(Very) Basic 930 Cam Timing Question
 

Just getting into the throws of timing the cams on my 930. In Waynes book it appears to be fairly specific that when timing the left side of the motor you should be clamping the top of the tensioner to the side of the chain housing. Unless I'm missing something, the tensioner on my 930 won't actually come into contact with the housing. I end up with about a 1/2" gap. Is this indicative of some mistake I made or is it just specific to the 930.

Thanks

No. Nothing should be wrong. The tensioner or chain should NOT come in contact with the housing. There MUST be a gap.

Don't over exert the clamp.

The idea here is to keep a high tension in the chain to remove backlash in the chain when setting the cam timing. Don't apply so much force that you crack your chain housing or stretch your chain.

Post some pictures for others to see.

I'll take some pictures in the AM to post. Thanks for the response.

Another (basic) question I came up with relates to the sprocket alignment pin. How much resistance should there be when inserting the pins to set the cam sprockets. Mine seem to have ZERO resistence. I can just pop them in. If I use a threaded dowel pin remover to put them in I can't unthread the tool from the pin as there isn't any resistance holding it in there. Normal?

In order to get a proper reading the cam has to rotate against the pin. If you dont take up slack for the reading (slack will take out turning the cam clockwise and tighten against the pin for the reading) you have a bogus reading that will change when you torque the nut or bolt.
Bruce

I am also interested in this since I have some 964 cams to install in my 3.3L. Has it been difficult so far ?

I ended up double checking the tension on the chain and that seems to have taken up the slack in the dowel pin. Thanks.

BTW Herman... This is my first run at it. Fairly overwhelming given the outcome if I screw it up but I'm confident that following the directions in Wayne's book and asking questions here when in doubt will get me through it. The process isn't that difficult, just very specific in the steps and measurements.

It's really not that bad. When doing this for the first time, run though the whole process a couple of times. It may take more time, but afterward, it should make more sense as to what you are doing and more importantly why. It is not an overly complicated procedure, but sometimes the way a procedure is written, makes it seem more complicated. Too bad I don't know of a VIDEO showing how it is done, I know that would clear a lot of questions up about setting the cam timing.

Good luck!