I have had 3 people tell me different things about installing a cam. one said you need to yank the engine, one said you can remove the manifold to get to it, and one said that i can remove the radiator/condensor and front bumper to get the old cam out and new cam in.

What do i need to do to put my cam in my 86? I know it is a stupid question, but I am just starting out and I have never delved into the lower end of engines. Just simple bolt ons like manifold, carb and heads.


Thanks
--Dan

 

never done it but to my knowledge, you have to pull the intake, radiator + condensor (move it out of the way) and harmonic balancer and timing chain cover to get the cam out. Its not as simple as that, but the engine wont have to come out.

 

Who ever said you have to yank the engine is a moron. The one that said you have to take the manifold off isn't much better. But you have to take the whole front and top part of the engine off.

 

Mark, you have been my hero the past week. I guess when i put on my new manifold (intake) and heads I'll just put in the cam. My buddy who works at a chevy dealership told me that I needed to take off the intake to get to the cam. That's the moron who told me that. i guess he told me more stuff but that was a few months back and I don't remember the whole conversation.

Thanks bro
--Dan

 

If you don't take the intake off, how are you going to take the lifters out so you can pull out the cam????

 

Who ever said Who ever said you have to yank the engine is a moron. The one that said you have to take the manifold off isn't much better. But you have to take the whole front and top part of the engine off. is a moron.



Seriously, you need to remove the intake manifold up, the timing chain and gears and everything involved in that, and the radiator and condenser. To get the camshaft out you'll need to move some supports on the front clip, but it's no big deal moving them out of the way. Don't forget to disconnect your battery and drain your coolant before you get started.

 

ye, you probably do need the intake manifold off unless you are really fast and can pull the old cam out and put the new one in before the lifters drop. Just kidding, hehe.

How about if you put magnets on the pushrods and lower them back down to the lifters and hold them up like that.

Well it's probably easier to go ahead and take the intake off.

BUT SERIOUSLY, it is very easy to mar up the cam bearings while installing the cam even if the motor is out of the car. How bad is that? I am not sure. I have read on this board that is very bad. My cam bearings are mared from my slip but it has not givin me any problems yet, knock on wood. Use bolts long enough on the end of the cam to give you a good handle on it.

 

ive heard its quite easy to mar the bearings, too. Just take it slow and make sure to keep the cam in the same plane as teh engine so it comes out straight. Remember the engine is at an angle so to avoid any undo force on the bearings as your sliding the cam out make sure to keep it alighned with the bearings and take it nice and slow.

 

Yes, be extremely careful sliding the old cam out, not to knick the bearings.

 

mark yes in fact i did misunderstand you and retract my original statement. i'm old and get confussed easily, sorry.

 

WTF? I think you misunderstood me, the person said you only have to take off the manifold, but there is more to it than that, is what I was saying. And I've done 2 cam swaps, sure it's not much as compared to you @ssholes.

 

Removing the intake is not necessary on a roller motor FYI.

 

And you say that why ?

The lifters will still drop in that cam tunnel unless you take them before you take the cam out !!

Now in case you horizontal locking back lifters (which are usually solid), then you CAN leave the intake on.

In case of a stock 87-up roller SBC motor you HAVE to take the intake off.

 

Personally I find it easssier to just yank the motor, I find it to be less time and aggravation that way; but it's certainly not necessary. Sometimes it boils down to what tools you have and what aggravates you more. If I spend a whole day all hunched over an intake that's at knee level to me, I ache for a week. Plus, it's alot easier to get a good seal on gaskets, good rocker adjustment, etc. when the motor is on a stand. But like the other guys said, if you rotate the AC compressor and condenser together off to the side, pull the radiator, and remove that vertical brace thing under the hood latch, it can be done in the car, and some people prefer doing it that way.

And yes, you have to take off the intake, period; unless you're using some kind of lifters like these. http://www.holley.com/HiOctn/ProdLin...CVT/PopUp.html

 

Hmm, if you have a stock or cheap roller lifter system you sure do.

It's just amazing how many people talk the talk but havent got a clue.

I agree with RB83L69, it can be easyer to yank the engine. It only takes me about an hour to yank the engine but Ive done it both ways many times and it seems to take an hour longer to swap the cam in car.

To swap the cam out in car you need to remove the distributor, "induction system "carb/tbi/tpi and intake manifold, valve covers, water pump, radiator, condenser, hood latch, timing cover, fuel pump on a carbed car, it does make it easyer to remove the ac compressor but its not nessasary and since you need to take the alternator's upper braket off to get the intake off one more nut will give you some extra room.

 

Yanking isn't easier if you don't have a garage and the tools, like some of us.

 

Odyssey, RB83L69, SSC:

Yeah, I don't have a clue what I'm talking about...

Ron Anderson Performance makes a set of lifter magnets designed for cam swaps WITHOUT removing the intake. Just removed the rockers and pushrods, slide the magnets down and tighten the wingnut. Saves a ton of time. I watched our engine guy (I work at a dealer) use it on NUMEROUS Ford 5.0s, and he helped me do 2 LT1 cam swaps with the set. With a flat tappet you still have to remove the intake to replace the lifters though.

There is always a better way.

 

why is everyone so against taking off the manifold? just do it, and do it right!

i can see how a guy might not wanna yank the engine, but the manifold is a few bolts, its as simple as that.

 

Hey! I mentioned putting magnets down there as a joke earlier. How come whenever I think I have an original idea someone has already beat me to it .

 

Ever take apart a TPI? All those Torx can be a real headache. And those with a SuperRam probably never want to have to pull that thing off and reinstall ever again. They are quite a PITA.

 

Marc 85Z28 where can i get something like that?how much are they?

 

91banditt2 - Ron Anderson Performance makes them. I don't remember the phone number, and I don't know the website either (if they have one?). However, I found their number through an ad they had in the back of a 5.0 Mustang issue. They are primarily Mustang performance oriented, but the Chevy and Ford SB's are quite similar. I'll have to check my old magazines to see if I can find it again. Price was reasonable too. We (a number of guys at our dealership) bought a bunch of sets a year or so ago, and got a good discount. Price was $45 I think?

 

you all forgot that you have to loosen the oil pan to get the timing cover off. thats a bigger mess

 

86IROC350NY - "Just simple bolt ons like manifold, carb and heads. "

lm assuming its not TPI....

 

I am running a carbed motor. Don't have to worry about much on the top end. smiley

 

Actually you can get away without doing it, but it's simpler just to remove the up front 2 bolts.

 

one quick question, how are the instructions that comp cams includes with their cam kits? are they pretty descriptive?

thanks

 

Not really... all they have any way of knowing about is the engine internals. There are far too many variations of cars out there, even if you count just stock ones, for them to collect and print all that kind of data. They cover how to actually swap the cam itself, but nothing about how to take cars apart to get at the cam, or even how to take accessories off the engine (again, car-specific) to get to that point.

Besides what comes in the kits, there's a wealth of just general cam info on their web site, in their catalog. Definitely read that before you do anything if you don't know much about cams.

 

Their directions are the ones I used to adj the rockers.