cam install how-to

this pic is of the motor w/ just the intake removed. i can go into detail if needed on the removal of the intake but i am assuming that you can remove an intake if your thinking about swapping a cam.

Next is the removal of the coolant tanks and the fan shroud. the coolant tanks are mounted on top w/ 1-3 bolts depending on style. remove these bolts and pull up on the tanks. there will be 2 plugs on the bottom of the tanks that will need to be removed. one for the washer fluid and one for the coolant allong w/ a small tube for the washer fluid. plug the washer fluid side w/ a small bolt (screwdriver or the like) to keep the fluid from coming out.

the fan shroud is removed by unbolting the two top screws (one on each side) they are a 10 or 13 mm and then lift out the fan shroud.

next will be the removal of the coil packs and wires. the coil packs are mounted w/ two 10mm bolts. once the bolts are removed the coil packs will just pull off. you will need to remove the wires coming to the coil packs there will be a locking clip on the plug press it to the side to relise the plug. we did not mark the plugs fr the coils as they are connected to the same harness as the injectors, but to be on the safe side i recomend marking them. allong w/ what wires go where. (we used the shorty wires so there was no need to mark them)

remove the belt by puting a ratchet in the hole on the tensioner and relive the tension and remove the belt

next remove the alternator. this is fairly simple remove the 10mm bolt holding the positinve wire on and unbolt the two 15mm (i think) bolts holding the aternator to the bracket. and remove alternator and set aside.

next will be to drain coolant, open the drain valve on the driver side of the radiator, (you cant see it in the pic but its on the lower corner) and remove the cap to allow it to drain faster

after cooant is drained, remove the power steering lines as shown in the pic. they connect to the cooler just unnder the radiator.remove the upper and lower radiator hoses for the radiator.

on the passanger side there are 2 transmission cooler lines that need to be removed as well. you will need a cheep "fuel line removal tool" that will allow you to relise some clips inside the connections. once they are removed.

you can pull the radiator now. there are 2 bolts on the top outside edge of the radiator simmilar to the fan shroud, unbolt them and pull the radiator out.

the next few pics are of diffrent views so far in the cam swap process.

next is the valve cover removal. first you will have to remove the wireing harness mounts that are attached to all the mounting studs. they are not that easy to get off allthough the are just pushed on. on the top center of the valve cover there is a little ground strap that will have to be remove off of the stud. be careful as this is a ground for the coil packs. once the wires are removed use an 8mm beep well socket and remove the front 8 studs. then use a 8mm wrench to remove the back two (i found its easyest this way) and once you have removed the valve covers this is what you will see.

next you will see the rocker shaft bolts that need to be removed. pay close attention to the square block under the blot and make sure on installation that its seated correctly or damage will happen when you tighten the bolt up and you will have to replace the whole rocker shaft assembly. remove the intake and exhaust shafts. the intake is marked w/ an I on the part above the valve spring (you can see it in the pic)

now its time to remove the AC compressor. there are three bolts and two plugs attached to it. two bolts are just like the altermator and the tird one is on the back of the compressor shown w/ the socket of it durring removal. remove the bolts and the plugs and remove the compressor. and tie the compressor out of the way as pictured.

NOTE leave the ac hoses that are on the compressor alone or youwill be payingto have your ac system recharged.

now you will be removing the belt tensioner as well as the two ider pullys in this picture remove the cnter bolt on each. and set them aside. now is a good time to mention that you will need to remove the two hoses attached to the black steel tube under the tensioner. they are for the heater so they will have coolant in them so be ready w/ a drain pan.

next is the removal of the power sterring pump. line up the holes in the pully w/ the three bolts in the pump. and remove the 10mm bolts ohlding the pump on and place out of the way. we set it on the cross member under the motor (you will see this in a later pic) there is also a bolt for the oil dipstick tube (above and behind the PS pump) remove this bolt as well.

you will need to remove the t-stat housing at this point. there are two bolts holding it on. and remove with the hose wtill attached.

now is a good time to mention something that i forgot. when removing the fan see the holes in the water pump pully.....jam a screwdriver in each hole and use a bar to hold the pully in place and use a big wrench on the nut holding the fan on and remove the fan.

here is what you should be looking at at this point. there are alot of bolts to remove to get the timeing cover off (aprox 13-15 bolts) ill go into a little detail on where they will be. there are 5 on the oil pan. then all but one bolt on the water pump( the one right under the pully the fan was mounted to) need to be removed. once remove you should be able to pull the timing cover off. if you cant pull it off w/ a little force you missed a bolt. (DO NOT USE ANYTHING TO PRY IT OFF WITH) the seal between the timing cover and the block is reuseable so make sure once the cover comes loose to make sure that the seal does not get damaged. in the pic of the battery it will show aproxamatly how many bolts hold the timing cover on.

here is what you will see under the timeing cover.

you will need to remove the pressure from the timing chain by pinning the tensioner out of the way see the pic of the screwdriver hold it out of the way (im pointing to it)

now the fun begins.here is where you need to know a little about how a motor works for timeing purpouses. the top gear is on the cam and the bottom gear (behind the oil pump) is on the crankshaft. you will need to set the number 1 cylinder at top dead center(TDC) that means that the piston is all the way at the top of the cylinder. how do you get there you ask? well find a suteable bar (we used a piece of a coat hanger) and insert it into the no1 spark plug hole. and turn the motor over by hand untill the no1 piston move all the way to the top and stops you now reached TDC. (the no1 is the first set of spark plugs on the drivers side)

at this point the black timing mark should be at the 12 o clock position on the timing chain see pic for example (its not at TDC in the pic and i apologize for that) now you are ready to swap the cam. remove the center nut in the cam gear. (NOTE BE CAREFUL NOT TO REMOVE THE TIMING CHAIN OFF OF THE CRANKSHAFT GEAR) it helps to have a second set of hands at this point hence no pics. have the second person hold the cam gear out of the way while you rotate the cam (do not remove it yet) in its place this will push the lifters up and out of the way so that you can remove the cam. the cam barrings are part of the block so if you damage them you will be buying a block so be careful not to drop the cam. now pull the cam out of the block. its really heavy so be careful it will drop on you and you will have to hold it up and slowly remove it. once out....... lube the new cam and reinstall in reverse order. the cam is pinned so that it will only connect to the timing gear one way. re install the center bolt and make sure that you are still lined up w/ your timing mark. (the black link in the chain) we also made a mark on the block to double check ourselves.

now you will just have to re install everything is reverse order and you will be complete. and you can go on a test drive. have fun and if anyone needs help or has questions please feel free to ask.

one more thing before you install the timing cover you will need one little dot off RTV silicone and it is shown between the oil filter and the oil pump in this pic.

and the rest of the pics are som of the fun pics we took durring the install. there was myself (in the hemi shirt) chefred (in the blue shirt) and kb112 (in the grey shirt) and a banned member know as john was there as well. and a pic of chefred's truck

fred thanks again for having me. it was alot of fun and i appericate you allowing me to use you truck for the photo op.