I was just about ready to pull the cam, and I found that my 5/16 rods that I bought are too thick. They are getting all scraped up from trying, and they will not go in. I don't really want to go "russian-roulette", so I am thinking pen magnets. Any thoughts? Trying to get these rods in couldn't have hurt anything right?

The other things that bothers me is that after I remove the cam plate I feel rubbing when I spin the cam. Does the cam plate space the cam away from the back of the engine, or do I have some problems?

Any help would be appreciated!

 

are you following the guide on www.ls1howto.com ??? if not, check it out.

 

I had to grind one side of one of my rods to make it fit. Make it look kind of like a D shape.

 

If I remember correctly there is about 1/4 inch of extra depth to the C/shaft bore and the cam is located away from the back of the bore by the cam plate. I do remember thinking "what the f**k is going on here then ?".

It was a while ago since I did my cam swap, any one else noticed this??

Tom.

 

So I take it that means normally the cam would not touch the back of the block?

 

Exactly, the cam is pulled forward by the cam gear being bolted to it, and aligned by the retainer plate.

I recently ran into a problem with my 5/16" steel rods on a 2002 car.. The driver's side slid right in -- the passenger side wouldn't budge. I ended up taking a few thousandths off the rod with a grinding wheel, and then repolished it smooth. Worked like a champ

 

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Yep, just grind it down on one side ... it will fit right in.