Need some help after switching to Isky 218 Cam turned out to be my tranny
06-23-2014, 10:00 AM
#1
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Need some help after switching to Isky 218 Cam turned out to be my tranny I recently switch cams in my boosted LQ4 to an Isky 218. Has anybody had any success with this cam that would be willing offer some help? I've turned a pretty quick car into sled and need to get back on track. Thanks!
Last edited by rockoosi1; 07-21-2014 at 10:19 AM.
06-23-2014, 01:12 PM
#4
When I did that, I was 6.5* retarded to the cam card with new OEM gears and chain. Was an isky cam as well. The cam supplier was so surprised he sent me another cam and it had the same issue. I believe my crank timing keyway was off. I'm not saying thats your issue... But you should degree the cam in either way. I used an aftermarket adjustable timing set and got it within 1/2* of the cam card. Cranking compression went from 160 to 200+. Made a HUGE diff power wise. I picked up 12 mph in the quarter at the same boost.
06-23-2014, 01:26 PM
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When I did that, I was 6.5* retarded to the cam card with new OEM gears and chain. Was an isky cam as well. The cam supplier was so surprised he sent me another cam and it had the same issue. I believe my crank timing keyway was off. I'm not saying thats your issue... But you should degree the cam in either way. I used an aftermarket adjustable timing set and got it within 1/2* of the cam card. Cranking compression went from 160 to 200+. Made a HUGE diff power wise. I picked up 12 mph in the quarter at the same boost.
06-23-2014, 01:36 PM
#6
All Isky grinds are ordered from Isky, regardless of the middle man I'd guess?
I ordered mine from Stock48. Dunno if thats JFR or not? Like I said... I don't think the cam was the problem. I check your static compression and if it's oddly low for your elevation, it may be installed excessively retarded.
I ordered mine from Stock48. Dunno if thats JFR or not? Like I said... I don't think the cam was the problem. I check your static compression and if it's oddly low for your elevation, it may be installed excessively retarded.
06-23-2014, 01:46 PM
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All Isky grinds are ordered from Isky, regardless of the middle man I'd guess?
I ordered mine from Stock48. Dunno if thats JFR or not? Like I said... I don't think the cam was the problem. I check your static compression and if it's oddly low for your elevation, it may be installed excessively retarded.
I ordered mine from Stock48. Dunno if thats JFR or not? Like I said... I don't think the cam was the problem. I check your static compression and if it's oddly low for your elevation, it may be installed excessively retarded.
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06-23-2014, 02:01 PM
#8
I know it sucks, but if your cranking compression is down I'd pull the cover and check the cam with a degree wheel. What year is your LQ4?
06-23-2014, 02:51 PM
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Can't go wrong with Jarrett he spent hours on the phone with me trying to find the issue. On more than one occasion. Way above and beyond what any supplier I know would do.
I know it sucks, but if your cranking compression is down I'd pull the cover and check the cam with a degree wheel. What year is your LQ4?
I know it sucks, but if your cranking compression is down I'd pull the cover and check the cam with a degree wheel. What year is your LQ4?
06-23-2014, 03:16 PM
#10
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This has me worrying. I have a 218 from his as well and it sounds like I might have some issues running it with the stock timing set if it is going to be off. I'll check compression later when its running since its already in the car.
06-23-2014, 03:21 PM
#11
For the record I believe he uses the OEM timing stuff and the ISKY grinds on his motors and they are some the best running SBE cars/trucks around. I wouldn't jump to conclusions. Just letting you all know what happened to me. Always good practice to throw on a degree wheel with aftermarket cams.
06-23-2014, 08:33 PM
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I'm really on the fence about trying to get this thing to run right without degreeing the cam. And since I've never done one before, I'm thinking about putting my LS6 cam back in the car and learning to degree with my engine on the stand. If the cam isn't degreed correctly I'll never get it to run right anyway correct?
06-24-2014, 03:00 AM
#14
You would rather pull the cam out and put the old cam back in than just degree it? Do some searching on cam degree methods, once you get the concept down it'll seem easy to you.
06-24-2014, 07:51 AM
#15
Don’t assume the cam is the issue right off the bat. Especially since you have an older gen3 motor. I think my issue had something to do with the DOD/variable valve timing and the newer engines. Do your compression test first, go from there. Do you have a WB02? When I did finally degreed in my cam, I had to add 10-20% fuel across the board. Have you looked at your plugs?
If you take the motor down far enough to change out the cam you might as well degree it IMO. I had never degreed in a cam either it’s not difficult to take the readings at .050. Harbor freight dial indicator, and an LS degree wheel kit is all you need. (just saw one in the classifieds cheap too) I’d test what you have. If you need to adjust it, then buy the adjustable cam gear from Cloyes. The cheaper “adjustable keyway” crank gears are a pain in the butt!
If you take the motor down far enough to change out the cam you might as well degree it IMO. I had never degreed in a cam either it’s not difficult to take the readings at .050. Harbor freight dial indicator, and an LS degree wheel kit is all you need. (just saw one in the classifieds cheap too) I’d test what you have. If you need to adjust it, then buy the adjustable cam gear from Cloyes. The cheaper “adjustable keyway” crank gears are a pain in the butt!
06-24-2014, 11:33 AM
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Well, after doing some further research and smokeshow being nice enough to explain some things to me, I have a much better understanding on how my cam impacted the tune that I had in the car (or so I hope). When I put the cam in the car I focused on the idle tuning while leaving pretty much everything else alone. Imagine my surprise when I went to the track and slowed down by a full second and 13 mph!! I'm in no way suggesting that the cam itself is the issue, it just made me realize how easy it is the screw up something that seems to work pretty good trying to go for more. I'm gonna play around with a few things in the tunes 1st and see where that takes me and I'll decide from there.
06-24-2014, 01:24 PM
#19
Well, after doing some further research and smokeshow being nice enough to explain some things to me, I have a much better understanding on how my cam impacted the tune that I had in the car (or so I hope). When I put the cam in the car I focused on the idle tuning while leaving pretty much everything else alone. Imagine my surprise when I went to the track and slowed down by a full second and 13 mph!! I'm in no way suggesting that the cam itself is the issue, it just made me realize how easy it is the screw up something that seems to work pretty good trying to go for more. I'm gonna play around with a few things in the tunes 1st and see where that takes me and I'll decide from there.
