My engine is fully stripped from getting new heads (one had a crack between the valves) and the gentleman at the engine shop said it would be a good idea to do the timing chain, given how many miles are on the truck (105,000). I'm thinking of doing a cam, but i wouldn't have to pull the engine because the radiator is out. I'm really considering doing the rings and crank bearings since at this point if it were necessary it would be easy to pull the block. How bad would it be to put the new top on the engine without doing the rings? My other question is how many timing chains are there, and how hard is it to do them with the block in the truck? When should the rings need to be done? thanks.

 

The rings should not be done unless you are consuming excessive amounts of oil, or you have low compression. There is only one timing chain on the OHV engines.

 

Add rings to the rebuild then the block needs to be machined, add bearings and the crank may need machining or a new crank and if you add rod bearing what about Main Bearing and an how machining will the block need beyond the cylinders…, align bore, decking the block to square it up to the crank, on and on ?

Before doing a complete overhaul and based on what you are going to do with the truck once you have the overhaul done, you might want to consider a long block replacement.

Check all of the prices, get a total for your overhaul, rings, timing chain, heads, gaskets, any new parts you will be adding and compare the total cost to a re-man long block; you might be surprised.

All this is dependent on your use, if this is a DD then all will be good, if you are planning a new HP Cam then you need to dig deeper.

A lot of people just start with one thing and then add another and another and the cost ends up being more than if you just bought the re-man setup and the re-man comes with a warranty, your rebuild won’t.

luck and check out all of the options before deciding.

 

I was looking at doing the more mild comp cam. The engine isn't consuming oil at an excessive/dangerous rate (about 1 quart over 5000 miles). So i probably shouldn't bother to do the rings? Anyone foresee any problems with running that cam? thanks for the help!

 

that comp 422 cam is a good cam havent heard of people runing into any problems runing it. . if you leave it alone tho i would just fix the heads and run it like it is.. the timeing chains on thease motors are not very common to go out ive seen em run up into the 300k range

 

Is the lower end apart or just the heads off ?
If it is a "just the heads off" and there are no other problems put in the cam and new heads and gaskets and a new timing chain/set.

Then later on if there is problems with low oil pressure or smoking or oil consumption then think on another course, rebuild the block section, or maybe a V/8… just thinking.

luck

 

Just the top is off. No other issues aside from the cracked head, which will be fixed when the new castings get in. i was considering doing the bottom, but it doesn't appear to be necessary. I'll be doing the cam as well (people seem to have good luck with it). That's why I'm doing the timing chain, since it will be out anyway.

 

Is the motor out of the vehicle… ?

 

The engine is still in the truck. I didn't want to have to pull it.

 

One other thing with the comp cam, do i need different pushrods? In the summit racing description under notes it says stock pushrods cannot be reused. Although I've been told this cam will work with all stock components. I had the pushrods checked by the engine shop, they are perfectly fine.

 

OK on the engine in the truck, I was thinking if it was out you could use a complete gasket kit and use as many of the new gaskets as you could. No biggy !

ASSUMING this is an Push Rod Engine...
Someone else will have to come in and verify if the OEM push rod can be reused but if the lift is different from Stock then yes you will need new push rods…
Here is more, what about the lifters ?
if the lift changes will the position of the Lifters in the Lifter Bore change ?
If so then will that affect the oiling of the lifters, push rods and rockers ?

Sometimes it is best to get a Cam Kit that includes a CAm, nuh, a set of lifters and a set of push rods.
I know it is more money but by getting the Kit you get the parts that work together.

Talk to the Cam Manufacturer and ask them what is best to use.

Good Luck.

 

Purchased a complete gasket kit already. Comp claims the cam will work with stock equipment, so i dunno. The 422 cam is the more aggressive cam, right? I want whichever one is more mild because i don't want to blow anything or use different rods. How is the 410 cam? Anyone out there install one of these cams?

 

Three things to things about:

Are the Push Rod reusable ?

As you are trying to find out WHO HAS RUN THE CAM ?

Also, how much are new push rods ?

 

people have ran the stock pushrods before but i never reuse old pushrods when engine building. but you can just rember what hole and direction each one came out of and put em back in the same hole... as far as lifters you will need new ones dont stick the old ones back in with a new cam you will be asking for problems latter down the rd

 

The engine shop checked out all of the rods and said they are good. do they really have to go back in the exact place they came out of? I didn't mark them or anything, didn't know i had to. As far as the lifters, is that really necessary? I don't want to spend the money if i don't have to. I'm already in it for over a grand as it is.

 

On a side note, who still does custom tuning? Doug from bamachips apparently doesn't anymore.

 

IMO… yes ! and a grand for an upper end rebuild, new heads and a new cam cheap enough.
But if you don’t know where the Push Rods and Lifters came from, clean them up really good, clean the ends and make sure the hole in the middle is clear and hope for the best because every time you wind that little guy up you will be taking a risk.

For instance… if this cam has more lift than stock the lifters will move more up to lift the valves open and may not fir the wear patterns on the lifter bores, this in turn will reduce the oil flow to the rockers, the ends of the push rod and the upper valve area. If the lifters are worm in the push rod area and if the cam lifts more than stock then you get more wear from the rod not seated (as it was before) and you may get either misalignment of the lifter/rod oiling or it may wear enough to get a lifter failure.
Also, if the lift is more than stock, again, will the OEM Valve Springs work OK, i.e. bind because of too much lift , handle the rate of opening and closing.

Of course there is the the “right way” to do it.
Spend the extra money and get the new lifters and push rods as we have been saying.
IF you want this to turn out as an OK upgrade then you need to do certain things, that is all there is to it.

What I am getting at IS… spend the money, get the new parts for the new cam and be happier and less worry.
I tend to go overboard on thinking things through so take me with a grain of sand, but think it through before you get into trouble.

Again, good luck no matter what way you end up going.

 

there was a write up on some one installing the 410 cam your gonna have to search. i am planning on building a mild motor , i just picked up a doner one to rebuild.
i have not heard of anyone running the stock pushrods on the comp cams. you have to have longer or sharter push rods made up.

 

i know for sure the comp 422 needs different pushrods.. call delta cams and tell them what you are building and they'll know what you need

 

I understand wanting to get away with this as inexpensive as possible but there are times when it pays to do it right the first time… buy the Cam Kit and get it over with.

If the Cam Manufacturer suggests new push rods then new lifters are a must AND just maybe new valve springs and I do not mean new OEM Spring, I mean the springs designed for the cam.

 

I'm gonna contact the engine shop that did my heads and ask them about the lifters and rods since they inspected them. I'm also going to contact comp cams and find out if they have a cam kit or something and what equipment i need. Any suggestions where to get a cam kit?