After I obtained the metal washer for the compression tool I managed to get the VarioCam out — not without some difficulty, but any victory's a good victory.
The bottom pad indeed had considerable wear, no doubt enough to cause some cam deviation:
I snapped the new pads into place (after carefully inserting the o-ring under the bottom pad). Note the new material's lighter color.
After an hour of trying to reinstall the VarioCam between the camshafts without success, I tightened the compression tool's nut a few more turns (using my little box-end wrench) to get a bit more clearance. However, the nut didn't seem to be moving on the rod. So I removed the tool, and then I saw the reason why — the threads had stripped. The compression tool seems to have been made of soft metal. You can see the spot about 3/4" from the end where the threads are flattened. The nut just spins at that point.
Addendum: I was using a small 8mm box-end wrench, not a ratchet, and it didn't take all that much force to tighten the nut. I've stripped threads before and it usually requires considerable force, unless the metal's soft. I'm going to contact the aftermarket parts company's customer service department and see what they have to say about it.
Surprise! Yet another oddball work stoppage! And the $36 I paid for the compression tool is down the drain. That's bad enough, but I'm dead in the water until I get another compression tool. Time lost.
I was crossing my fingers that things would go smoothly from here on in, because I'm working under a time crunch: I need to have the car on the road by the end of May, because the owners of the house I'm renting are putting it on the market. I bought another house, but I hoped to finish the car here and drive it to my new place. The logistics of moving a half-finished car and another engine would be a nightmare.
I
will overcome this latest wacko problem somehow, but in the meantime I say, damn, damn, double-damn
hell!