2000 323i cracked head swap

[jtyree]

Hello, first time posting on the forum. I am a pretty experienced mechanic but this is my first BMW. I recently bought a 2000 323i with what I thought was a bad head gasket. Turns out it was a cracked head. I bought a remanufactured head and have it installed but now trying to get everything timed. I have the primary chain in time with the exhaust cam. My question is: in changing the head I had to swap the splined stub shafts from my old cams to the ones on the new head. Do these have to be oriented in a certain way. It seems they would because their position determines how the sprockets line up between the slots and the studs. I realize after I get this back together I will need the VANOS alignment plate to set the initial timing. It has the dual VANOS by the way. Any help would be appreciated.