I'm trying to finish a 90 EJ22 rebuild and am confused.  When  sent the camshafts out for work, they were returned without the key /peg for the sprockets re-installed in the slots (or maybe I managed to lose track of them before I shipped the camshafts out?).  Nor can I find replacement keys /pegs ... and the Subaru mechanics will only say that "they shouldn't have been removed and can't be replaced."

 

There are many references on this forum that the crankshaft gear's woodruff key is not "really" necessary and assertions that ~140 ft-lb torque is sufficient to hold the pulley and gear in place.  Is this advice applicable to the cam sprockets?

 

Thanks for any advice to get me through these last stages.

i'm confused.  the cams just have a notch and the pulleys have the key.  the cam should have nothing to do with it.  

did they send the wrong cams back?

 

keys are in the cams and i've never heard of them coming out or being removed:

http://trdsupra.com/library/subaru/EJ25-vs-EJ22_cam_gears_1.jpg

I see - so those pegs pre-inserted in the sprockets are the keys and they fit into the notch /slot in the end of the camshaft then?

 

What is the purpose of the square slot in the sprocket opposite the peg?

Parts like this are generally used by several car makers on several different engines. The manufacturer of the sprocket just makes one that will fit several of them to keep manufacturing costs down. The slot is probably used for alignment in a different application, but Subaru uses the pins. They're all like that, nothing to worry about.