03 Suzuki LTZ 400 timing chain guide problem

[jpjones789]

Hey, I recent attempted a rebuild on my ltz 400. Upon putting it back together(cylinder and head are on) I went to put the cam chain guide back in, but I am having trouble getting the guide in. When I put the guide in it sticks up about 2 to 3 inches, getting in the way so I cant put the cams on. Anyone know whats going on? Was I supposed to put the guide on after putting the cylinder on, before putting the head on?

[DirtDemon]

I think what you need to do is take the side cover off, there is a bolt at the bottom of the tensioner side, and a retainer at the bottom of the guide on the other side. In order to properly place the bottom of the guides you would need to get at the bottom of them, and the only way to do that is to remove the side cover. I don't think you will have a problem putting them back in with the cylinder and head already on, but I am not sure on that, I have never been inside an LTZ. Good luck.

Not to sound like an as*, but this is exactly why I suggested that purchasing a repair manual would be worth your money when you talked about doing this rebuild earlier. Do you at least have the torque specs for your cylinder and head bolts? It is crucial that you torque these bolts down in the right order and to the right amount of torque.

[jpjones789]

thanks man

[DirtDemon]

Messed your threads up when merging posts, I meant to leave the stuff about the timing chain separate from the question about your compression issue. I made a new thread for the compression stuff titled accordingly. Sorry for the confusion.