It may also help you to make sure you've gotten the correct one from the parts dept as the first dealership I dealt with today had the wrong part in the package for this actuator. Just a look at the replacement Exhaust Cam Actuator Valve for comparison to the old one pictured above. Once the screens are clean to your satisfaction you can slide the actuator valve back in and replace the small bolt, move the wire bundle back into its groove and reconnect the plug. That being said, be prepared for them to possibly fall off without warning, especially if blowing the dirt off the screens is your plan to remove some of the particulate. In the first picture, the orange colored bands are also screens that did not seem to be held on by anything put being a perfect fit and a little surface tension from the oil. This was the actuator right after it was removed, you can see how it will be dripping with engine oil and how the screen may be dirty: There is no gasket, just a rubber O-ring that is seated into the shaft of the actuator and comes out with it. You should be able to get it out with your hands. There will be some resistance, just pull a little harder. When the actuator is removed there may be some oil that will come out of the opening and the actuator itself will have oil in it. Before you pull out the actuator, lay a rag over the water pump and S-belt. Once you have the bolt out, you can pull the actuator valve out. The bolt is about 3/4' long and as I said, it's aluminum so a magnetic socket won't save it from falling. I had to use a short extension to get this bolt out. It's an E-8 External torx and it's aluminum, so if you drop it, magnets won't help you get it back. Once it's out of the way, you'll see the small E-Torx bolt that holds the actuator valve in place. If you pull it out of the track that it's pressed into along the plastic cover on the top of the motor you'll have enough slack to get it far enough out of the way to get the job done. Next, you'll have to move the wire bundle just to the right of the actuator out of the way. Here's what it will look like when the yellow tab is in the open position.

It's a snug fit with three rubber fins that provide a weather proof seal.

You should be able to press the black tab into the groove of the yellow tab now and pull the plug. You should be able to pull it with your fingers. To do this you need to pull the small yellow tab away from the connection. Here's what it looks like, with a little electrical tape holding my old broken one together, before you get started:įirst thing you need to go is unclip the connector. I had assumed that the aluminum cylinder was part of the aluminum head, when it is actually part of the actuator valve. The picture I attached to my post above shows what you end up with when you try that. Got the replacement job done with a few decent pictures taken along the way.įirst of all, the way the removal is described above sounded to me like the black plastic connector for the actuator valve was going to unscrew from the protruding aluminum sleeve. You should then clear the code and see if it comes back. These just thread out and then there is a screen behind that can be removed and cleaned. The intake one sticks out towards the passenger seat on the back of the engine. The exhaust cam solenoid is the thing about 4' to the left of the dipstick, with the small yellow clip in this picture below. However, if your budget is tight, you could try removing the solenoids and cleaning the screens to see if it corrects the issue. In my case, the solenoid was sticking open and allowing engine oil past to move the cam into the 'advanced' position. I totally disagree that this is not covered under warranty I have had this problem serviced TWICE by different dealers (I moved) without paying a cent or even a fight. You are also going to be wasting fuel like crazy and potentially damaging your catalytic converter & O2 sensor mine started setting O2 sensor codes shortly after the cam code was set. A comparison to what this is like would be to take off from a light without allowing the RPM's to get over 1200.

Doc, having had this problem a number of times with my Astra, I can tell you that once the cam sticks in the 'advanced: position, you will have no power whatsoever taking off from a light, and I do mean no power.

Exhaust camshaft position timing p0014