I tried posting this earlier but I think my browser timed out. I've read until I am blue in the face and could use some help.

I am swapping a BTR Stage 1 truck cam into an LM7 with 140k on it. The heads are on. I've removed the push rods, rockers, rolled the motor over, aligned TDC, and have rotated the cam using the water pump bolts. The engine is on a stand and I flipped it over and used 5/16" dowels to secure the lifters. I cannot get the cam bearing surface past at least one of the lifters (it spins freely though). I don't think it's high enough in the tray. I very gently pressed on it using a wooden dowel hoping to move it just a bit more, but no luck.

What should I do? Should I put penetrating oil in the push rod holes to loosen things up and hope I can shove them into the trays further? Any tips on how to do this? I'm new to this and am probably missing something simple. Thank you!

This is as far as I can get the cam out.


Highlighted is the cam bearing surface hitting the lifter

 

Since it is on an engine stand, you really don’t need the dowels. Try removing the dowels with the engine upside down and let gravity do the work. They should stay high enough after rotating the camshaft.
If for some reason that doesn’t work, perhaps you could take that wooden dowel or something soft and try pushing the lifter further into the tray working from the crank side.

 

Thanks Jake. I tried this almost to the letter, but will remove the dowels and then give them a gentle push. Come to think of it, having the dowels in place while pushing was probably dumb

 

94ranger, I wish you the best trying to get that lifter freed up, but maybe this is a sign that there might be something wrong with that lifter tray.

Maybe you ought to remove the heads and inspect/ replace them.

Yeah, you'll need new head gaskets and bolts (if you want to replace the bolts; I myself and many, MANY, MANY other guys have reused them with no issue. But replacement is always best.), but if the engine is already on the stand, this would definitely be the time to find a problem.

It sure would suck to get this engine back in the vehicle, only for that lifter to spin in the tray and take out the cam.

 

Dixie, the more I've thought about it today, the more I am thinking your way. The expense of removing the heads, resurfacing them if needed, fasteners, gaskets, lifters, trays, etc. is small compared to the headache that could come later on. I may just have to bite the bullet and pull them.

 

Keep moving them up and down. Up with the cam, down with the push rod, keep spraying penetrating lube. That's what I would try. Also pushing the lifter from the bottom as suggested is a good idea to try.

Nothing wrong with pulling the heads and going through it too

 

At this points pulling the heads is soooooo easy it's a no brainer in my opinion. Not saying I don't get why someone wouldn't want to do it. But for me and my experiences I would rip them off take the heads to the machine shop to have them at minimum decked if not milled a little and have either a multiangle performance valve job done (big gains there) or at minimum test and freshen up the valve sealing surfaces.

I've put engines back together before only to realize later that skipping checking the valves for sealing was a big mistake. Sucks when you have to pull one back out and pull it apart because you wanted to save a little time and money. Now it costs double of both..

 

I ended up pulling the heads and the cam popped right out! Thanks!