installing exhaust cam... anything I need to know?

[ANVIL]

so im waiting for my exhaust cam to come in. Im replacing it because the timing key on mine broke off and i need it to make everything easier on diag on my car. I have the FSM, but im just wondering what seals or anything that I should replace or anything I need a heads up on to make the swap easier. thanks

[Cjmartz2k]

Make sure you follow the torqueing down procedures in the FSM or you'll snap it in half like a twig. Start in the middle and work in a counter clock circle doing each bolt like 1 or 2 turns until the are all tight. Uneven ratcheting will break it in a heartbeat.

[Coolwhip]

Make sure you follow the torqueing down procedures in the FSM or you'll snap it in half like a twig. Start in the middle and work in a counter clock circle doing each bolt like 1 or 2 turns until the are all tight. Uneven ratcheting will break it in a heartbeat.

+1 and for the seals you'll want to replace the front cam seal as its needed to be removed to replace the camshaft anyways.

[gawdzilla]

be generous with assembly lube or motor oil on all the camshaft surfaces and caps.. keep everything in order and make sure all the cap labels face the same direction cuz you can put the caps on upside down.

[ralphsdiorama]

I'll stress the torquing procedure again. Just snapped a cam the other day.

[Darius]

I'll stress torquing the cam down too. Tighten the cam caps down as evenly on each cap as you can to keep them perpendicular to the camshaft and the opposite mating surface. And only do a couple turns at a time.

I remember not following the FSM torquing order exactly because some would be tight and others super loose. I just turned whatever was loosest a couple times and tried to keep the caps as even as possible. Do the final torque in the FSM sequence. Don't rush. It took me about 15 minutes to get one cam into place and torqued down.

Another thing you should do is back the cylinders down from TDC (CCW about 20*) before you install the cam. The cam is difficult to install at the perfect angle and can result in piston to valve interference while you torque the cam down as evidenced by my valve breakage experience. Once it is torqued down, rotate the crank forwards to TDC and the same with the camshaft.
Modified by Darius at 12:18 PM 3/19/2010