Sorry to hear you got the JPR tool stuck. I used the 5/16" rods from Home Depot and had to put a flat on the passenger side to get it to slide in. I feel your pain trying to whack on a pair of vice grips, been there, done that, NO FUN! Get some wooden blocks and put them against the front of the block so that you can pry on the end of the JPR tool with a big long screw driver or crowbar. Prying seems to work so much better than whacking! Good luck, you'll get it.

 

Thanks Glenn, 'preciate it.

I got the JPR tool out, sanded it down some more, and this is the weird part, it only goes in about 9" (I measured it) which corresponds to the 4th PR hole going toward the firewall. It feels like it's hitting a lifter, but the pushrods are sticking out two inches meaning that the lifters are seated??? I don't get it. What could it be hanging up on if not a lifter?

 

The JPR toll still won't go in more than 9 inches, works for my girlfriend, but with a cam install it just doesn't cut it. .

Is it remotely possible that the very end of the lifter could have separated from the rest of the lifter and is blocking the passageway? Is that even possible? I mean do we have roller lifters? Could the roller have separated from the rest of the lifter? Is that possible?

 

have you tried putting it in different ways? switching drivers with pass. tool?

 

No, I got the driver's side in and it's very snug, so I only want to pull it out once (when I'm done with it).

I stuck a coathanger in the hole to see if it was obstructed and it seems perfectly clear. I'm hoping if I sand the JPR tool down enough it will slide right in. I'm hopin' anyway. I managed to get it in a little further than originally, but still not enough, so I'm hoping that sanding it as long as I have to it will eventually be small enough to fit in.

Thanks.

 

what are you using to grind it?

 

I'm just using emery cloth, and now 100 grit sandpaper. I wrap the sandpaper around the tool and slide it up and down. That sounds weird . It's a slow process though. I can't see why a coathanger wouldn't prevent the lifters from falling down. I'm not sure what else to do but keep sanding. I have a bench grinder but it's pretty hard to run the tool the entire length; the grinding wheel tends to gouge the JPR tool.

What's frustrating is that I know my lifters are seated, but I haven't got the ***** to pull out the cam without the JPR tool installed.

 

yeah good luck you could be there all day with sandpaper. i know what you mean about the lifters, when i did mine i used the tool though the pressure it took to drop the lifter on the cam with the pushrod led me to believe it would not have fallen.

 

I hear ya. Thanks for your help!

 

I've stopped working on the car for the day, but I was thinking that I can just push the JPR tool in the 11" that it will go, and just use pen magnets on the other 3 or 4 lifters (if I don't ever manage to get the tool all the way in). The driver's side is all set with the JPR tool completely installed. Any problem doing it that way?

You guys were a great help, and a BIG thanks to BigTex for the pushrod tip. That really gave me peace-of-mind to know that my lifters hadn't fallen.

I hope I can return the favors.

Thanks!!!!

 

Actually, very good idea. If you get it in 11" (in your dreams!) you can always use pen magnets for the rest. Just make sure the pen magnet ends don't fall off, that's the other nightmare that can happen.

So how did you get it out, the whacking method or the pry bar method? Just hang in there, the nerve racking part is almost over. I know even though I had a couple of 5/16" rods in there I was still afraid that a lifter might drop. Never felt so good when I got the new cam in and realized that all the lifters were still in their proper position.

Getting the cam in was the most nerve racking part, but the hardest part was getting the oil pump back on with the spacers for the new double roller timing chain. What a pain, couldn't get the pickup tube blue o-ring to seat worth a darn, took three tries. Make sure you use a small mirror on a stick and look behind the pickup tube. The second time I thought I had it made, went and bought a mirror, and sure enough, saw blue o-ring sticking out the back.

Also, be patient with the springs. I finally got the hang of it and it went pretty fast, but I quit late one night after spending over an hour on one spring. Best procedure for me was to compress the spring far enough, pull up on the valve (used the tdc method so I could pull up by 1/4" or so) and place the locks on the valve stem with some grease. I was trying to put them into the retainer first and that just didn't work. Also, if you are using the Larry tool, I was putting small marks on my valve stems because the tool was rotating so far down that it rotated the retainer into the valve stem. So I put it in a vice halfway between the end of the U and the bolt hole and bent it about 15 to 20 degrees. That way it started at a much smaller angle and rotated through 90 degrees.

What cam are you going with?

Sorry for the long reply.

 

Glenn, great feeback, 'preciate it!

I got the JPR tool out with the EXTREME whacking method. I just hauled off on the thing, smacking the vice grips with a mini-sledge. The adrenaline was flowing. Yeah man, this is damn nerve-racking, really it's the key moment in the whole install.

