Ok i own an automotive shop in My hometown..Engine Number: 119970. Anyway i have not done one of these engines in quite some time, i've recently rebuilt this engine, he almost wiped out his main bearings due to no oil pressure. Anyway along the way i was reminded of how i have to advance the camshafts 45 degrees, Done, and it still seems that i have valves stopping me, the vanos is set correctly the sprockets are all in place the chain is on, the slides are all correct, i just cant get it to turn any more that the initial 45 degrees, ive even tried timing it as to not advance it i still only get 45 degrees travel...... Anyone that could help me out with some information from a source other than Alldata on getting this engine in time would be greatly appreciated, this car is becoming more of a pain than its worth. And i know its probably gonna be something simple that i may have forgotten.

With the engine set to 45degrees BTDC you should be able to slide ~6mm pins through the #1, #5 cam bearings and into the mating hole in the rear of all 4 camshaft gear flanges. This of course is with the chain tight and the intake cams rotated against their couterclockwise stops.


FWIW, it has been a while since I timed a 119 and it's late, there should be 40 and 45 degree marks on the damper. Check to see if they are ATDC or BTDC. Memory says they are BTDC but check to make sure I don't have it backwards in my head.

PPS, I have seen once before where the crankshaft gear was loose on the crank snout and the key was sheared. If you still end up with valve / piston contact after ensuring the cams are timed then I would pop the hub off and check the keyway for the lower timing gear.

Timing is a pain on m119. I'm not a professional mechanic and I timed it myself. My first mistake was that I was trying to align camshafts with 4-5 degree mark on vibration damper. That was wrong. There is a clear 45* mark on damper. When I set it to 45* I had to turn camshafts to align all 4 cams so I could fit screwdriver into holes. But that was not it. Even though damper was at 45* I managed to align cams 2 ways. Holes would align but you can turn cam 180* and it would align still. So I had to envision which cylinder is at its intake phase and rotated cam for valve to start opening. Same with exhaust cams. After that everything aligned properly but before I had same problem as you have. I could only rotate the engine less than half way and it would stop.

Hope that helps and good luck

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