Have ej25d Both passenger side cam gears disintegrated. All that's left is a few plastic shards around the cam gears. How do I hold whats left of the gear with enough force to remove the bolts. I want to put on some new cam gears and do a leak down test before pulling the heads off

 

I"ve never seen this exact failure. Drivers side timing cover shattered with intact T belt visible. After pulling the center T belt cover found the sprocket below the water pump had failed. I bought car like this so don't know what the chain reaction was to failure. 

Both intake and exhaust cams on both sides turn  freely.

Edited August 27, 201510 yr by steve56

Was the car wrecked?

Was timing work done recently that could have caused damage to the gears?

Do the cams still turn? Have seen several posts where the cams were starved for oil and seized up and caused the sprockets to break off.

 

Best way is probably to pull the valve cover. There should be a couple flat spots on the camshaft where you can hold it with a wrench.

you can leak down test the cylinders without the timing belt.  Close all the valves and have at it.

 

If you want to install the belt though:

+1, hold flat spots on cams with an open wrench.

 

an impact can get them off - but you likely don't have one good enough for that lack of room and then you might not want to spinny spinny them not knowing what catastrophe is going on in there.

That's right thanks. I forgot I could just turn the cams independent of the the timing belt with 17 mm socket,  for a leak down test. I have the pistons in the recessed position in the block.