Envoy 5.3 wooden dowels holding lifters
#1
Envoy 5.3 wooden dowels holding lifters
My dad has an '05 Envoy with a 5.3 in it. He is in the process of getting the cam bearings changed out. When I pulled my cam in my car, I spun the cam a few times and the lifters stayed up, no problem. When I spin his cam over, the lifters dont seem to stay up so I decided to use the 5/16" dowel rod trick. Well as I spin the cam to get the lifters up to the point where the dowel rod can slide in and hold them up, it seems to never get high enough to get under them. The only way I could get the wooden rod past the lifters was to tap it with a hammer. It seemed as if the rod slid beside the lifter and wedged it in place. This didnt seem right and I havent pulled the cam yet. Just wanted some1 to chime in as to whether I'm missing something or if what I'm doing is somewhat correct.
#3
I'm sure there's a better way and somebodies gonna chime in with it but don't hammer in them dowels. Doing so may leave wood splinters and stuff where you don't want them-in the engine.
#5
i just did this today on my 6.0, i got the 5/16'' dowels and the driver side went in but the pass side wouldnt. i ended up using a 1/8'' piece of alum tig filler and it worked perfect. rotated the cam on the way out a few times and it was fine
#6
Same here (mine went in, but only from the rear), next time I'll use the half-rounded brake tubing trick instead of wood. Hmmm, or find a way to mill the wood dowels flat on one side. It could be the lifters, too. I've seen lifter bodies that are solid from top to bottom and bodies that are slightly sectioned out in the middle, which would allow more clearance for the dowel to slide past.
#7
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#9
LSxGuy widda 9sec Mustang
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From: Texas and Qatar
I've used the 5/16" wooden dowel trick a few times on the engine dyno, specifically with the AFM/DOD lifters on the L99 6.2L. They were very snug fitting at first, I ended up using some cam lube and twisting the drivers side rod by turning it clockwise as it was installed, and the passenger side rod by turning it counter clockwise as it was installed. Using that method, the lifters were pushed up into the lifter trays as the dowel was rotating.
Once the dowels were used a few times, they worked much better. I kept them around for 30-40 something camshaft swaps on both the L99 and LS3 and will likely do the same next time I do a bunch of camshaft testing.
Things I would be careful with:
Do not grind the wood away into the engine, lol
Do not break the rod off inside the engine!
Do not light the wood on fire inside the engine.
I've heard of ppl using 1/4" dowel rods, but I'm not sure they would provide enough friction/bind to hold the lifters up. Sure they might hold them from falling, but ideally you want the lifter high enough to clear the camshaft lobes and journals.
Once the dowels were used a few times, they worked much better. I kept them around for 30-40 something camshaft swaps on both the L99 and LS3 and will likely do the same next time I do a bunch of camshaft testing.
Things I would be careful with:
Do not grind the wood away into the engine, lol
Do not break the rod off inside the engine!
Do not light the wood on fire inside the engine.
I've heard of ppl using 1/4" dowel rods, but I'm not sure they would provide enough friction/bind to hold the lifters up. Sure they might hold them from falling, but ideally you want the lifter high enough to clear the camshaft lobes and journals.
#14
#16
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I pulled the heads on a 5.3 Envoy last week; it was the Denali version with the DOD lifters(4 on each side), 1,4,6,7 IIRC
GM has a TSB on the DOD lifters failing(the truck had dead cyl. on #6)
$45x8 was pricey compared to the $60(set of 8) for the conventional LS lifter
135,000 miles; the new lifter fixed the problem, cyl. 6 is back in the game
Truck was a 2006, not sure if the Denali version was the only one to get the DOD?
how did you find the cam bearings worn?
GM has a TSB on the DOD lifters failing(the truck had dead cyl. on #6)
$45x8 was pricey compared to the $60(set of 8) for the conventional LS lifter
135,000 miles; the new lifter fixed the problem, cyl. 6 is back in the game
Truck was a 2006, not sure if the Denali version was the only one to get the DOD?
how did you find the cam bearings worn?
#17
I just did a cam swap yesterday and the 5/16 wood dowels worked great. i found the drivers side was tighter than the passenger side. 20 inches was on the money too. Glad this topic was up when i was ready to do the swap. Thanks for the help.
#18
The service manager at my local GM dealership was the 1 that suggested the cam bearings so evidently it happens. He also told me that when it comes to something as involved as cam bearings, they outsource the work or just replace the engine. This may be why you have never changed a set. The rods and mains were fine but the cam bearings were definitely hurt tho. Should be starting it sometime this week. The lifters in this engine were solid from top to bottom with no reliefs for the dowel rods to fit in so I decided to turn the engine upside down so gravity could hold the lifters in place.
#19
My dad has an '05 Envoy with a 5.3 in it. He is in the process of getting the cam bearings changed out. When I pulled my cam in my car, I spun the cam a few times and the lifters stayed up, no problem. When I spin his cam over, the lifters dont seem to stay up so I decided to use the 5/16" dowel rod trick. Well as I spin the cam to get the lifters up to the point where the dowel rod can slide in and hold them up, it seems to never get high enough to get under them. The only way I could get the wooden rod past the lifters was to tap it with a hammer. It seemed as if the rod slid beside the lifter and wedged it in place. This didnt seem right and I havent pulled the cam yet. Just wanted some1 to chime in as to whether I'm missing something or if what I'm doing is somewhat correct.
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