Effin A -- Nightmare first cam swap...
02-09-2010, 06:14 PM
#1
Effin A -- Nightmare first cam swap... Wow. What a ride. I guess it was a good learning experience 
but here's how my disaster first "cam swap" went...
Initially, everything was going well. Got the front assembly out of the car without a hiccup, inserted the metal rods to hold the lifters up, pulled the cam out, looked down the cam galley, and what did I see? A lifter hanging down too far for me to stick the new cam in. I guess the metal rods weren't long enough (yes, I realize this makes me look like an idiot), and a lifter from cyl. #6 was hanging a bit low (but still somewhat held by the tray).
I grabbed my pen magnet, and attempted to pull the lifter upwards through the pushrod hole. The ensuing sound was one of the worst I'd ever heard. The lifter had fallen
When I looked down the cam galley again, I could see it sitting on top of one of the cam bearings. Without thinking it through, I attempted to pull the lifter out through the cam hole (with a TINY pen magnet), and as one would expect, the lifter fell down to the oil pan.
Luckily, I had drained the oil pan (since I was replacing the oil pump), and by some miracle, my buddy Cliff was able to grab the lifter with a pen magnet.
After pulling the head, I grabbed the lifter trays and two more lifters fell. At this point I'm thinking "F my life". As one of THESE lifters had fallen down into the oil pan as well. Again, due to Cliff's wizardry with a pen magnet, the lifter was saved (the other lifter was grabbed after pulling the valley cover).
After these major setbacks and a few days of getting back on track, the car was finally ready to fire up. After priming it several times, it started without much hesitation.
Since I had swapped oil pumps, I watched the oil pressure gauge like a hawk. It came up immediately and held for about 30 seconds, only to gradually drop to about 15-20 psi. I immediately shut the car down and figured I had somehow pinched the oil pump o-ring, but upon looking under the car, I saw the massive amount of oil covering the ground. My baby was bleeding fast.
After narrowing down the possible problems, I dropped the oil pan to retorque it (with the correct sequence) and put RTV on the back corners (which I hadn't done the first time). After finishing this last project, it fired up without any issues.
Overall, a 2 day project turned into a 6 day extravaganza. I learned an immense amount throughout the process, and want to thank everyone that offered advice, particularly Cliff and Clayton.
Looking back, it was a fun project, but one that was filled with beginners' mistakes. The learning curve is steep that first go-around, but I loved it and I'd start up again tomorrow if I needed to.
That post was hella long, but figured a weeklong project deserved 20 more minutes of my time.
Remember, don't get discouraged and you'll find a way to finish what you started.
Chris
Edit: Getting it tuned next week. I'll update with numbers and hopefully a dyno/sound clip.
but here's how my disaster first "cam swap" went...Initially, everything was going well. Got the front assembly out of the car without a hiccup, inserted the metal rods to hold the lifters up, pulled the cam out, looked down the cam galley, and what did I see? A lifter hanging down too far for me to stick the new cam in. I guess the metal rods weren't long enough (yes, I realize this makes me look like an idiot), and a lifter from cyl. #6 was hanging a bit low (but still somewhat held by the tray).
I grabbed my pen magnet, and attempted to pull the lifter upwards through the pushrod hole. The ensuing sound was one of the worst I'd ever heard. The lifter had fallen
When I looked down the cam galley again, I could see it sitting on top of one of the cam bearings. Without thinking it through, I attempted to pull the lifter out through the cam hole (with a TINY pen magnet), and as one would expect, the lifter fell down to the oil pan.
Luckily, I had drained the oil pan (since I was replacing the oil pump), and by some miracle, my buddy Cliff was able to grab the lifter with a pen magnet.
After pulling the head, I grabbed the lifter trays and two more lifters fell. At this point I'm thinking "F my life". As one of THESE lifters had fallen down into the oil pan as well. Again, due to Cliff's wizardry with a pen magnet, the lifter was saved (the other lifter was grabbed after pulling the valley cover).
After these major setbacks and a few days of getting back on track, the car was finally ready to fire up. After priming it several times, it started without much hesitation.
Since I had swapped oil pumps, I watched the oil pressure gauge like a hawk. It came up immediately and held for about 30 seconds, only to gradually drop to about 15-20 psi. I immediately shut the car down and figured I had somehow pinched the oil pump o-ring, but upon looking under the car, I saw the massive amount of oil covering the ground. My baby was bleeding fast.
After narrowing down the possible problems, I dropped the oil pan to retorque it (with the correct sequence) and put RTV on the back corners (which I hadn't done the first time). After finishing this last project, it fired up without any issues.
Overall, a 2 day project turned into a 6 day extravaganza. I learned an immense amount throughout the process, and want to thank everyone that offered advice, particularly Cliff and Clayton.
Looking back, it was a fun project, but one that was filled with beginners' mistakes. The learning curve is steep that first go-around, but I loved it and I'd start up again tomorrow if I needed to.
That post was hella long, but figured a weeklong project deserved 20 more minutes of my time.
Remember, don't get discouraged and you'll find a way to finish what you started.
Chris
Edit: Getting it tuned next week. I'll update with numbers and hopefully a dyno/sound clip.
Last edited by squirts11; 02-09-2010 at 09:04 PM.
02-09-2010, 06:22 PM
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reminds me of my first trans/converter swap.
we did it outside and ran into problem after problem. day 3 the car was covered in a foot of snow.
but in the end it all worked out. its been solid for a year now.
we did it outside and ran into problem after problem. day 3 the car was covered in a foot of snow.
but in the end it all worked out. its been solid for a year now.
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02-09-2010, 08:09 PM
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Boy my first swap was about as bad.. some how I managed to start the car up with the dots a few teeth off and of course resulted in lots of bent valves and smiley faces.
Glad you got it worked out. Good friends and patience is a necessity especially on a first try.
Glad you got it worked out. Good friends and patience is a necessity especially on a first try.
02-09-2010, 08:22 PM
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Man I am glad I have not ran into problems like that with my first swap, I have done several now through.
About the worst problem I had was with the Thunder Racing Valve in car spring tool. What ever clown thought it was a good idea to make it out of aluminium needs a swift kick in the nuts! After about 3 springs the soft material was ate up enough it would not center on the retainer and would want to slide off.
So being a machinist by trade I took it on myself one weekend to make an copy of the tool out of steel and improved it so it will work on other stuff then just LS heads.
About the worst problem I had was with the Thunder Racing Valve in car spring tool. What ever clown thought it was a good idea to make it out of aluminium needs a swift kick in the nuts! After about 3 springs the soft material was ate up enough it would not center on the retainer and would want to slide off.
So being a machinist by trade I took it on myself one weekend to make an copy of the tool out of steel and improved it so it will work on other stuff then just LS heads.
02-09-2010, 08:59 PM
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good job dude. even if you did have issues atleast at the end of the day you can say that YOU did the work and completed the project. def a good feeling. Sure as heck beats paying someone to do it too. enjoy the new power...............oh and sound lol !
