TDC Locking Pin Hole

secono330ci · 01-20-2013, 07:13 AM

I'm installing cams and ran into a problem. The top dead center locking pin will not pass through the block. I've been at it for over an hour. The pin only goes in a few mm's then stops. Any ideas? I cleaned the hole out pretty good already..

Here's what I'm referring to.

SoloII///M · 01-20-2013, 07:32 AM

Are you sure you're at TDC? It sounds like you aren't. Is the pin the correct size?

secono330ci · 01-20-2013, 07:38 AM

It seems like it's the right size. Even if I wasn't at TDC, shouldn't the pin go in farther than a few mm's?

jared_wiesner · 01-20-2013, 12:00 PM

Get a friend to put a breaker bar on the crank and jiggle it back and forth a few mm while you push the pin in. It just needs to be wiggled to make the holes line up perfectly.

That's what I did anyway.

SoloII///M · 01-20-2013, 04:43 PM

Do you have an aftermarket flywheel without the locking hole?

MotorMan · 01-20-2013, 08:41 PM

If you think the pin is not even making it through the hole in the block, you will need to clean out the hole better. The pin is not much smaller than the actual hole in the block casting to make sure that there is very little free play for accuracy. Even with the plastic plug that BMW installs in the hole to help keep it clean, the hole still gets coated with a hard oxidation layer. If you have a small wire bottle brush work it in and out of the hole until the pin will fit through.

Steven747 · 01-20-2013, 11:25 PM

didnt use the flywheel lock tool when doing my cams

just a crescent wrench . prob would have made it alot easier for me but what evs

01-20-2013, 07:13 AM	#1
secono330ci Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Princeton, NJ Posts: 2,734 My Ride: 04' 330ci & 99' 540i View My Garage	TDC Locking Pin Hole I'm installing cams and ran into a problem. The top dead center locking pin will not pass through the block. I've been at it for over an hour. The pin only goes in a few mm's then stops. Any ideas? I cleaned the hole out pretty good already.. Here's what I'm referring to. __________________ EuroTechniks East Stav's 330 N/A Progress Thread \|NYC Skyline Photoshoot\|

01-20-2013, 07:32 AM	#2
SoloII///M Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Columbia, MD Posts: 222 My Ride: Many View My Garage	Are you sure you're at TDC? It sounds like you aren't. Is the pin the correct size? __________________ John V '03 330i ZHP 6sp street car '02 330Ci 5sp race car

01-20-2013, 07:38 AM	#3
secono330ci Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Princeton, NJ Posts: 2,734 My Ride: 04' 330ci & 99' 540i View My Garage	It seems like it's the right size. Even if I wasn't at TDC, shouldn't the pin go in farther than a few mm's? __________________ EuroTechniks East Stav's 330 N/A Progress Thread \|NYC Skyline Photoshoot\| Last edited by secono330ci; 01-20-2013 at 07:42 AM.

01-20-2013, 12:00 PM	#4
jared_wiesner Registered User Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 583 My Ride: 1999 328i View My Garage	Get a friend to put a breaker bar on the crank and jiggle it back and forth a few mm while you push the pin in. It just needs to be wiggled to make the holes line up perfectly. That's what I did anyway. __________________ Check out my band - The Marked 1999 BMW 328i (Daily Driver) - m54b30 intake manifold, ebay headers, Rebirth Motorsports CAI, Rogue Engineering underive pulleys, Epic Motorsports Software, Custom 3 inch exhaust with Burns Merge, Schrick 264/248 Cams 1967 Buick Skylark - 430 Buick Big Block Swap. Last edited by jared_wiesner; 01-20-2013 at 12:05 PM.

01-20-2013, 04:43 PM	#5
SoloII///M Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Columbia, MD Posts: 222 My Ride: Many View My Garage	Do you have an aftermarket flywheel without the locking hole? __________________ John V '03 330i ZHP 6sp street car '02 330Ci 5sp race car

01-20-2013, 08:41 PM	#6
MotorMan Registered User Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Michigan Posts: 41 My Ride: e39 View My Garage	If you think the pin is not even making it through the hole in the block, you will need to clean out the hole better. The pin is not much smaller than the actual hole in the block casting to make sure that there is very little free play for accuracy. Even with the plastic plug that BMW installs in the hole to help keep it clean, the hole still gets coated with a hard oxidation layer. If you have a small wire bottle brush work it in and out of the hole until the pin will fit through.

01-20-2013, 11:25 PM	#7
Steven747 OEM ///Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 4,163 My Ride: 05 330ci View My Garage	didnt use the flywheel lock tool when doing my cams just a crescent wrench . prob would have made it alot easier for me but what evs __________________ Last edited by Steven747; 01-20-2013 at 11:25 PM.

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