Freelander 1 K series camshafts question

Hello I have a question... got a K series freelander that it's weird on compression and idle after head gasket job.

I did see the cams were a bit tatty, the question is how can I tell which is inlet and outlet? the part numbers are different in microcat but as far as I remember casing marks are the same. They also look the same.
I suspect they might be fitted incorrectly on previous job which was a bodgit...

I have another nice pair of cams ready for the weekend just want to make sure I am doing it correctly.

PRO said:

Hello I have a question... got a K series freelander that it's weird on compression and idle after head gasket job.

I did see the cams were a bit tatty, the question is how can I tell which is inlet and outlet? the part numbers are different in microcat but as far as I remember casing marks are the same. They also look the same.
I suspect they might be fitted incorrectly on previous job which was a bodgit...

I have another nice pair of cams ready for the weekend just want to make sure I am doing it correctly.

Click to expand...

There is to many parts that should be checked and changed for a head gasket, garage only change the minimum to get the engine running again.
Doing the job again certainty didn't worth it. And you will only know what is needed, once you open it.

As far as I know, all 1.8 cams are the same. The part number isn't actually on the cams. The number on there is a casting number, which will be different between inlet and exhaust, as the exhaust cam has the extra lump of iron for the cam position sensor to pick up on. There was a factory identification of different colours of paint on the cams, but that's normally long gone.
Unfortunately it's impossible to tell if the cams are from a 1.8 or a 1.6 as they look identical, although the lobe lift an timing is different between those 2 engine sizes.
The 1.6 has a wilder cam profile, to give more power at higher RPM, this is something the 1.8 didn't get, having a much softer cam timing, even though the 1.8 actually works very well with a more racy set of cams.

The way I see it both inlet and out have that lump of iron for the cam sensor
I have the camshafts from an 1.8 for sure... just can't tell which is inlet and which is exhaust

Alteredtech said:

There is to many parts that should be checked and changed for a head gasket, garage only change the minimum to get the engine running again.
Doing the job again certainty didn't worth it. And you will only know what is needed, once you open it.

Click to expand...

I've had everything including gaskets etc. I did not think of the camshafts, it's easy enough to revise that now

PRO said:

The way I see it both inlet and out have that lump of iron for the cam sensor
I have the camshafts from an 1.8 for sure... just can't tell which is inlet and which is exhaust

Click to expand...

In that case, they're both the same. The standard K 1.8 uses symmetrical timing of 12° 52° 52° 12°.
Meaning the inlet valve opens at 12° before top dead centre (BTDC), and closes at 52° after bottom dead centre ABDC). The exhaust valve opens at 52° before bottom dead centre (BBDC) and closes at 12° after top dead centre (ATDC).
So the cams themselves are the same. The only change is were they are timed to the crankshaft, and that is done by selecting the correct hole in the drive pulley for the location the cam is fitted in.

Can't post the picture, but if you look at AF Factors website they list inlet as LGC106950L and exhaust as LGC106960L

Yes can

I know they do, hey are listed in microcat BUT that part number is not anywhere listed on the cams themselves.
So they are different part numbers in microcat (I have microcat) but physically both have the same PN which is actually casing number which in this case is LGC106970

If the timing between the 2 cams is different, then the only way to tell is by fitting them to the engine, and using a timing disc to check the opening times of the valves. This is the same as setting up a performance cam, so timing discs and instructions are available if needed.

Just asking and please excuse my ignorance, but how did that motor run prior to the head job? If it was a good runner then it's unlikely to be a incorrect cam issue but possibly a cam timing prob'.

Wouldn't it be easier to go through the process of 'fitting a new cam belt'? ie: leave current cams in situ, plugs out, rotate the crank to get the pistons to the safe position, check to see if the timing marks all line-up on the crank and cam pulleys - if they don't then loosen the tensioner and relax the cam belt and slip it off, [ adjust the cams if necesary - see the diagram below ], refit the cam belt and test rotate the crank again...