Cam Housing Removal

[Nitrate]

1981 2000. None of my reference material tells me how to just remove the cam box. I just want to replace the gasket. Not water pump or timing belt or tensioner, they have all been replace over the last year or so. Don't have a lot of experience on overhead cam/ timing belt engines and the timing belt alinginment marks etc are a bit intimidating. Is it necessary to drain the cooling system and remove the belt cover to get to the timing bits. Do I even have to get to the timing belt bits? I don't intend on moving the car or the engine during the procedure. Can someone give me a rundown? Thanks, RB

[aevansgatech]

Interested in the feedback as well. I want to remove the cam boxes to clean them up and replace the gaskets, but not everything else

[djape1977]

remove air filter housing
remove throtle cable
remove upper radiator hose. some coolant will leak out. not a lot
remove cam covers
use sringe to remove oil from cam boxes. not a lot of oil there
rotate the engine to allign timing marks
remove belt cover
loosen the screws on cam gears
unbolt the tensioner, not completely, just loosen the nut
push back the tensioner and re-tighten the nut
remove the belt
unscrew long bolts that hold cam housing.

[Nitrate]

Djape thank you for that clear explanation. I have a 1981. The distributor is mounted on the exhaust side cam housing. I believe I would have to remove that to after lining it up with timing marks. Is that right? RB

[djape1977]

yes. distributor needs to come off

since you're removing cambox to solve leaks, you'll be replacing camshaft oil seals too.
cam gears bolts are usually vert tight. you should be removing these while belt is still on and tightened. this should provide enough force to prevent gears turning as you untighten the bolts. if the whole engine is turning, put the gearbox in 1st gear and pull the handbrake.

while you're at it, you should be replacing oil seal behind aux shaft too, and why not, crankshaft oil seal too.
after all of this, new timing belt and tensioner if old one is dry or noisy.

removing aux shaft gear is the same as camshaft gear.

do not mix up the gears. they're marked from factory, but better mark them yourself just to be safe

tensioner bearing, if not worn, should just be re-packed with grease. if you're not sure, take it to someone who knows.

after everything is back together, check valve adjustment clearances. changing cam housing gasket usually results in clearances between cam and shims being slightly off. it's likely you'll need to re-adjust the valves

when you remove the gears, check them for wear. teeth get worn over time. if gears are plastic, change them for metal ones.

all of the work above would set you back 150$ in my garage and for a professional it's a day's work.
unfortunately, it's half a world away.

[Nitrate]

Thank you for taking the time to describe this procedure. Very helpful to a newbie. RB