board yet:

As I was tapping on the loosened nut on the end of the left hand cam while hoping to get that side separated, I accidentally pushed everyhting to the RIGHT too far. The left-hand cam didn't merely slide a few mms or a cm to the right--it slid all the way over and plopped free and clear. See pic attached...:(

My idea is to reattach the right side, then tap on the right end of the cam until the entire asssmbly is reinstalled to its initial and correct position. To get the bearings to pass through the bores, I may use heat locally, but my concern about warping or distorting one of the bores remains.

Once I get it reinstalled, I'll start over, and this time be careful.

It seems like a long and drawn out way to proceed, but it's the only solution that has come to mind this week.

Once again, advice on this appreciated.

[jwbert]

You're on the right track, reinstall everything, then wedge the sprocket tightly with a block of hardwood. Loosen your locking ring and the bolt on the other side. Take another piece of hardwood 1/2" x 1/2" by 6 to 8" or a hardwood dowel and drive the left cam and bearings to the left and the right cam and bearings to the right. Lift the sprocket/advance assembly out of the middle, done deal. You can apply a small amount of heat if you wish, and it will make the bearings come out easier, but you can also drive them out with no heat. They are snug but shouldn't be all that tight. jwbert

[LOUD MOUSE]

Center the LS/RS cam bearings at the holes (they both will touch the head at the same time) with the outer cam lobe up and use the same driver and tap the cam bearings back into the holes and then out. DO NOT--"DO NOT HEAT" ANYTHING. There are things that you will ruin. With both cams hanging half way out remove the sprocket assembly then center the bearing on the outside hole and (you can actually do this) wiggle the cam as you pull out. May I suggest you take a good look at what you have there and do like most of us, figure the setup and go from there.
These parts don't just side in and out and are very tough so you can hammer/tap on them with soft metal drives or as HONDA says use hard wood.
I did once and had lots of tooth picks on the bench................lm

Thanks, LM and djohns!

Though it may not be clear from my pic, I did follow Bill Silver's advice get the right side separated from the SAM. At that point, all had proceeded smoothly.

First the small concern: I noticed that getting the bearings through the bores to exit from the right side will be a tight squeeze. The outboard bearing is free and clear already, but the inside bearing still has to pass through the outermost bore. I've been reading on the board and seeing guys have heated the head. I may apply (carefully) some localized heat to the bore when that times comes, but am not sure I want to do that locally and risk deforming the bores.

However, the BIG problem remains. I haven't read this one on the board yet:

As I was tapping on the loosened nut on the end of the left hand cam while hoping to get that side separated, I accidentally pushed everyhting to the RIGHT too far. The left-hand cam didn't merely slide a few mms or a cm to the right--it slid all the way over and plopped free and clear. See pic attached...:(

My idea is to reattach the right side, then tap on the right end of the cam until the entire asssmbly is reinstalled to its initial and correct position. To get the bearings to pass through the bores, I may use heat locally, but my concern about warping or distorting one of the bores remains.

Once I get it reinstalled, I'll start over, and this time be careful.

It seems like a long and drawn out way to proceed, but it's the only solution that has come to mind this week.

Once again, advice on this appreciated.

[jwbert]

Us red necks up here in the north do need our tooth picks, so why not kill two birds with one stone. ;) jwb

[LOUD MOUSE]

With or without fresh engine oil??????????? :-> ..........lm

Us red necks up here in the north do need our tooth picks, so why not kill two birds with one stone. ;) jwb