I installed my new 4piston outlaw head today. It has ferrera valves and springs. Fully machined. It’s a P72 b18 head onto a b18c block. But I am having a strange issue. With the timing belt I put my pistons at TDC and I can easily spin the crankshaft with a socket counter clockwise. I lined up my cams to the “up” position and put on my timing belt and all the cam caps. I know my cam caps are correct as from left to right it is 4-3-2 and the arrows point to the timing belt. I torqued to spec 1-10 20lbs and the outer bolts to 8lbs. My tension bolt is tight.

I go to turn the crankshaft counter clockwise to offset the cam gears 3 teeth to tension the slack in the timing belt. The cranking just won’t go even putting a lot of pressure on the wrench. Very strange.

I loosened the tensioner and pulled off the timing belt. I put all the pistons half way down. I am able use a flat head screw driver and a rubber mallet to counter clockwise spin the cam gears. But they are really really tight. I put them in the up position again. I reset the pistons to TDC again and put on the timing belt. Same thing even with a lot of pressure on the wrench to the point where the belt will almost jump a tooth.




This head has NEVER been run. All new guts and machining from 4piston. So I highly doubt a bent valve.




Help......

 

Did you use assembly lube? Did you do cam caps before installing timing belt? Did you plastigauge the cam journals?

 

Yes I used assembly lube.
Set in the cams into the journals. Aligned the cam gears to the up position. Slipped the belt on. Put some pressure on the back of the cams to make sure the arrows point to each other at the 3/9 position. Put on a cam tooth holder. Put on the caps. Hand tightened all the cap bolts in the proper sequence starting in the middle. Torqued to proper specs. I didn’t plastiguage the cam journals. I never have done that or seen that in any install video. I will google it. I have done quite a few head gaskets and never ran into this issue.

 

I don't believe you normally plastigauge the journals but since you have issues turning them.... It would be good to know the clearance.

Also why did you put the timing belt onto a loose cam shaft and then do cam caps? that would put unnecessary force on the cam when you go to do the caps. You should do the cam caps long before a timing belt ever touched the cam.

 

Are the cam caps original to the cylinder head ??? Cam caps are unique to each cylinder head, so you must make sure that the caps being installed are those that originally came with the head casting.

 

cam caps and also apply some lube to the section of the cam where the caps cover it would work.

 

The proper procedure is to set the crank away from TDC, so that the valves can't hit a piston no matter what position the cams are in. In that condition, turn the cams as much as you want until they are at their TDC marks. Now you can bring the crank up to TDC and install the belt.

Turning the cams will take some force especially with racing valve springs, but the bearings should be loose enough that when you are turning a cam against a spring and let it go, the spring will push it back.

 

^this

I'm wondering if it's just stiffer springs that OP isn't used to. If that's not it, pull pistons halfway down bore, tighten cam caps, remove timing belt, and try to turn one cam at a time to find out which one is binding. Once you identify the cam, start loosening one cap at a time and trying to turn it until you identify which cap is causing the binding.