I couldn't stop fiddling with the cams while waiting for the replacement compression tool to arrive, and I was struck by a Grant Hargraveish idea. First, I used a carpenter's clamp positioned on the new pads to fully compress the VarioCam. (And a C-clamp would have worked just as well, but I didn't have one large enough on hand.) Next, I threaded a heavy-duty pull tie through the holes for the compression tool and pulled it tight to keep the device compressed. Then I removed the clamp. The chain fit over the pads with hardly any trouble. Last, I snipped the pull tie and removed it.
Only one hitch, and I'm not sure it's a problem. I carefully kept the lighter-color chain links mated to the divots in the sprockets so that the cams would be in time with each other. I wanted to keep them both at 12 o'clock (while they were on the table). However, during the manipulation necessary to get the chain in place over the pads the cams rotated a teeny bit, to 1 o'clock, enough so the intake cam's link and divot are slightly apart, even though they're still lined up (see photo 2). I should have checked that before I snipped the pull-tie, because the cams can't be rotated without compressing the pads again. My question is, is it necessary to correct the problem so that both cams' links and divots are at 12 o'clock before they're installed in the head? Or can the cams be rotated slightly by hand after they're installed, with the cam tool inserted into the ends of the cams, the cam retainer loosely bolted in place, and before the double chain's sprocket is bolted to the exhaust cam?
The clamp/pull-tie method certainly works, but I'm going to wait until I have the compression tool to do bank 2's cams, so I can get my money's worth out of it.
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