Written by: Mike ErvinBy now you should be rested and ready to start putting all this mess back together. One thing I would like to state here and that is be sure to keep everything as clean as you possible can. I can't stress that enough. With that said, let's begin. Part 2 The first thing you want to do is clean the cam with some brake cleaner or something similar. The reason I said to use brake cleaner is it doesn't leave a residue. The cam needs to be cleaned to remove any grease and grime that was left from the manufacturer. Next take your cam lube (you should have got some in the cam kit) and lube the cam lobes. Don't use the cam lube on the cam bearing journals, the four round ones. Use the same motor oil you intend to run in the engine. Apply a pretty good coat of the cam lube, don't make a big mess but don't skimp either. Take your old cam gear (you did save it didn't you) and fasten it on the new cam with one bolt. This will help you guide the cam back into the block and lessen the chance of nicking the cam bearings. Be real careful when you slide it in, take your time because if you nick the bearing surfaces, well just be careful. When you get the cam all the way in remove the old cam gear. Now it's time to install the crank gear. This gear don't just slide on the crank it is a press fit. Also there is a dot on the gear that needs to be turned to the front so you can see it when it is installed. Put the Woodruff key back into the crank if it fell out when you removed the old crank gear (you didn't lose it did you) with the round side toward the crank. Now take the new crank gear into the house and put it in the oven on a cookie sheet and bake it at about 350 degrees for 20 minutes or so. When the time is up get a good pair of gloves so you don't get burned and grab the cookie sheet and gear and run back out to the garage and slide it on making sure it lines up with the Woodruff key. I am serious. Heating the gear expands it and it will slide on pretty easy. You need to be quick about this because it will cool off quick and it will stop when it gets halfway on. If this happens to you pull it off again, re-heat it and do it all again but faster this time. Don't under any circumstance beat on this gear with a hammer. After you get the gear on you are ready to install the chain and new cam gear. The next thing you need to do is get your harmonic balancer bolt and some washers or spacers so the bolt doesn't bottom out and install it in the crank so you can turn it with a pull handle. You can buy a special tool that fit's over the crank snout to do this instead of using the balancer bolt, but if you use your head you will be OK. You want to turn it (clockwise or to the right from the front of the engine) so the dot on the crank gear is at 12:00. (You can see the dot can't you) To be sure use a straight edge. It will help if you will turn the cam so the dowel on the end is at the 3:00 position. Now take the chain and new cam gear (also find the dot on the cam gear) and turn the cam gear so the dot is at 6:00. Put the chain on the crank gear and with the cam gear in the chain install it on the cam. Make sure it goes on the cam all the way. Take your straight edge and check to see if the dot's are one on top of the other. Cam gear at 6:00 and crank gear at 12:00. If it all checks out put on the cam locking plate and the new bolts that came with it and tighten to 18 ft. lbs.. Use a screwdriver to bend the tabs up around the bolt heads, this will keep the bolts from backing out. If you don't use a locking plate be sure to use locktite on the bolt threads. Now take the new lifters and coat the bottom (only the bottom) with the assembly lube and drop them in the block. Also while I am on the subject, cam manufacturer's recommend to never prime the lifters with oil when you install them. Some people will say to soak the lifters in oil overnight. This is not recommended. Put them in dry with just the lube on the bottom. The engine is at TDC on the compression stroke for #6 cylinder with the crank at 12:00 and the cam at 6:00. So we need to rotate the engine clockwise 360 degrees (or one full turn) so that the dot's are at 12:00 on the crank gear and the cam gear is at 12:00. This is important, this puts the engine at TDC on the compression stroke for #1 cylinder. This is where it was left at when you pulled the distributor in the distributor removal/installation procedure. This is where it needs to be so you can get the engine timed right. I can't stress this enough. Make sure everything is right and the dots are lined up with a straight edge. When you are sure it's right take the bolt out of the crank (make sure the crank doesn't turn). If the engine moves while removing the bolt just rotate it clockwise two full turns until the dots are lined up again as follows (crank gear at 12:00, cam gear at 12:00). You should have already removed the old seal from the timing cover by now, so put the new one in. The seal goes in from the front of the cover. It will only go in one way so if you put it in from the front you can't go wrong. Use some of the Permatex on the outside edge of the seal (don't get the Permatex on the rubber part of the seal) and tap it in with a small hammer. The best way is to lay the cover down on a flat surface Work slowly to keep from warping the seal. You need to use the Permatex gasket sealant on the cover and the block to make sure it doesn't leak. Stick the gasket to the cover and line up the holes. The block has two pins to help line the cover up right. If your engine has separate timing tab put it where it goes. Tighten all the timing cover bolts to about 8 - 9 ft. lbs.. Now get a cloth tape measure, the kind people use