cam shaft swap help

[Rootie524]

bent pushrods..not good. lol.

so just to double check cuz i dont want to mess up. i can take the rockers off, replace the springs, and pushrods and liftersprings and my vavles wont move and wont need to be adjusted at all? i only am unsure because some springs are depressed more than others so its all in a certain order and i dont want to mess that up. but if the valves do move when i start it does it fix itself?

[ForcedFirebird]

Are you changing the springs with the heads still bolted on the block? If so, feed some 1/4" rope into the cyl (while at BDC), then rotate the engine slowly until the rope hols up the valves, or you will have to remove the heads to get the valves back out of the cylinders.

You can also use a fitting in the spark plug hole and fill it with air from an air compressor.

[60dgrzbelow0]

Are you changing the springs with the heads still bolted on the block? If so, feed some 1/4" rope into the cyl (while at BDC), then rotate the engine slowly until the rope hols up the valves, or you will have to remove the heads to get the valves back out of the cylinders.

You can also use a fitting in the spark plug hole and fill it with air from an air compressor.

Don't go crazy with using too much air pressure here...3-5 PSI from a full and constant and reliable air tank supplying the pressure on the inside of the cylinder is sufficient to hold them valves flush against their seats for the time it will take you to replace the springs and keepers. If you use high air pressure...you might develop enough PSI to cause the piston to head downward...and should the valves suddenly lose their seals...they could slip down inside the cylinder..out of sight...but not out of mind...which is what you will be if this happens...

[95Grand-Am]

Where did you buy the cam from and what are the specs if you don't mined me asking?

[Superdave]

3-5 isn't enough, i always run full pressure.. 100-120. You do not want the valve to drop down when taking the spring off.

120 PSI in 1 spark plug hole is not enough to rotate the engine.

[Rootie524]

well i replaced the springs and it wasnt as hard as i though. i put a valve spring compressor on and if i saw that the valve had alot of play, before i took the keepers out, i turned the engine with the camshaft bolt (timing chain was connected to the crank so everything was in sync) until the cylinder of the valve i was working on was all the way up so it could not fall. worked very well. lifter springs were changed and reinstalled with new metal LIM gaskets, custom pushrods were put in, rocker arms were put back and everything now is going back together. I now know why my car overheated sometimes..some of the hoses and ports the coolant goes through was blocked up..very disgusting. when its all back im going to do a quick coolant flush to get the rest. and im happy i did this because my crappy plastic LIM gasket was about to go..the coolant part was deteriorating and almost getting in the oil. crisis averted. anyway, so now i have new timing chain and sprockets, new cam, new lifter springs, new push rods, new valve springs, a new water pump, and new thermostat with all new gaskets..soon to have a coolant flush and run some seafoam through the engine oil then change the oil again. so im giving my malibu the 100,000 mile makeover it deserves.

its 95% put back together and ill know if it starts tomorrow. only concern i have so far is when i removed the fuel injectors there was some dirt around them that went in the holes and is resting on top of my valves. will that screw anything up..its both in my intake and exhaust valves..im guessing the exhaust will get blown right out so no big deal..but the intake? am i screwed?

[1988GTU]

It'll be fine. Your next couple oil changes should catch any debris that doesn't burn up or exit through the exhaust ports.

[Rootie524]

even the debris in the intake valves should still be fine?

[60dgrzbelow0]

3-5 isn't enough, i always run full pressure.. 100-120. You do not want the valve to drop down when taking the spring off.

120 PSI in 1 spark plug hole is not enough to rotate the engine.

Ouch...

Dave is right... Dammit... I keep thinking about working this job with the engine mounted on an engine stand... with no drive train to offer resistance to the heavy PSI load as it will when doing this fix with the drive train locked and parked.

(My Bad...)

[1988GTU]

It will enter the combustion chamber after swirling around a bit and most likely burn up or flow out the exhaust ports. Probably could catch most of it out the tail pipe with a bucket tilted over the pipe upon start up.

[Rootie524]

well that's good news, i was worried about that. one more thing i am worried about. obviously to do what i did, i had to drain the oil. i turned the engine while there was no oil in it. so is it possible my pistons scraped up the wall theyre in? im assuming alot of oil residue remained so it should be fine?

[60dgrzbelow0]

When you say you "turned the engine over"...do you mean by hand/wrench...or by starting and running the motor? Hand turning or even a few cranks probably won't harm most engines... but all engines have rotating parts that literally are kept apart by oil films under very high pressure ...almost floating on the slick oil in this way...so running an engine ...even at idle... with no oil pressure might prove a disaster...

[ForcedFirebird]

As long as it didn't run like that, you will be fine. Think about how many times and engine has to be rotated to install all the cam bolts, bearings, came etc. All those parts were soaked in oil when you rotated things.

[Rootie524]

yeah i did it with a breaker bar on the camshaft bolt with all the timing chain and sprockets set. i would say it had a total of 5 full but slow rotations so im guessing it should be ok.

[siKKa]

yes that fine... think of how many times its turns before your car starts.