I'm not doing the oil pump install, only 13k on the clock, plus just the cam, and spring change to come, is more than I want to deal with. Heck, I've spent two whole days and I don't even have the cam installed.

One thing that was really cool was removing the crank pulley bolt. I had a 1/2" breaker bar and a length of pipe on the breaker bar and I couldn't break the bolt free, so I broke-out the Craftsman air compressor and 1/2" air wrench. I put the 24mm heavy duty air socket over pulley bolt, pulled the trigger quickly, and it broke free like nothing. I've only used my air tools a couple times, so I felt like today those air tools really earned their keep. I have a great appreciation for air tools after today. Awesome tools!

Yes, I plan on using the Larry tool, and I appreciate the tips! I'll keep them in mind.

The cam is a TR224/224 112LSA. Basically, all my installs have given me a hard time, why should this be any different.

Anyway, great talking to you man, and 'preciate the support!

 

I meant to post this earlier, but I had the same ssue with the JPR tool. Made me angry. I kinda got worried that it was going to mess something up since it was FIRMLY stuck. It cam out and no problems to date. I did the same thing you suggested, used the drivers side, and 1/2 the pass side with the JPR tool. On the remaining lifters, I just used the hold your breath method. But after feeling how much pressure it took with the pushrods to push the lifters back in, I knew I'd be OK.

Glad things are working out. Be sure to post up the results.

 

did you get it working? I didnt use the JPR tool but i did use some 5/16 rod from home depot. needless to say it was a very tight fit. Driver's side went in easy, but the passenger was a different story. What i did was.

1) bend a 3 foot rod at ~17-18 inch mark, and used the rest for a handle.
2) insert rod while gently spinning the rod with the handle and giving the cam a good flick of the wrist when i met a lifter.
3) after passing a lifter i would have to put one had where the bend was to push straight in while i moving the handle back and forth.

When getting it out, it took a lot of force and handle moving. Once it started moving though, it came out pretty easy.

hope this helps and its understandable (i have a bit of alcohol in me at the moment)

 

i guess i was lucky. when i did my install, my dad and i ground the 5/16"rods with a bench grinder and they slid in just fine. required a little force occasionally, and some spinning, but went in fine. when i did mine i also managed to take a peek inside the oil gallery hole. it looked like a regular circle until i shined a light inside. then i could see that it was almost halfways blocked off. thhats why we only ground on one side. the nerve racking part of my install was the valvespring change. i used the air method. i dont know if its normal, or if my air hose had a leak somewhere, but the pressure kept bleeding off and i was always having to stop and go check it. once the pressure just went. none. i think the only thing that kept the valve from falling was the new seals. very scary. you will probably be very tense for most of the install. it took me a lot longer than it is taking you, so dont worry about it man. it doesnt matter how slow you go, all that matters is if you do it right. just make sure you do! good luck and keep us posted.

 

BigTex, I'm sorry you had the same problem with your JPR tool, but I'm happy to hear I'm not alone. I think, as you, I would be okay if I just changed cams now, but I'm gonna run down a few more pen magnets for the back four passenger pushrod holes. I've had enough excitement with this install. Your pushrod suggestion really relieved my anxiety. I was freaking-out thinking about the prospect of removing the heads, headers, manifold, etc. Man, I'm gonna really appreciate this cam once it's installed. Thanks again for your life-saving help!!

Lucian, I'm gonna tackle the cam swap morning (after tracking down a few more magnets). I was so stressed-out yesterday, I needed to close down the operation until today. Thanks for the tips!

Hey Thunder, I remember reading about your struggles. Glad to hear everything finally worked-out. I'm hoping for the same outcome.

The support here from you guys means so much. I'm really grateful.

Thanks so much!!! And I'll keep you posted.

 

I understand, I remember there was a few times that i was getting frustrated and just needed a break so i could clear my head.

also, before you put the pen magnet down there. try touching a trial pen mag to some other metal parts and see how strong its attractional force is. When removing it, apply light pressure to the top of the magnet when pulling it off. This will help verify that it wont come off when attached to the lifter (wont be 100% insurance, but it will give you a better understanding of how strong the pen sticks to the magnet, so you can make a judgment of sticking it in or not).

Good luck and just think how much money you are saving by doing it all yourself. The idea that someone who actually cares about your car is doing the work also helps.

 

Thanks Lucian, funny that you mentioned it, but I managed to find 5 pen magnets, at a couple parts stores, and the first thing I did was attach the magnets to the side of a hammer. I'll retest them again before using.

I'm headed out to the car now to try to install the cam.

The money saving is nice, but most important to me is that I know exactly what was done, and how it was done (with love), and also if something goes wrong, there's no one to blame but myself.

Thanks for the encouraging words!