Exhaust Camshaft Service Bolt??

[Mike13R6]

1987 camry, replacing cylinder head and have a new one but as I check in the manual it says to "secure the exhaust camshaft sub-gear to the main gear using a service bolt. .......... When removing the exhaust camshaft be sure that the torsional spring force of the sub gear has been eliminated."

--- Think is, I removed the camshafts already to get to the head bolts to put it on the car.

I didn't use the service bolt when removing the cam caps and then lifting it off. So now what happens when I will put the camshafts back on and then get it installed? What exactly does that mean? Will anything happen without using that service bolt on the sub gear?

Confused when it comes to this. Thanks

[hairball]

I'm reading those same steps right now as I type (page EM 53) and it sounds to me like there is some tension via some kind of spring between the sub gear and main gear, and that if you lift the cam off, the sub gear could spin and hurt you. Otherwise, I don't see what they mean either. Since you say you already have the cam off, it's too late to worry about it. I think you're okay. I was a cam grinder for a short time, but don't know much about that "sub gear". But I'm worried about where they say in the earlier pages about lifting the cam strait up... I sure hope you did this. Cams are pretty hard to damage unless you drop one (in which case it MUST be taken to a cam grinder and checked before being reinstalled). But the journals are very sensitive!!!

Good luck!

[Delta Cam]

Originally Posted by Mike13R6

1987 camry, replacing cylinder head and have a new one but as I check in the manual it says to "secure the exhaust camshaft sub-gear to the main gear using a service bolt. .......... When removing the exhaust camshaft be sure that the torsional spring force of the sub gear has been eliminated."

--- Think is, I removed the camshafts already to get to the head bolts to put it on the car.

I didn't use the service bolt when removing the cam caps and then lifting it off. So now what happens when I will put the camshafts back on and then get it installed? What exactly does that mean? Will anything happen without using that service bolt on the sub gear?

Confused when it comes to this. Thanks

The bolt holds the lash gear to the primary gear in place while the camshaft is removed, the gear can be moved by hand back to align the bolt hole and the bolt can be inserted prior to reassembly.

[Grego 92]

What the previous poster said...if you look in the manual I believe it shows how to manually align it back up. It shows how to do that because the manual goes into breaking down the cam a little bit more after removing it from the head. So before putting it back into the head it says to align the holes and put the service screw back in.

Don't take my word for it....but in the v6 area of the manual, I BELIEVE it showed a drawing/picture of a long bar or screw driver to assist in aligning the holes. It's using the length of the bar/driver to assist in the turning (like it catches onto to something to turn the gear) not the ability to screw a screw.....did that make sense?