02dirtybird

iTrader: (1)

I've been working on my cam install for most of yesterday, got everything out fine, did the pen magnet trick as stated on ls1howto.com and one of the magnets on the tip of the pen seperated itself and attached itself to the lifter.
Decided to sleep on it cause I couldnt get anything to get the magnet out. Finally woke up went into the garage and tried one more thing. I found a really large magnet and attached it to the end of a pushrod, stuck the pushrod in and luckily the stronger magnet got the smaller magnet to stick to the end of the pushrod instead of the lifter. Whew, that was a close one to disaster.

Anyways, still working, got to change the springs and reinstall everything. Hopefully the crane cams tool works as fast as everyone says it will.

Word of advice to those doing the pen magnets, inspect the pen magnets very closely. May just be a better idea to use the 5/16" dowels like others have used.

Another_User

Glad it worked out for you. I would check the pushrod you used for scuffs where you did that and replace it if there are any. No sense in using a damaged part.

I tried the dowels, they will not fit without machining. Heh, neither will the JPR tools from what I hear. I had a concern about that happening when I did my cam swap, so I "endurance tested" all of my pen magenets before I used them. This pretty much consisted of putting the tip on a very flat steel surface they would stick to well and yanking them off a couple of good times (like 2 times), and then checking the tip of the magnet for any wiggling or looseness, then I stuck them on the flat surface one more time and carefully took them off, just to be sure. It took an extra few minutes, but I felt better about using them.

BuckeyeROC

iTrader: (7)

I used the pen magnets too. If I was to do it over again, I would use the JPR lifter tool or similar self-made device. I would NEVER use the Russian Roulette method, I would have dropped 4 lifters

HumpinSS

iTrader: (1)

I used dowels bought from the local harware store ofr reassurance. Ive heard to many pen magnet horror stories

glennhl

I used 5/16" steel rod from Home Depot. Ground a nice bullet shape on the tip and ground a flat on the passenger side rod. Worked like a charm.

Thanks,
Glenn

glennster

iTrader: (1)

I used 5/16 brake line 19" long with 3" long bends at each end.Take the brake line and put it in a vise and "oval" from end to end,then insert after the lifters are up and turn the rods.Works like magic.

DrkPhx

iTrader: (15)

I guess I'm one of the fortunate ones; 4 cam swaps using the "Russian Roulette method" with zero dropped lifters.

02dirtybird

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, I used one of the factory rods, threw them out in favor of some Manley's. It seemed like the lifters locked in pretty well but with my luck I hate taking chances. I think I will try another way next time.

35th SS

iTrader: (2)

my first cam swap with this method.so far so good.

Cstick

I kind of understand the shape of the tool, but does turning the tool like wedge the lifters in their bores, or is there a notch of some kind in the lifter that it is catching on? Thanks for the info!

marc_w

I used pen magnets on the last swap. The trick is that you have to stick two magnets together and pull them apart to see if they hold. If they hold there - they'll serve duty just fine.

I had two of them that failed the test. I crimped the metal "cups" that hold the bit of magnet. It worked fine...

Black Z/28

I have done a total of 2 spring changes with the crane tool. The first time was pretty easy and no issues. The second time was real easy and no issues. Of course, this tool was a little pricey... but it will continue to pay for itself.

Krab

iTrader: (28)

I had a pen magnet fail on me during my cam install. I nearly panicked, but some sense was knocked into me and I just used another pen magnet to fish out the magnet that got stuck on the lifter. Then, just used to some super glue to fix the failed pen magnet. All went well, and I still use that same set of pen magnets. I guess some super glue along the edge of the cup wouldn't hurt.