Hot Cam Progress report
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 3,444
Likes: 0
Hot Cam Progress report
OK I know some of you good wrenchers can do this in a long day. I am on my second weekend. (Only working one day a weekend though)
I have got the cam in the block.
Cloyes chain is on.
In progress of changing the springs and spark plugs/wires. This is going to take while. They don't like to come out, plugs on 7 and 8 are going to be a mother.
All the parts that have come off have been cleaned up nice and purtty.
It feels good to putting stuff back on the engine. Now if I would just stop misplacing stuff. I spent almost an hour looking for my 5/8ths socket needed to turn the crank. It rolled down the driveway under my wife's car :mad
I have got the cam in the block.
Cloyes chain is on.
In progress of changing the springs and spark plugs/wires. This is going to take while. They don't like to come out, plugs on 7 and 8 are going to be a mother.
All the parts that have come off have been cleaned up nice and purtty.
It feels good to putting stuff back on the engine. Now if I would just stop misplacing stuff. I spent almost an hour looking for my 5/8ths socket needed to turn the crank. It rolled down the driveway under my wife's car :mad
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 934
Likes: 0
From: MO
Re: Hot Cam Progress report (FoolCrzy)
Jay,
keep up the good work! I am going to be doing aq head/cam swap soon myself. What are you going to do about pluging the hole in the timing cover?
James :cheers:
keep up the good work! I am going to be doing aq head/cam swap soon myself. What are you going to do about pluging the hole in the timing cover?
James :cheers:
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 3,444
Likes: 0
Re: Hot Cam Progress report (James94LT1)
Becuase of the design and the size of the holes, you have to plug both the back smaller hole and the larger seat (hole) on the outside of the cover.
Heres the bad news, the inside hole has two notches in it that even if you find a freeze plug that fits perfectly (You won't) the oil would pour through the two notches.
The front also has a little alignment notch in the larger hole/seat. You won't find a freeze plug for this either too easily.
So I took it to a machine shop. We found a slightly larger plug for the inside hole and sanded it to about half it's wall thickness down until it was the right size for the hole. Filled the 2 nothces with grey RTV and pressed the plug in. Don't force too big of a plug in there or the alum will split, very brittle metal.
For the front plug we went smaller this time. But it wasn't like a regular freeze plug, it was more like a concaved disk with no outter wall. When pressed in with a arbor press, the disk expanded as it flattened and pinched in nice and snug. We filled over it and filled the cavity completely with more grey RTV.
We had discussed welding it closed, but chose the above.
Good luck.
[Modified by Jay Axson, 8:16 PM 6/9/2002]
Heres the bad news, the inside hole has two notches in it that even if you find a freeze plug that fits perfectly (You won't) the oil would pour through the two notches.
The front also has a little alignment notch in the larger hole/seat. You won't find a freeze plug for this either too easily.
So I took it to a machine shop. We found a slightly larger plug for the inside hole and sanded it to about half it's wall thickness down until it was the right size for the hole. Filled the 2 nothces with grey RTV and pressed the plug in. Don't force too big of a plug in there or the alum will split, very brittle metal.
For the front plug we went smaller this time. But it wasn't like a regular freeze plug, it was more like a concaved disk with no outter wall. When pressed in with a arbor press, the disk expanded as it flattened and pinched in nice and snug. We filled over it and filled the cavity completely with more grey RTV.
We had discussed welding it closed, but chose the above.
Good luck.
[Modified by Jay Axson, 8:16 PM 6/9/2002]
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 14,664
Likes: 749
From: NEwhere Ohio
Re: Hot Cam Progress report (Jay Axson)
Make sure when reintalling the timing cover that you use the front cover seal protector to protect the water pump driveshaft seal.
This protector is like a thimble. It is removed after the timing cover is re-installed. It is possible to make your own, but its GM pn: J-39087 front seal protector
Elsewise it'll get kinked like it did on mine, and leak oil onto your optispark.
I got lucky, my opti was new, and the oil didn't get past the RTV sealant, and the new, unbroken, O-ring.
This protector is like a thimble. It is removed after the timing cover is re-installed. It is possible to make your own, but its GM pn: J-39087 front seal protector
Elsewise it'll get kinked like it did on mine, and leak oil onto your optispark.
I got lucky, my opti was new, and the oil didn't get past the RTV sealant, and the new, unbroken, O-ring.
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