acy76

Wish I knew the actual names for this stuff.. Helms manual calls these the "cam holders" - the semi-circle retainers with 2 bolts that secure the cam to the head. At any rate, I was using a punch through the cast hole on the I-1 intake retainer to hold the cam whilst breaking loose the cam sprocket bolt (as per Helms) when the little cast piece on the retainer with the hole for the punch in it snapped off. Guess that punch was a little too big or something.
Thankfully, the gracious Honda engineers cast a nice hex nut right into the camshaft, allowing me to hold the cams much more securely while loosening those pesky nuts - why Helms didn't advise this in the first place I don't know (can anyone enlighten me?)
So, my question to all those who have already built engines is, is this a big deal? Will I need to hold the cam with a punch somewhere down the road, and regret re-using the busted piece? Or can I just use the same crescent wrench on the camshaft trick over again?
Thanks for any advice.

acy76

I should add that I am only considering keeping the broken retainer after reading somewhere on H-T that they are matched to the head.. if this isn't true, I guess I'll just get another one.

haggar

You cannot buy a new one from adealer they aren't sold.

The cam 'cap' or 'holder' is align-bored to the head. That process is used to guarantee the bottom and top halves of the circle are properly lined up.

You could get one from another motor, and have a machine shop re-bore it to mate with the head. Or get a new head, those I believe are your only options.

acy76

What do you think about running it as is? It's just one tiny little piece that's broken off - shouldn't affect the function, but maybe some assembly/adjustement won't be possible without the punch alignment?

haggar

Might want to post a picture, so everyone can see exactly..

If the complete surface that touches the camshaft is intact, probably would still work.

acy76

Pics would be a bit of a hassle for me right now, but I can post them if I have to. Basically, the only broken part is a tiny tab on top of the cap (like the extra castings for the distributor mounts), not on the machined surface that touches the cam, which has a hole in it that lines up with a hole in the cam itself. I guess it's there to keep the cam in place during maintenance. I just don't know if I need this alignment ability, or if I can get by holding the cam gears or the hex nut casting on the cam when doing head work.