Cam caps won't come off - 3B

1098 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Aktapod, Jun 25, 2013

Aktapod

Discussion Starter · Jun 24, 2013

First of all, hello! I've been hovering around this forum for quite a while now, and the time has come to introduce myself.

I'm currently trying to remove the camshafts on my 200 for the first time in its 180k mile life. The nuts holding the cam caps came off without a fight, but, with the exception of one, the caps are stubbornly fused to the head.

I've gone to town on them with a rubber mallet and a plastic head hammer - left, right, forward, backward - but they either remained entirely unaffected or lifted on one side a fraction of a millimeter. I'm afraid of using any more force at the risk of damaging the caps or the camshafts, and I certainly don't want to pry with anything metal and damage the mating surface.

Has anyone else had experience with unusually stubborn cam caps, and what was the solution that got them off? Or are there other methods I should try to get them loose?

Thanks in advance!

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Hybrid_Hatch

· #2 · Jun 24, 2013

welcome.

When i get stubborn cam caps, i generally use rubber feet on each side then take a pair of channel locks and put the rubber feet over them and grab the cap and gently work it a mm forwards and backwards. just wiggling it ever so slightly while pulling up should loosen it. the hardest part is getting a good grip, which is why i use something like channel locks with protection over the metal. metal on metal=bad!

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yodasfro

· #3 · Jun 24, 2013

Some light tapping with a soft faced mallet works for me YMMV also make sure you have removed them in the correct order according to the workshop manual.

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Aktapod

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 25, 2013

Thanks for the quick responses!

I eventually got them all off through a combination of your channel locks method and using a rubber mallet with a small bar of wood as a lever for prying up on the inward facing side of the caps, while slipping my old driver license on the opposite side to prevent it from simply dropping the outside back down.

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