I am trying to push the dowel pin in for my lt4 hot cam because I'm putting it in a l98. I have the cam out of the engine. I tried to put the cam sproket on the pin but it wasn't going in. So I put the pin in one of the bolt holes. And I started tapping it with a hammer. The pin dosn't seem to be moving. And a thin metal circular wire like thing came out of the cam sproket, I'm guessing, from the rear where the thing that rotates is. I don't notice anything wrong with it but I'm worried.

Should I be doing this with the cam in the engine? Why won't the dowel pin get pushed down? This is a new cam.

 

Tapping the pin in requires a wee bit of force. I was tapping gently at first and the sucker wasn't moving...so I upped the force a tad and noticed it started on it's way.

I cut a piece of wooden dowel to the desired pin length and taped it to the cam's dowel pin flush at the top, to keep me from driving it in too far and provide a visual guide on how far the pin needed to go in.

 

Is it normal to have a hard time getting the the cam sprocket on the dowel?

 

My cam sprocket went right on, but it's supposed to be a snug fit on the cam's dowel pin. Make sure it is going on straight.

Just checking: you are using a cam sprocket for a roller-cam application, right? Cam sprockets are not interchangeable between factory roller and non-roller applications. The bolt hole pattern is a good way to check.

 

I am using a factory roller timing chain. I looked closer at the pin and noticed that the tip isn't perfectly straight. It's kinda bent, well not bent but I guess squished, for lack of a better word. It's the very very tip of it. I'm thinking cutting it off to the desired length, .3" would be a good idea. This way the tip is clean and I won't have to hammer it again. Anybody else agree? Think a hacksaw would be a good tool to use. I think a power tool wouldn't be a good idea because of the chance of nicking a lobe.

 

The hacksaw just isn't doing it. It's not even scratching the pin. Tuesday I'll go to a machine shop and have them grind it down to the right length.

 

I did a friends with a dremmel and a cutoff tool and I did mine with a hacksaw. then filed it down strait and beveled the tip.

I reccomend the dremel.

 

I would use the dremel but I'm affraid of scratching one of the lobes. I doubt the machine shop would charge a lot to do it. I'll see tuesday.

 

I tapped mine in as far as it would go,then ground the rest off on a belt sander to .300"+/- .010"........Once I got my desired length,I just rounded the edges with the belt sander...

 

i tapped mine in with a hammer and doing that mushroomed the tip of the pin so i filed it down and it fits just fine.

 

I couldn't find a shop around me that was automotive so I started to do what Ukraine Train did. I'm using a dremel to file it down but the dust is bothering me so I'm gonna wait until tomorrow so I can do it outside.

 

in retrospect i think i should have first tried a rubber mallet or a piece of 2x4 between the hammer and dowel so i didnt mushroom it. oh well, as they say, hind sight is 20/20