Hi all

Have short question, is it possible to change cam with the engine still in the car if i remove the engine cooler, fans, i do have the Comp cams aluminium front valve cover that allows me to change the cam without opening lower part of engine.

Regards Mats

 

Yea. I put a cam into my L98 without removing the engine.

 

Ok thanks just the answer i needed :-)

 

Yeah, I've done it too. The only thing that was a real pain was getting the timing cover to seal back up properly without dropping the pan. As you've stated, you have the cover that allows you to remove the top half so I say go for it!!!!!

 

The AC condenser will likely need to be pulled out, difficult to do without recovering the charge.

 

naf is correct about the AC condenser. I did the illegal and not so cool thing of dumping the charge into the atmosphere. So much better to just have it evacuated with an evac-recharge station. Of course, you need to find a shop that still has a working R12 machine.

Also, there is one brace that just barely prevents you from pulling the cam the last little bit. I am trying to picture it now. I don't have my IROC out today because it's raining here. It seems like I just had to unbolt it part way and loosen it so that the cam would slip past it. You'll find out what I mean. It wasn't terrible. I was still able to do the swap, including valve springs, in a weekend. And I had to drop the pan to clear the timing cover too.

One thing that I warn people of, if you are going over .500" lift, around 240 degrees at .050(220 @ .050 with a flat tappet), be sure to check piston to valve clearance before you install the rockers. Use a light spring(hardware store) that holds the retainer and locks in place and the valve on its seat while allowing you to open the valve with a fingertip. Roll the crank around to overlap on #1(between the exhaust and intake strokes) and using your finger, depress the valve and measure how far it goes before it stops against the piston top. If it's no more than about .060, roll the crank back and forth 10 degress and check at each point to be sure. .040" is enough to be safe but it doesn't allow much room for timing chain slack. My twisted wedge heads with 240 @ .050 and .560 lift put my clearance at .100". Plenty safe but not checking could have been an expensive mistake and it only takes a few minutes to check.

 

X bracing across radiator support. Held in with 10 mm screws.

 

Sorry to hijack the thread...


DO we even need that x-bracing?

It's in the way of my trans cooler so I have it zip tied to the x-bracing for the forseeable future.

 

Good luck with that. It's illegal to sell R12 now and if you can even find some, it's very expensive. It's much cheaper to convert your system over to R134A than trying to get R12 put back in. The R12 "replacements" are crap. Just a quick fix and since you need to evacuate the system into a deep vacuum to remove all the non condensibles before recharging, trying to recharge it at home with a kit will have even worse results.

If you're careful, you may be able to move the compressor and condenser out of the way enough to get the cam out without disconnecting anything.

 

Yes. It keeps the radiator support square.

 

I've changed cams with the engine in car. I also left the x-bracing in. It makes it more difficult (you have to push/pry on x-bracing while pulling camshaft out) but its doable.

If I had to do it again, I would remove the bracing for the install. Why make things more difficult?

 

Hell, who needs AC on a performance car anyway?! That's what windows are for. I never did recharge mine after I dumped it and finally just did a proper AC delete. Got rid of alot of useless weight and clutter under the hood. That also gave me plenty of room for the trans cooler where the condenser used to sit.

 

Yes, even though the high pressure line running from the condenser to the evap box is solid, it is thin and long enough so that it can be easily twisted temporarily without damage. Pull the cam out until it's close to the condenser. Then just have an assisant swing the condenser up and out of the way for the few moments it takes to pull the cam out completely.

And yes, that little bracket is only held in with 2 bolts, it's easier to take it out than to bend it out of the way.

 

You can take the condenser and compressor off together, and move them as a group to get them out of the way.