to sew with. Measure the circumference (i. e. around the outside) of the harmonic balancer. Divide the measurement by 4. With the measurement you come up with, measure from the original timing mark and make 3 more marks around the outside of the balancer. File the marks so you can see them clearly. What you should have now is 4 marks total, all at equal spaces around the outside of the balancer. Make sure these marks are at equal spaces. Another way to figure out the circumference is to measure the diameter (how wide it is from one side to the other) and then multiply that number by 3.14. For example; my 8" balancer is exactly 8 inches in diameter. So 8 x 3.14 = 25.12 inches. Divide this by 4, 25.12/4 = 6.28 or just a hair over 6-1/4 inches. Lay this off the same way as above. To help you get the harmonic balancer on you can put it in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes and it should slide on. Don't put the balancer in the oven the way you did the crank gear. The balancer has rubber built into it that will burn. You can use the bolt to help get it on but don't force it. They also make a balancer installation tool you can rent to do this with. If you decide to use the balancer bolt, be careful and take your time, you don't want to strip the bolt or the crank snout. The balancer bolt needs to be tightened to 70 ft. lbs.. The mark on the balancer should be lined up with the 0 or TDC mark on the timing pointer. If it moves while tightening the balancer bolt just rotate the engine 720 degrees clockwise (or two full turns) and you will be back where you started, at TDC on #1. The reason you have to go two turns on the crank is that the cam rotates at half the speed of the crank, as per the difference in the size of the timing chain gears. If the gears were the same size they would turn at the same pace. If you rotate the crank one turn you would be at TDC on #6 cylinder. See it's never to late to learn something. Now crawl back under the truck and put the oil pan back on. You need to glue the gasket to the pan and put some sealant on the block also. For the front and back pan seals I recommend using the RTV silicone. Also put some in the groove in the block at the rear main bearing cap. Make sure you put some at the junction at the pan rail gaskets and the rubber seals. You want to put on plenty of the RTV but not so much that you risk it falling inside the pan. It wouldn't be a good for the oil pump pickup to suck up any of this stuff. The bigger bolts go in the very front and the very back, when you get all the bolts started tighten them evenly . Don't over tighten these bolts, you will ruin the gaskets if you do. Fill the new oil filter with oil and install it and remember to put the plug back in the pan. Now is the best time to put the motor oil back in before you forget in all of the confusion. Now pour the rest of what was left after filling the filter and the other 4 qts. in the engine at the lifter valley. Put some Permatex on the block where your fuel pump goes and put on the fuel pump mounting plate gasket. Put some Permatex on the mounting plate and lay aside for now. Get your fuel pump rod and push it up into the block. Right in front of the rod beside the timing cover is two bolt holes used to mount accessories to the engine. The top hole goes through the block into the fuel pump rod cavity and lines up with the rod. If you put one of the fuel pump bolts in this hole while holding the rod up it will hit the rod and keep it from sliding back out. Don't tighten down on the bolt, just enough to hold the rod. This will keep it up in the block until you get the pump back on. Put on the mounting plate if you removed it. Now put some Permatex on other side of the plate and on the fuel pump and stick the gasket to the pump and install it. Make sure it goes under the rod, if not the rod might have slid back down. Once you get the other fuel pump bolt started, you can remove the one holding the rod up and install it. Tighten the bolts evenly, don't over tighten. Hook up the fuel lines at the pump. Put the water pump back on the engine using Permatex like you did for the fuel pump, with sealant on both sides of the gaskets. The bottom hole on the drivers side goes into the water jacket. Put some RTV on this bolt threads to keep it from leaking. Tighten the bolts to 30 ft. lbs.. Now put the pushrods through the hole in the head and into the lifters. Put the rockers on the stud and on the pushrods, the rocker ball goes on with round side down. Now it's time to adjust the valves for the proper preload. It would be real handy if you had some timing tape on the harmonic balancer but we can use the marks you made (you did make the marks didn't you). You need to adjust the valves on the compression stroke in the firing order of each cylinder, 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2. This means that both valves will be closed and on the heal of the cam. The cylinders are as follows: 1-3-5-7 are on the drivers side of the engine and 2-4-6-8 are on the passenger side. You are already on the compression stroke for #1 so let's do it first. Tighten down the rocker nut on one of the valves and when you get close hold the pushrod with your fingers and start spinning while tightening. Tighten slowly and when you just get all the play out tighten 1/2 turn more. This needs to be precise so make sure to just get the play out and then 1/2 turn more. Do this on the other valve on the same cylinder. Now rotate the engine clockwise 90 degrees, to the next mark that you made on the balancer. Then you can adjust these valves which is for #8 cylinder, the same way you did for #1. #4 is next, then #3 and so on. You get the idea. Continue