Ryan---In response to some of your questions--I never believed it to be
super important that the cam have the .015 clearance (mine has .005) but
if you want to do this there are only two ways that I know of with not
too much effort. The first would be to machine .010 off the back side of
the keeper plate which would add this much more to what you now have.
IF what you are finding is that you do indeed have the .015 before you
bolt up the keeper, then lose most of it, it's almost a certainty that
the front face of the engine block is "not square." By loosening each
bolt separately, with the other one tight, you'll see which side can
have a shim inserted. (One could cut up an aluminum can into washer
sizes if you don't have a sheet of steel stock handy.) Use a feeler
gauge first, to determine where you want to level the surface.
Once bolted in place, nothing on this plate requires that there be no
threads at the bolt head.
There's not much back and forth thrust going on when the cam is doing
its job, so I never took the time to look up the torque figures on the
keeper or the sprocket bolts. My guess is that I use around 25 lb.
There's a reasonableness that goes with tightening up bolts, based on
size and application. I get out the torque wrench for rod and main
bolts, flywheel and head bolts, and a few others. Lining up the two
sprockets is more important for keeping sprockets and timing chain happy
and long-lived.
Dick Taylor
CF11143
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