Cam retainer bolts almost got me
 

I did this swap in the garage last weekend by myself. I had no REAL problems with anything until I got to the cam retainer bolts. I used some heat around the bolts as best i could trying to get them hot and not focus on the head of the bolt....no luck, so went and bought 4 new tx bits thinking they would bite better.....one of the "new" ones even snapped off and fell onto the top of the F****** windage tray.....I was so pissed and didnt have anyone to be mad at but myself for that mistake. Make a little piece of metal to fish it out after about 3 hrs dicking around thinking i was going to have to drop the pan LOL.

The 1st one cam right out no problem!!! 2-3-4 fought me till the end LOL I went to 2 hardware stores and bought all the bolt extractors and easy outs the had to offer as well as a new set of drill bits. I then prepped the front of the engine with a ton of micro fiber towels and made a slide to direct the metal shavings out of the area.
Push come to shove i finally got them out and sourced new bolts locally, installed with blue loctite and threw it all back together.
(side note)
I did ask some members questions about stuff along the way and REALLY appreciate the quick responses and info!!!!

SO, if your thinking that something is fighting you......your are not alone my friends.....NOT AT ALL
LOL have a good one guys
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That really sucks. I removed mine yesterday without any fuss. I used blue loctite on them in Feb 2017 when cam was installed. Heat should have loosed any threadlocker you had, that's odd it wasn't successful for you. Maybe it need some more heat, bigger heat gun.

i bought a impact driver that you hit with a hammer (usually to take the phillips screws out of rotors) and it wouldnt adapt to the torqx bit correctly and would have done more damage than it was worth at that point. When i left to get tools, i was PRAYING someone had that irwin kit but no one did....i literally got these out with a $5.00 menards bolt extractor LOL
i felt lucky

I SWEAR they had freeking metal set on them or something like jb weld:skep:

I believe the cam retainer bolts require a T40 plus bit. Half the battle is having the correct tool for the job. Luckily, during my last 3 cam swaps, I haven't had any issue with these bolts.

yup T40 it is......BUT whats weird is that a couple diff websites referred to it as a T40 "plus" ....so basically you need a T40.5 to ensure they come out when someone put jb-weld on the bolts.:rofl:

The cam retainer bolts are T40. ATI pulley to hub bolts are T40 plus, though. I just checked. T40 plus socket would not fit into the cam retainer bolts.

ARP cam cover bolts and you would not have to deal with the hassle of those torx bolts ever again.

https://arp-bolts.com/kits/ARPkit-de...p?RecordID=229

Cheap, reliable and save you tons of headache down the road.

Dear Carlos,

Thank you for costing me another $10 in a must-have ARP product.

Sincerely,
Josh

PS, those look awesome.

My pleasure!!

:lol:

I was able to get replacements for like 8 bucks. They are allen head and sit flush to the retainer plate just like the OEM bolts.

i was just mind blown that the entire process that it takes to get there seemed easy after dealing with those damn bolts....however, i am NOT a fan of pulling the rack..


I DID however buy 2 diff tools that other members referred me to ... OEM tools balancer puller AMAZING, better than any old school 3 jaw ive ever touched...and the PROFORM balancer install tool made it super easy to get back on as well

can you link those 2 tools so that I may save them? Thanks in advance bud:cheers:

sure here you go





https://www.ebay.com/itm/OEMTools-25090-Harmonic-Balancer-Puller-Kit/202308137554?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3A IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Harmonic-Balancer-Installation-Tool-LS-LS1-LS2-LS3-LS6-LS7-LQ4-LQ9-Proform-66519/192474998311?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3A IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Cam swaps are hard.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...116a8fd39d.jpg

:rofl:

Maybe where I got confused. I did install my ATI at the same time as my new cam.

Had the same problem with one of my T-40 retainer bolts. After snapping off 4 bits in the last screw, took my Dremel and cut a big frickin' slot across the T-40 screw head and then used a hammer and punch to back out the last screw. Use the punch to engage the slot that you cut at the edge of the countersunk screw and drive the screw to back out with tangential blows. What a PITA.