Got this from someone:
91-93 cam install
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Make sure that you have all the right tools to do the install.
Among the usual tools, you will need a very large 1 inch wrench.
Buy it before you start to prevent interruption.
step one
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Remove the distributor, plug wires, and valve cover from the
engine. Place the valve cover in a clean dry area of your
garage. You do not want dirt to get inside the valve cover.
If dirt gets in, clean the cover before you reinstall it on
the engine block.
step two
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Put the car in neutral. Secure a ratchet and socket, or a
large crescent wrench to the crank pulley bolt. Turn the
crank pulley clockwise until the number one cylinder is at
Top Dead Center (TDC). Use plastic zip ties to secure the
chain to the sprockets. This is intended to keep the chain
in its proper timing position. Make sure that you get this
right. There is no room for error. I secured the chain to
the sprockets with two zip ties on each side just to be safe.
step three
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Loosen the cam sprocket bolts. Use a 24 mm socket and ratchet
on the sprocket bolt and a 1 inch open end wrench on the cam
hex. The cam hex is in front of the front lobe. Do not
remove the bolts yet.
step four
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Place the oil pan under the car beneath the oil filter area.
Oil will drip from the filter during removal. Remove the
oil filter. IMPORTANT: wrap a rag around the filter shaft to
block the passages to the engine and prevent tiny parts from
falling in. Remove the top nut and washer from the tensioner.
Use the ratchet and 10mm socket. Partially rethread the top
nut. This will prevent the tensioner from popping out while
removing the bottom nut. Remove the bottom nut and washer,
then slowly remove the top nut. The tensioner should partly
pop out. If not, tap it lightly with the end of the ratchet
until it does. Jiggle and rotate the tensioner until you can
remove it past the oil shaft. Once it is off, push the plunger
on the tensioner in until it is fully retracted and the catch
engaged with the lock pin. Oil will come out as you push it in.
step five
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If you have an upper chain guide, then remove it. 98 SE-Rs do not have an upper chain guide.
Remove the bolts on the cam sprocket and remove the
sprockets off the cams. Let the chain/sprockets lay relaxed away from the cams until you are
ready to assemble the new cams.Get a piece of card board and a marker. Draw the position of the
camshaft brackets on that board and number the camshaft brackets on the board from 1 to 5.
For example, 1 refers to the position of the first intake cam bracket.Make sure that you remove
the camshaft bolts one turn of each bolt at a time until all the bolts are free of tension.
step six
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Remove the stock cam. Clean and check for any damage on the 91-93 cam. Thoroughly coat the cam
journals, cam lobes, and the 91-93 cam with engine oil before the assembly. Coating the cam with
oil is critical for proper cam seating and thus cam longevity. Reinstall all the parts on the card
board in their proper order. Clean off all traces of the old silicone being very careful not to
get one crumb in to the motor. A thin coat of silicone sealant should be applied to the cut-out
area that holds the distributor in place. Use the silicone sealant sparingly. Also make sure that
you place a dab of silicone on the corners of the semi-circular cutouts in the head of the valve
cover gaskets. Just a little dab in the corners of the semi-circular plugs in the valve cover
gasket will do it.
Start tightening down the cam caps in an X pattern from the middle of the cam outward, turning 1/2
turn at a time and watching the gaps in the cam caps to the head to make sure the cam is not cocked.
* the cam will not be totally flat, it will be a little wobbly due to the rocker arms being at
different heights* Dont allow too much wobble, make sure its as less wobbly as you can get it*
Continue the tightening process until all of the brackets are snug. At this time it is a good
idea to make sure the rockers are fully seated on the valve guide lash cap on the valve. Finally,
torque the 10 mm bolts from the center bolt outward to 6.7-8.7 ft-lb. The two 12 mm bolts closest
to the distributor are to be torqued to 13-19 ft-lb.
After you tighten all of the cam caps to proper torque, it is a good idea to get the 1" wrench and
move the cams back and forth slightly before you attach the timing chain gears to make sure that
the cams are not cocked or binding. The cams should move freely. If they won't turn, then the
tightening procedure must be repeated paying more attention to tightening down the caps evenly.
step seven
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Attach the sprocket to the new camand bolt the screws by hand. Make sure that the sprocket is
fully seated against the cam. When installing the chain, double check to make sure that you can
count 20 chain pins between the two timing marks. Now check the dowel pin position of the sprocket
on the cam. The dowel pin location must be at 10 o'clock on the intake cam and at 12 o'clock on
the exhaust cam. If this is not correct then the cam timing is off. Finally, torque the sprocket
bolts to 101-116 ft-lb.
Install the chain tensioner by these steps:
Orient the new gasket 'wings up' and slide it onto the mounting studs.
Orient the tensioner 'teeth up', and SLOWLY slide it into the hole until the studs reveal
enough thread to start the nuts.
Partially install the top nut to reveal more threads for installing the bottom washer and nut.
Install the bottom washer and nut but do not tighten
Remove the top nut. Install the top washer and nut again but do not tighten.
Dribble some threadlock on the nuts and threads. Tighten both nuts to about 6 ft-lb (or best guess).
Remove the rag and install the oil filter (or change the oil and filter now).
Remove the zip ties from the chain.
Step eight
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Reinstall the valve cover, the distributor, and the plug wires. Be sure to install all the washers
between bolts and the valve cover. Tighten bolts 1, 10, 11, 13 and 8. Then tighten all the other
bolts. Torque the bolts in two stages, first to 2.9 ft-lb, then to 5.8-7.2 ft-lb. Do not
over-tighten these bolts. They are very fragile and they will break.
step nine
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Check to make sure that you have done everything correctly and that all the wires are connected.
Make sure the oil filter is on!!!!!!
Start the car. There might be some clatter at first. But do not worry, it will go away in a few minutes.
Make sure that you adjust your timing once your are done. I did not adjust my timing and my car
ran like crap for a while. So do not make my mistake.
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To break in the cams do the following:
** When you first start the motor, immediately bring the rpm up to 2000 rpm and blip the throttle
between 2000-3000 for about 10 minutes. This helps assure the cams break in correctly.
**Run the engine at 10-15 minutes between 1500 to 2000 rpm.
**Drive the car for 50-100 miles of varied rpm. Do not go above 4000 rpm.
**Because of the ECU self learning, the car will run better and better within the next two days.
**I would also change the engine oil after about a few hundred miles as cam break in leaves many small iron particles.
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NOTE: This How-to was put together with material taken from SE-R web sites. I cannot take full
credit for it. Perform cam install at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for any
damage or deaths caused by this install.
resources:
http://www.geocities.com/n_dahi/
http://www.sr20de.net/zotz/default.htm
and personal experience. =-)
