This page is dedicated to my cam install. Quite a tough job for a newbie, but it CAN be done.
16 May 2005
Here's everything you need to swap a cam:
- Valve cover gaskets (not always required, but I got 90k on the car now)
- Throttle body gasket
- Intake manifold gaskets
- EGR gasket
- Timing Cover gasket
- Crank seal
- Water pump shaft seal
- Pushrods
- Lifters (again, not always required, but mileage was a dictating factor)
- Lifter guides
- Cam
- Valvesprings for cam (I already swapped these previously)
- Rockers (optional)
- Rocker studs (optional)
- Poly locks for rockers (optional)
- Valve stem seals (might as well change them while you're in there)
- Fuel Injector O-rings
- Two changes of oil
- Threadlock
- Black RTV
- Moly engine assembly lube
First things first, I took everything out of the packages and made sure it was all serviceable and in good order.
Gotta soak them lifters:
Here's where it all starts
Valve cover & intake off:
Got some cleaning up to do:
3-jaw puller to get the hub off. Here you can see I had to hold the center with small vice-grips because it was turning my bolt:
Hard at work:
Valvetrain's out:
Here's how I got away with not depleting the A/C:
Gotta put assembly lube on everything:
Fresh seals in, and the timing cover re-installed:
I wouldn't say I "ported" the intake, but just cleaned up the casting flash out of it and smoothed them out:
Starting to look like an engine again:
As you have probably seen, I like to polish parts on the side:
Here you can see the difference between left and right on the fuel rail:
8 July 2005
Finally got to dyno the cam install. I can't believe I picked up 28 hp with NO tuning or headers. I'm now sitting at 324 rwhp. Woohoo! I lost a little torque throughout the powerband, until above ~5,000 rpm where I'm making almost 30 more lb. ft. I'm happy.