rotating the engine 90 degrees at a time following the firing order and when you finish with #2 rotate the engine 90 degrees more and you will be back at TDC on #1 cylinder. Now we are ready to put the intake manifold back on. Make sure the heads and the front and back of the block are clean and dry. Clean these places with some of the brake cleaner on a rag. Use some of the yellow glue on the heads to hold the gaskets in place. Around the water passages run a 1/8 inch bead or so. Also run a bead around the water passages on the intake as well. Set the gaskets in place and make sure you have them turned the right way. Most intake gaskets are marked with up or top and also front or back. Make absolutely sure you have these on right. Take a fools advice, you don't want to take the intake back off because you put them on backwards. Now on the front and back rails on the block run a 1/4 to 3/8 inch bead of the RTV, make sure you turn up on the head lapping onto the intake gasket about a 1/2 inch or so. The gasket set probably came with some rubber rail gaskets, throw these in the trash. These things are more trouble that they are worth. Just about every time I have tried to use them they usually end up leaking. Now let the RTV skim over for about 5 minutes. After it has set a little you can set the intake down in place. Make sure you set it straight down, and that it is lined up right. One thing you don't want to do is slide it around after it is place. If you do can we say "leaks". Use some of the Permatex #2 or thread sealer on the threads of the intake bolts. This will help prevent any possible leaks around the bolts. Start all the bolts and put any of the brackets back on if you can remember where they go. You can always remove the bolts later and put the brackets on. Tighten the bolts to about 35 to 40 ft. lbs. starting in the middle working in a criss-cross pattern. You will have to guess at some of the bolts but you should be able to get them pretty close. Also I would advise to buy or borrow a good oil pump primer and prime the engine. This will get oil on all the critical parts prior to starting it up. You could make one out of an old distributor like I did, if you have one laying around. You may be able to rent one at Autozone. They will charge a rental fee, but when you return it they will give it all back to you. The rent is the price of the tool. If you decide to keep it, no problem. Now take the distributor and slide the new distributor gasket on it. No sealant, just the gasket. Now revert back to the Distributor Removal/Installation article to help install it. You need to use the section: Installing if the engine has been rotated with the distributor removed., since it has been rotated. Next put on the valve covers by using the yellow gasket cement to glue the gaskets to the valve covers only. This way you will be able to remove them later if you need to. Well we are getting there. Put the cap back on the distributor and hook up the plug wires. Don't forget to hook up the wires going to distributor also. Now you get the pleasure of putting all the mess back on the front of the engine, your ac condenser, radiator, fan shroud, hoses and lines, well you know what all needs to be hooked up. Just put it on in the reverse you took it off. Hook up all the miles of wires and vacuum hoses on the engine. Set the tension of your belts to 1/2 inch flex at the longest span. Don't forget to fill the radiator with water, just water for now. This way, if you have a leak and water gets in the engine it won't do as much damage as the antifreeze. Remove a plug in the intake to burp out the air. Make sure water flows freely from the hole. Give it the once over and make sure everything is hooked up right and you have done everything that needs to be done. When you get every thing back together it will time to crank it up. You need to hook up a tach and a timing light. When the engine starts you need to take it about 2000 - 2500 rpm immediately for about 15 - 20 minutes. Don't let it idle at all. This will break in the new cam and lifters. If you let it idle it will ruin them. The only way the cam gets oil is by splashing and it needs to run at these rpm to keep it oiled until it is broken in. With the vacuum advance hose disconnected and plugged, raise the rpm to about 3000-4000 (depends on how soon your total advance is in) and set the total timing to 32 - 36 degrees. You either need timing tape or a dial back timing light to do this. While the engine is running you should vary the rpm every so often between 2000 and 3000 rpm. Never let it get below 2000 rpm. Also keep a check on engine temps and check for leaks. After the break-in period shut it down, change the oil and filter, and check again for leaks. Check the fluid levels make sure they are correct. Now about the only thing you need to do is set your timing to the correct setting. I have my initial timing set at 14 BTDC but that might not be the best setting for you. This gives me a total of 35 degrees. My distributor has 21 degrees of timing built in so, 21 mechanical + 14 initial = 35 total. After you drive it for about 500 miles, I would change the oil and filter again just to make sure everything is clean and to remove all of the new cam residue. One more thing I want to add, I am the author of this article and not the one doing the actual work. If you read this and decide to try it I hope it is some help to you, but please, don't hold me responsible if you can't perform the work. I have tried to write it so it will be easy to understand, but things may come up which is out of my control. I hope everything goes as planned and it was fun. Now enjoy your new cam and happy motoring. |