gripnrip Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I've looked all over but can't find an answer. I recently purchased a 3rd gen VFR with approximately 45K miles. I'm checking the valve clearances and found one out of spec (cylinder 2, left intake). As I was removing the corresponding camshaft I noticed the teeth on the 'split' gear are not lined up (see picture). I looked at all the other camshafts and the teeth appear to be lined up on both sides of the split gear. Is it supposed to be this way? If not, what happened and what should I do to fix it? Thanks so much for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beck Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I think they are supposed to be like that, so the teeth on the gears maintain constant pressure against the gear it meshes to (IIRC, the thinner gear is spring loaded). which supossedly lessens the amount of noise/gear whine the straight cut gears driving the camshaft and on the camshaft makes. I believe they (Honda?) used the term "scissors" gears to describe these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer gll429 Posted January 25, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted January 25, 2015 I think they are supposed to be like that, so the teeth on the gears maintain constant pressure against the gear it meshes to (IIRC, the thinner gear is spring loaded). which supossedly lessens the amount of noise/gear whine the straight cut gears driving the camshaft and on the camshaft makes. I believe they (Honda?) used the term "scissors" gears to describe these. you are correct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JZH Posted January 25, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted January 25, 2015 Oh, dear! The other cams appear different because they are installed. Upon re-installation of this cam, the small gear will be forced into alignment with the big gear, and all of the cams will then look the same... Be very careful when you do re-install it, as the split gears will make it slightly difficult to get the correct cam alignment--it's easy to be one tooth off from where you want to be, and you won't be sure until you tighten the bolts up. Speaking of tightening the bolts up, you might also wish to avoid finding yourself with one of these: (That was not dopped, btw. Long story, but the cam caps were tightened with the cam significantly out of position. ) Ciao, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted January 25, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted January 25, 2015 Anti lash cams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer skymon Posted January 25, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted January 25, 2015 Cool. Never knew that. Do all generations have that? Pretty loud even with. Wondering what without would sound like... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer KevCarver Posted January 25, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted January 25, 2015 All with gear driven cams. RC51, also. I heard from a buddy with an RC51 that it sounds like a VW diesel without them at idle. At speed it can be very loud. Mind you, I haven't heard it myself. Maybe someone has it on youtube? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted January 25, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted January 25, 2015 Cool. Never knew that. Do all generations have that? Pretty loud even with. Wondering what without would sound like... Only the loud ones . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gripnrip Posted January 26, 2015 Author Share Posted January 26, 2015 Thanks for the info and warning. I'm thinking when I reinstall the camshaft I need to pay extreme attention to the alignment arrow (lining up with top of head casing) on the gear but also make sure the teeth come back into alignment once everything is installed and tightened down. I read somewhere that taking a piece of string or taping a piece of paper stretched tight across the top of the head can help you line everything up better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer HighSideNZ Posted January 26, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted January 26, 2015 What you need to do is mark a tooth on the main gear and the corresponding tooth on the backlash gear and as you tighten the caps and bring the cam back under compression, the 2 teeth need to line up. This is to make sure that you have the correct amount of preload on the backlash gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer gll429 Posted January 27, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted January 27, 2015 oh please.. the cam was broken by not following the proper tightening order . i bet they put one side on and tightened fully ..like 1/2 the rookie i have seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JZH Posted January 27, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted January 27, 2015 No, it was worse than that... I broke that cam (which was on my spare, 60k mi FL engine) because I couldn't be arsed to pay attention to what I was doing. Thinking about something else, spare engine, not important, etc. Still, I hated to break something I wasn't intending to break, and I keep it around to remind me of my sin. Needless breakage offends my sensitive mechanical sympathies.... Ciao, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gripnrip Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 After waiting forever for new valve cover gaskets I finally got everything put back together. It took a couple of tries to get everything lined up. I realized I needed to account for the camshaft position after everything is tightened down not as it looks when it's just sitting in the camshaft holder. Thanks for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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