How Do You Get The Frickin' Camshaft Out?

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2957]

The book says to do it with the rockers in place, but even with them backed right off, there are always 4 rockers under compression at any point, and I can't push back the rockers and pull the shaft at the same time, even with a helper or two!

Is it not a good idea to remove the rocker shafts first, then the cam shaft? More likely to damage the rockers / shaft / cam lobes?

I'm sure there is a wealth of knowledge out there on this....

[melowpuf 19]

I've always pulled the rocker shafts out first.. It would be very difficult otherwise, as your probably finding.

[BM WORLD 1283]

you need 2 ,3 or more people to hold big screwdrivers under them to lift them up

[topcat 11]

remove clips that hold rockers.

slid rockers off the cam lobes.

2-3 will still touch the lobes,rotate cam and slide out whilest rotating.

time consuming.

had better results,less fustration doing it this way.

removing the exhaust rockers and shaft will be enough to remove cam shaft and

half the 'rebuild' time

cheers m

[Eagle 1662]

^^ this

[Mark 178]

Sorry to threadjack. But about how much would it cost for a mechanic to replace the camshaft and head studs on an M20... labour/parts included?

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2957]

remove clips that hold rockers.

slid rockers off the cam lobes.

2-3 will still touch the lobes,rotate cam and slide out whilest rotating.

time consuming.

TA DA!!!!! Excellent, done it, and a lot easier that I thought, once you get the pressure off the rockers by sliding them to the side the rocker shaft comes out pretty easy. Then the cam comes out no sweat!

Cheers for the info, i was halfway there, but couldn't work the last bit out. Bimmersport to the rescue...

[OLLIE 26]

yeah i always take the rocker shafts out first.