M.Rad.

Hi Gloverman, thanks for the quick reply. I was a moron and removed the ex. cams before reading the instructions and so didn't secure the gears. I saw a post (somewhere) that showed a guy who clamped the cam in a vise (on the flats) and used a screw driver and punch to line up the holes. Is that ok to do?

And it looks like I won't be putting this motor back together anyway-I found out today I've got bent intakes on #8, #6, &#2, so that probably means damaged pistons too. So it's time for a new motor. I posted about this on Club Lexus in the performance and maintenance section, if you want to take a look. I can't figure out why the belt would jump at less than 3k rpm, steady cruise, and only about 3 years since I installed a new one and all the goodies..
Anyway, thank you again for your help.

Cheers,
M.Rad.

Hello

The split gears are really easy if you pin them before disassembly. Line up the cam timing as per normal and you will find the split gears will have a set of dots which align. Make note of these. Then you will find that there are some holes through one of the split halves with a 6mm thread in the other side of the gear. Fit a short M6 bolt which will stop the split gear moving and you and disassemble and reassemble as normal. Just remember to remove the M6 before running the engine.