Cam swap question
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: May 2023
Posts: 41
Likes: 1
From: Columbia, SC
Cam swap question
Hey there, it's me again. I am currently neck deep in a cam swap on my car and I had a question. I've already set the timing gear to where the two dots line up and then remove the gear and chain, but the tutorial that I'm following says to hand turn the cam in order to check and see which lifter is may fall. I had two questions concerning this, one how the hell do you hand turn the cam because I'm struggling to move that by hand. Two, is it safe to hand turn the cam or is that going to disrupt the timing? I've never done anything like this before and don't want to make a catastrophic mistake, lol.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 4,667
Likes: 1,849
From: Erlanger, Kentucky
Hey there, it's me again. I am currently neck deep in a cam swap on my car and I had a question. I've already set the timing gear to where the two dots line up and then remove the gear and chain, but the tutorial that I'm following says to hand turn the cam in order to check and see which lifter is may fall. I had two questions concerning this, one how the hell do you hand turn the cam because I'm struggling to move that by hand. Two, is it safe to hand turn the cam or is that going to disrupt the timing? I've never done anything like this before and don't want to make a catastrophic mistake, lol.
And what you are doing by turning the cam is pushing the lifters up into the lifter trays. The trays should be able then to hold the lifters up out of the way so that you have clearance to pull the old cam out and not get snagged on one of the lifters. Same deal for when you put the new cam in.
I would recommend as an additional precaution, to get a couple of long metal rods, brass or aluminum of about 1/4 inch in diameter. You will use these as lifter holding up tools. You can look on line on how to use them.
But the basic thing is to turn the cam a few times to push the lifters up into the trays. Then before removing the cam, insert the rods into the oil passages behind the cam cover. The rods will go all the way to the back of the engine and prevent any lifters from potentially falling out of a tray. It is just an extra precaution.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: May 2023
Posts: 41
Likes: 1
From: Columbia, SC
I assume that you have removed valve covers and rocker arms? If so, then you should be able to turn the cam by hand. It will not hurt anything.
And what you are doing by turning the cam is pushing the lifters up into the lifter trays. The trays should be able then to hold the lifters up out of the way so that you have clearance to pull the old cam out and not get snagged on one of the lifters. Same deal for when you put the new cam in.
I would recommend as an additional precaution, to get a couple of long metal rods, brass or aluminum of about 1/4 inch in diameter. You will use these as lifter holding up tools. You can look on line on how to use them.
But the basic thing is to turn the cam a few times to push the lifters up into the trays. Then before removing the cam, insert the rods into the oil passages behind the cam cover. The rods will go all the way to the back of the engine and prevent any lifters from potentially falling out of a tray. It is just an extra precaution.
And what you are doing by turning the cam is pushing the lifters up into the lifter trays. The trays should be able then to hold the lifters up out of the way so that you have clearance to pull the old cam out and not get snagged on one of the lifters. Same deal for when you put the new cam in.
I would recommend as an additional precaution, to get a couple of long metal rods, brass or aluminum of about 1/4 inch in diameter. You will use these as lifter holding up tools. You can look on line on how to use them.
But the basic thing is to turn the cam a few times to push the lifters up into the trays. Then before removing the cam, insert the rods into the oil passages behind the cam cover. The rods will go all the way to the back of the engine and prevent any lifters from potentially falling out of a tray. It is just an extra precaution.
My stupidity knows no bounds. In the tutorial, they only showed one valve cover, and I hadn't considered there would be more under the other (idiot, I know). I will remove the other rockers today and that should solve my problem.
However, will spinning the cam throw off the timing at all? Or do I have to make sure the new cam goes in the exact same way the old cam was when I first took the timing gear off?
Safety Car
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 4,667
Likes: 1,849
From: Erlanger, Kentucky
My stupidity knows no bounds. In the tutorial, they only showed one valve cover, and I hadn't considered there would be more under the other (idiot, I know). I will remove the other rockers today and that should solve my problem.
