My question is this. if i have cams that are set to the degree i want and i have to pull the cams off to say put valvetrain on. When i put it back on will i have to set the cams to 0 and then redegree them? or can i just throw the cams in with the cam gear advanced 2degrees. ?
thats waht im trying to do but its showing me about a half a toothoff from the cams lining up 9 and 3 oclock.? Im doing this for a friend and his cam gear allen is stripped so it makes this a very difficult situation....

 

if any parts are changing/being replaced it wouldn't be a bad idea. it would be worth it to try to drill out or extract the stripped Allen bolt.

if it's just new springs or seals or something then just double check valve lash and run it.

 

what about the cam alignment marks being slightly off?

 

If you remove the cams and gears together and reinstall them the same way without adjusting them, you're not changing anything so there's no reason to degree anything.

 

This is why I advocate properly degreeing your cams. You can swap gears, cylinder heads, etc and always come back to the same centerlines.

 

True story.

True. But you can only swap cylinder heads, gaskets, etc IF everything is the same height/thickness.

Nathan, the only way I can see this happening is if something else changed...i.e. the block height, head height, gasket thickness.

Maybe you're just not holding your mouth right.

 

i wasnt holding my mouth right lol.
dont try and time a motor with with no sleep lol.
every gear was just a hair off causing it to be a half a tooth off. redid it and it all worked out.

 

See what happens when you hold your tongue on the other side of your mouth?

Belt stretch and the different gears can all be off just a hair, making your cam timing off.

A 100% OEM engine's timing can vary like 2-3 degrees.