Can a three bolt timing set such as 9-3158A pictured be used on a single bolt camshaft? I presently have a single bolt cam but might upgrade to the three bolt later. Thanks in advance.

 

Nope........

 

Doesn't work that way.

 

These guys are right. If you wanna 3 bolt cam, you have to buy the 3 bolt core and 3 bolt timing set. If you wanna single bolt, you gotta buy the single bolt core and single bolt timing set. You can't mix and match. No BOGO!!!!

 

And of course, the correct timing cover, cam pos sensor, wiring, ECM, etc. to go with it.

Neither bolt count is an "upgrade". They go with whatever motor you're putting it in.

 

Ok....so follow me on this for a second....

NO

 

I'm over here trying to figure out how a 3-bolt Cam is an "upgrade"...

End of the day you just have to swap out the Cam Sprocket, the Crank Sprocket is the same for both. Just like the early Gen III with the flat one and the later Gen III Sprocket with the 1X raised part for the Timing Cover Cam Sensor. It's that simple. Single Bolt and 3-bolt Sprocket is the same tooth count, just swap them if need be.

 

^^^ This ^^^

The cam sen-sore in the earliest LS motors was at the rear, and worked off of a "feature" on the cam back there; the cam sprocket had no "feature" at all. The cam sen-sore on the next style was in the timing cover, and worked off of a "half moon" feature cast onto the cam sprocket, with the sen-sore in the timing cover; the cam can still have the "feature" back at the back, as aftermarket cams generally do, butt nothing is looking at it. The 1-bolt setup works off of a different pattern that's cast (or forged, as the case may be) onto the cam sprocket. In each case the ECM is expecting a certain signal from the sen-sore. Thus, the combination of the # of bolts, the sen-sore location, the pattern made into the cam sprocket or the presence of the "feature at the rear of the cam, and the ECM, need to be in accordance. None is an "upgrade" from any other, in the sense that they're any "better"; only, GM, for reasons known only to themselves, changed all of that over the years.

 

What you call a "feature" is the 1 pulse Reluctor. The Cam Sensor uses magnetic field to pick up that Reluctor and that changes the voltage back to the PCM. That's in the PCM programming if it gets a certain voltage the Cam is in a certain position in it's revolution.

Reluctor location doesn't matter, on the back of the Cam or the face of the Cam Sprocket it works the same.

Sensor is how it's spelled.

 

[mr_spock] sen-sore [/mr_spock]