Cam Sensor Tapping.....fix?

[wiked87gn]

Re: Reply

I will have to agree with Lou , but this will not fix the the problem just tell you if its the cam sensor the cause of the problem, if noise becomes less when you wedge the screw driver and put pressure on the cam sensor you know you need to replace gears on the bottom that means shimming the cam or just replace it with new one..

Originally posted by turbolou
All the suggertions listed here are good!But if all else fails I have tried this & has worked. Take a large screwdriver & wedge it between the cam sensor houseing & timing cover portion behind the water pump & ( gently ) pry it a bit with the engine idleing. See if this makes a difference.

 

[pacecarta]

just getting ready to drop my cam sensor in for the timing chain swap and figured while i was at i would fix the up and down play (no side play so bushing is OK)
i found a suitable shim and proceeded to drive the roll pin out
to install the shim
when i went to pick up the roll pin i was suprised to find it had cracked in into two halves (down its length)
, now i can see why the roll pin shearing can be a common problem .
I guess i caught that one in time as well

 

[wiked87gn]

where did you find the shim part number and vendor would be helpful, how many shims did you have to use to make it work?

Originally posted by pacecarta
i found a suitable shim and proceeded to drive the roll pin out
to install the shim

 

[pacecarta]

cam sensor shims

nothing fancy i just happened to have a flat washer with the same id as the cam sensor shaft and OD about the size of the top of the gear
shim just enough to barely load the wave (spring) washer that rides on the top of the gear

the correct shims are the same ones used for old distributors

Cam Sensor Spacer Shims GM part # 1837617 ..... sold in pack of 5 ... $5.05 ($1.01 ea.)

i had to rob the roll pin from another distributor (pontiac) that i had in the garage

 

[turbolou]

Originally posted by pacecarta
just getting ready to drop my cam sensor in for the timing chain swap and figured while i was at i would fix the up and down play (no side play so bushing is OK)
i found a suitable shim and proceeded to drive the roll pin out
to install the shim
when i went to pick up the roll pin i was suprised to find it had cracked in into two halves (down its length)
, now i can see why the roll pin shearing can be a common problem .
I guess i caught that one in time as well

Do you realize that if you shim the end play out of the gear/shaft You might be putting a load against the oil pump gears. As the cam sensor is engaged in & drives the oil pump. That is the reason GM
designed it that way.Damage could occur to the oil pump & then for sure you will be hearing some funny noise's.

 

[wiked87gn]

Lou I wasn't trying to question your wisdom, i simple mearly agreed with you about the subject you are the one who thought me the trick with the screwdriver., and yes you are right, that if the shimming is not done to factory specs with the right size shims you will drive a hole or wear out the surface of the oil pump with the gears, once again Lou you are the master, i simple try to follow in your foot steps. FYI on my post above i didn't mean to say replace gears i meant shim the cam with the right size shims so that you dont end up driving the gear or putting to much pressure againts the oil pump, shimming has been done by many people and when done right it works great and it saves you having to buy a whole new cam sensor, which btw it was $420.00 at the dealer

Originally posted by turbolou
Do you realize that if you shim the end play out of the gear/shaft You might be putting a load against the oil pump gears. As the cam sensor is engaged in & drives the oil pump. That is the reason GM
designed it that way.Damage could occur to the oil pump & then for sure you will be hearing some funny noise's. But there again who am I to question wicked GN's wisdom.

 

[pacecarta]

gm designed in those little extensons from the housing at the thrust washer , and a wave washer to maintain the shaft play and minimize the gear popping up . problem is the housing is aluminum and on mine with 128K miles those extensions wear . just putting it back where it came from ,thats what the shims are for .

 

[wiked87gn]

when i went to the dealer i asked them about the part #1837617 you posted above, they say it didn't exist, are you sure that is the right part #, they even called thier main parts center and could not find it... i also went to gmpartsdirect.com and typed in the number and it comes up with nothing..

Originally posted by pacecarta
gm designed in those little extensons from the housing at the thrust washer , and a wave washer to maintain the shaft play and minimize the gear popping up . problem is the housing is aluminum and on mine with 128K miles those extensions wear . just putting it back where it came from ,thats what the shims are for .

 

[wiked87gn]

my bad i found them at GMpartsdirect.com.. sorry my mistake..

 

[pacecarta]

from GMPARTSDIRECT.COM

GM PART # 1837617
CATEGORY: All
PACK QTY: 5 CORE CHARGE: $0.00
GM LIST: $2.02
OUR PRICE: $1.01
DESCRIPTION: WASHER

 

[wiked87gn]

does anyone knows what the factory specs are, or how many shims are needed to make it work witout driving the gears into the oil pump surface!!!!!!

 

[pacecarta]

wicked
if you go to http://www.vortexbuicks-etc.com/
and click tech section install , then cam sensor youll see a good pic of the base and the wave washer between the thrust washer and the gear , and youll notice the extensions at the housing i referred to, my extensions are probably about 1/4 of what you see there and the top of the gear doesnt wear like the aluminum
i shimmed till it was just about to touch the wave washer but not to compress it .

 

[wiked87gn]

thanks that was very helpful, very detailed instructions.