After replacing cam seals on an lsvtec motor (b16 head w/itr cams) that I just recently got with my new car, I discovered an odd problem. With the cam gears (AEM) set to TDC, on the intake came only, the slot in the cam that is supposed to line up with the slot in the cam cap is way off, maybe 40* counterclockwise from where it should be. While the motor has apparently been running well like this, I wanted to zero out the intake cam, so I did, but when I tried to set the ignition timing afterwards, the most advanced I could get it was maybe 12*
So my dilemma is: should I leave the intake cam as it was, at TDC according to the cam gear and distributor, but not the cam? I'm just worried about valve-piston contact that may be minor enough for me not to notice, but serious enough to damage the motor.
TIA and sorry for the novel.