Just changed the valve stem oil seals on my car ( 1995 3.0L V6 TS Wagon) with the heads on. Put it all back together. Car was idling a bit odd when I first started it, but settled down after a few minutes. Now she idles smoothly, but there is a loud rattling/clattering noise under acceration. Was wondering whether maybe the cambelt has skipped a tooth, as the camshaft was lifting up on the drivers side when we were turning the engine over with a spanner as the rocker assembly wasn't in to hold it down? Anyone got any sensible ideas or suggestions?

Cheers.

Clarky.

Does the car feel sluggish at low RPM? Might be a good idea to quickly go and check your timing mate. Just take off the front and rear rocker covers and see if the timing marks are correct

Looks like it's slipped a tooth. With the camshafts aligned, the crankshaft pulley is on the 20 degree mark - it should be on the T, shouldn't it.

Looks like it's slipped a tooth. With the camshafts aligned, the crankshaft pulley is on the 20 degree mark - it should be on the T, shouldn't it.

Well the crank pulley should sling to the little mark on the oil pump, I'm guessing thats what you mean by T

Got the aux pulley off and on the timing belt crankshaft gear underneath, it was 2 teeth out. Typing this with very oiley hands. Will let you know how I go in a few hours. ****in cars...

Ok. Cam belt re-aligned correctly. Had enough for the night - just sat down for a beer. Been working on the car all day. Just gotta put the pulleys, power steering pump, belts and starter motor back on, and we'll try again.

Could have done without the hassle, as it took about 8 hrs or so to change the valve stem oil seals - not a fun job to do on a V6. Very fiddly with the heads still on the car, but easier and cheaper than taking them off I suppose. A friend at work told me a nifty trick to stop the valves falling down too far. Instead of mucking about with compressed air, get some fairly thin rope, wind the piston down until it's near the bottom of its stroke, feed as much rope as you can down the spark plug hole, then wind the piston back up until it jams. Your valve will then not drop down too far when you take the collets out. Made it a lot easier, as getting the collets out/putting them back in again can be very fiddly, especially the exhaust valves on the rear head.

All in all, with 12 new valve stem oil seals, and 2 rocker cover gaskets, reckon it cost under $150 dollars to do. Valve spring compresser was $36 and I changed all the spark plugs to iridium ones whilst I had the plenum chamber off. I also replaced 2 hydraulic lifters as they were a bit smashed on the bottom. You'll also need some sealing compound.

Finished off today - that fixed it. Car running smoothly again with no smoke. Glad it's all sorted.

Nice work man. Good to see its sorted!
Your keen for doing it with the heads on, I had no idea what I was doing at the time!
I would degrease the hell out of the engine bay aswell so that way you can keep an eye on any new oil leaks too
I know how hard that stupid timing belt is, Think I had mine on and off about 8 times in one year

Once done a few times you will be able to knock this off in about 3 hours. Timing belt is also easy on these

The trick I use when the cams are staying in the car is to use an old bearing carrier on the cam to stop it lifting

I always use air, I also have a special tool with a regulator rigged up so I do not have to fiddle with the compressor.

You can do 2 pots without turning the engine over.

Cheers guys. Trick for the future is to tap the end camshaft bearing cap off the rocker assembly with a mallet (LH side as you're facing the engine bay), then you can temporarily bolt it on as Madmagna said.

I'm with Tufftr about the cambelt though Madmagna, this is the second time I've played with it, and I found it an absolute pig to set up. You line all the marks up, release the tensioner, turn the camshafts one revolution, and the first few times, it ended up half a tooth out? Played round with it, and eventually got it right. Seems to me you have to try and work the slack over to the tensioner side, but I didn't find it easy. Any tricks you know of for the future?