I'm a freaking idiot! (Cam install issues)

[PyR0NiAk]

Does the SR have lower bearings for the cams? I don't have them here, so if it does, then they went to the machine shop still on the head, but it didn't come back with them. I'm sure that if they had them, they were thrown away, so where would I get new ones??

Thanks in advance.

[DuckyD]

The cams do not have bearings.

[PyR0NiAk]

The cams do not have bearings.

So the cams just sit right down on the head? Seems to me, that they would wear at the aluminum..

[DuckyD]

I don't know what to tell you. No bearings, just the cam caps.When you go to install, you would see there is no room for bearings anyway.

[PyR0NiAk]

I don't know what to tell you. No bearings, just the cam capsWhen you go to install, you would see there is no room for bearings anyway.

I trust you, Ducky. It just surprised me. That's all.

[USMCgetsome]

damn noob jarheads! lol j/k bro i had to figure that out myself when i removed the cams.

[Justin35ll]

Yeah pretty weird, but no cam bearings

[Hijacker]

No cam bearings, but it does rely on a good coating of oil to keep things moving fluidly.

[OM3GA]

100% no cam bearings, just pour some oil on the head where the cams sit and then on the top of the cams then put the cam caps on and torque them to spec. You could use assembly lube instead if you want but you'll normally want to change your oil right away.

[240_SeX]

works kinda like a journal bearing, thin coat of oil between the cam and the head.

[PyR0NiAk]

OK. Now I'm having issues getting the cams into place. I lay the cam caps on top of them and there's like an 1/8 of an inch between the head and the bottom of the cam caps on each side of them.. Is this normal, or have I got something lined up wrong? I want to know before I go torquing them down.

EDIT: The only person that I've talked to about it that really knows anything about cars at all, believes they should just drop right in. So I started critiquing my previous work, and noticed that my lower timing mark isn't dead center on the 2nd notch. It's actually more toward the middle of being between the 1st and 2nd notch. So now I'm thinking that maybe I'm not at a perfect TDC, although it definitely looked like it when I had the head off. I don't have a socket to fit the front bolt to turn the motor over, so I'm going to have to wait until tomorrow before I can turn it that little bit it needs turned. If noone thinks this is my issue, PLEASE chime in. My ECU is suppose to be here Wednesday, and my grandfather is going back home after this weekend. This car wasn't even expected to be done until June. I'd like to surprise him and be able to take him a ride in it before he goes home.
Modified by PyR0NiAk at 7:09 PM 4/5/2010

[Hijacker]

They should lay flush in there. I had a set of cams that didn't lay flush and I thought if I torqued the caps slowly into place it would pop the cam into the journals. I ended up snapping the cam.

Best thing I can say is to use a mallet and try to tap the cam into the journals if possible, just don't try to overly force them in. A lot of times too, the cam lobe will be sitting on a rocker funny and prevent it from going all the way in. Just look to see if that's the issue. If it is, rotating the cam a few degrees to get it to sit in should do the trick. IIRC, TDC compression should have no valves actuated. It's been a loooong time since I had a cam out, so I can't be 100% sure of that anymore.

[PyR0NiAk]

Well, I just got off the phone with Ben at JWT. He said that cylinder #4 valve will be open. This explains why the back end of the cams doesn't enjoy going in..

[amolao]

did you ever get this resolved...?
Im having the same problem with my cams installation....

[PyR0NiAk]

You mean hard to get in... It's not cylinder #4 it's #3 if I remember correctly, but yeah I got them in.. Car runs now. Just be really careful and follow the FSM on torquing them... Tighten them ALL hand tight first, then follow the order and I went quarter turn per bolt until I reached my torque setting.. You need to get them in as flush as possible first, though. Don't start tightening stuff with the back of your cams an inch higher than the front.

[amolao]

I cant get them to sit flush, the closer they sit is at about an half an inch clearance due to one of the lobes hitting one of the rockers....

[PyR0NiAk]

Mine was the same way. Should be cyl #2 or #3... Just get them even, and then do as I said..

[amolao]

thanks, P.
Mission accomplished. They do slide in very easy by hand, no need for a wrench when doing the tightening until flush, and then use the torque wrench for final adjustment. This was just weird, worked on dual and single cams before and never encounter a similar issue when it was time to install the cams.

[PyR0NiAk]

Glad I could help.

[OM3GA]

Good info here.