Camshaft - removal and refitting
Removal
1 Disconnect the battery earth lead.
2 Disconnect the crankcase ventilation hose from the inlet manifold and the rocker cover.
3 Extract the two larger screws from the lid of the air cleaner, raise the air cleaner, disconnect the hoses and remove the cleaner.
4 Disconnect the pipes and remove the windscreen washer fluid reservoir from the engine compartment.
5 Disconnect the HT leads from the spark plugs, then remove the distributor cap and secure it to the left-hand side of the engine compartment.
6 Unscrew the three bolts and withdraw the distributor from the cylinder head. Note that the distributor body is marked in relation to the cylinder head.
7 Unbolt and remove the fuel pump, complete with coil spring. Withdraw the insulating spacer and operating pushrod.
8 Unbolt the throttle cable bracket at the carburettor and then disconnect the cable by sliding back the spring clip.
9 Remove the timing belt cover-to-cylinder head attachment bolts.
10 Remove the rocker cover.
Remove the rocker cover
11 Unscrew the securing nuts and remove the rocker arms and guides.
Rocker arm components
A Rocker arm B Guide C Spacer plate
Keep the components in their originally installed sequence by marking them with a piece of numbered tape or by using a suitably sub-divided box.
12 Withdraw the hydraulic cam followers, again keeping them in their originally fitted sequence.
Withdrawing a cam follower
13 Slacken the alternator mounting and adjuster link bolts, push the alternator in towards the engine and slip the drivebelt from the pulleys.
14 Unbolt and remove the timing belt cover and turn the crankshaft to align the timing mark on the camshaft sprocket with the one on the cylinder head.
15 Slacken the bolts on the timing belt tensioner, lever the tensioner against the tension of its coil spring (if fitted) and retighten the bolts. With the belt now slack, slip it from the camshaft sprocket.
16 Pass a rod or large screwdriver through one of the holes in the camshaft sprocket to lock it and unscrew the sprocket bolt.
Method used to loosen the camshaft sprocket bolt
Remove the sprocket.
17 Extract the two bolts and pull out the camshaft thrust plate.
Unscrewing the camshaft thrust plate bolts
Lifting out the camshaft thrust plate
18 Carefully withdraw the camshaft from the distributor end of the cylinder head.
Withdrawing the camshaft
Refitting
19 Refitting the camshaft is a reversal of removal, but observe the following points.
20 Lubricate the camshaft bearings before inserting the camshaft into the cylinder head.
21 It is recommended that a new oil seal is always fitted after the camshaft has been installed. Apply thread-locking compound to the sprocket bolt threads.
22 Fit and tension the timing belt.
23 Oil the hydraulic cam followers with hypoid type transmission oil before inserting them into their original bores.
24 Refit the rocker arms and guides in their original sequence, use new nuts and tighten to the specified torque. It is essential that before each rocker arm is installed and its nut tightened, the respective cam follower is positioned at its lowest point (in contact with cam base circle). Turn the camshaft (by means of the crankshaft pulley bolt) as necessary to achieve this.
25 Use a new rocker cover gasket. Do not forget to refit the timing belt cover bolts.