However, will spinning the cam throw off the timing at all? Or do I have to make sure the new cam goes in the exact same way the old cam was when I first took the timing gear off?
However, will spinning the cam throw off the timing at all? Or do I have to make sure the new cam goes in the exact same way the old cam was when I first took the timing gear off?
No, spinning the cam won't do anything to the timing. The point of aligning the dots before removing the cam is mainly to just get the crank into position.
As long as you align the dots properly after installing the new cam and the dots are still aligned once the timing chain and gear are installed, you are good to go.
After you get the new cam in and install the timing chain and cam gear, it's always good to rotate the crank until the dots come around again to verify they are lined up. It's a good way to verify the cam timing is correct.
Also, if you have not removed the spark plugs, its a good idea to do that when you rotate the crank. Just makes it much easier to rotate since you are not fighting compression.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: May 2023
Posts: 41
Likes: 1
From: Columbia, SC
Easy sometimes to overlook obvious things.
No, spinning the cam won't do anything to the timing. The point of aligning the dots before removing the cam is mainly to just get the crank into position.
As long as you align the dots properly after installing the new cam and the dots are still aligned once the timing chain and gear are installed, you are good to go.
After you get the new cam in and install the timing chain and cam gear, it's always good to rotate the crank until the dots come around again to verify they are lined up. It's a good way to verify the cam timing is correct.
Also, if you have not removed the spark plugs, its a good idea to do that when you rotate the crank. Just makes it much easier to rotate since you are not fighting compression.
No, spinning the cam won't do anything to the timing. The point of aligning the dots before removing the cam is mainly to just get the crank into position.
As long as you align the dots properly after installing the new cam and the dots are still aligned once the timing chain and gear are installed, you are good to go.
After you get the new cam in and install the timing chain and cam gear, it's always good to rotate the crank until the dots come around again to verify they are lined up. It's a good way to verify the cam timing is correct.
Also, if you have not removed the spark plugs, its a good idea to do that when you rotate the crank. Just makes it much easier to rotate since you are not fighting compression.
thanks man, I appreciate it.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: May 2023
Posts: 41
Likes: 1
From: Columbia, SC
Easy sometimes to overlook obvious things.
No, spinning the cam won't do anything to the timing. The point of aligning the dots before removing the cam is mainly to just get the crank into position.
As long as you align the dots properly after installing the new cam and the dots are still aligned once the timing chain and gear are installed, you are good to go.
After you get the new cam in and install the timing chain and cam gear, it's always good to rotate the crank until the dots come around again to verify they are lined up. It's a good way to verify the cam timing is correct.
Also, if you have not removed the spark plugs, its a good idea to do that when you rotate the crank. Just makes it much easier to rotate since you are not fighting compression.
No, spinning the cam won't do anything to the timing. The point of aligning the dots before removing the cam is mainly to just get the crank into position.
As long as you align the dots properly after installing the new cam and the dots are still aligned once the timing chain and gear are installed, you are good to go.
After you get the new cam in and install the timing chain and cam gear, it's always good to rotate the crank until the dots come around again to verify they are lined up. It's a good way to verify the cam timing is correct.
Also, if you have not removed the spark plugs, its a good idea to do that when you rotate the crank. Just makes it much easier to rotate since you are not fighting compression.
one more question, because it's better to be safe than sorry. When I'm putting my new timing gear and chain on, as long as the dots are lined up I'm good right? Because the crank spun about a quarter of a turn while I was putting the new cam in, so I had to rotate it to get the crank to line up. Before I go too far and potentially damage anything, is that okay?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 1,192
Likes: 319
From: Shelbyville Kentucky
After you remove the rockers. Spin the cam to push the lifters up then install dowel rods in the oil holes in the cam plate to prevent a lifter from dropping. Sometimes the plastic trays don't hold them good.
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