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Timing chain help

photorider

New member
I'm in the middle of replacing my timing chain and after cutting the old one, I did something stupid and got the sprockets all misaligned. I can turn the crank fine by bumping the wheel but I can't seem to move the cam sprocket to get it aligned again. Is there a trick to this? What am I doing wrong? Many thanks for any help.
 
Grasping at straws here a bit, but have you loosen the adjuster nuts on the valves to remove the tension? I would think that would make it easier to rotate the CAM shaft.
 
I did loosen the adjuster nuts on the valves and that created some free play but not enough to spin it the 180 degrees it needs to go.
 
Rocker arm removal.
Agreed -- as you remove the rocker arms, take care to not allow them to slide off their shafts -- that will allow release of a gazillion tiny needle bearings (the needles are not caged -- thanks, BMW!) the rockers ride on -- 1/3 of which will, of course, roll immediately into several deep dark recesses of your workplace. The individual needles are frightfully expensive to purchase.
 
Turn the crankshaft to get the pistons about half-way down the bores to avoid bending a valve, then grab the cam sprocket with a large pair of Channel Lock pliers. You'll be able to rotate the camshaft pretty easily with them. Finally, rotate the crank back to TDC, align the marks and finish the job.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I decided to with the easiest approach first. Lostboy, I took your suggestion and it worked great. Didn't even need the pliers.
 
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