cam install gone bad

[Captainstr8edge]

long story short, we did a cam swap today, started it up and lost a follower (destroyed) and droped a valve. won't know the true extent of the damage until monday. I was too pissed off to take pics. So the car is at MPE racing in Taunton, MA. luckily i'm already well known over there since its less than a mile from my house. now I have to start researching short blocks...

FML.

 

[mikeyfitz]

Built motor was your calling lol

 

[Captainstr8edge]

yeah, money is going to be a little tight though.... I was planning on selling my bike anyways though, so that should bring me almost enough for the block, labor will probably be a bitch though.

 

[mikeyfitz]

Don't want to build yourself? I mean I guess I wouldn't take my chance twice

 

[Captainstr8edge]

the worst part is its my daily.

 

[mikeyfitz]

Damn yeah that sucks ass.

 

[808muscle]

Wow dude, sorry to read this. That really sucks. Cam swaps are so common with our cars you almost forget how important it is to get it installed perfectly. Just read about a cam fubar on another site last week. Good luck with your future plans.

 

[BruceH]

long story short, we did a cam swap today, started it up and lost a follower (destroyed) and droped a valve. won't know the true extent of the damage until monday. I was too pissed off to take pics. So the car is at MPE racing in Taunton, MA. luckily i'm already well known over there since its less than a mile from my house. now I have to start researching short blocks...

FML.

A brand new 4.6 3v stock shortblock is/was about $1550 from Tousley through frpp. Add in enough supporting parts to bring the bill up to $1650 and shipping is free.

 

[Wes06]

Yea my cam install last weekend goofed and I lost timing and wound up breaking that sides phaser. Went ahead and just had my uncles shop fix my screw up.
Pissed at my goof but atleast I tried.
Sucks about what happened. Hope it gets all fixed up soon

 

[Captainstr8edge]

A brand new 4.6 3v stock shortblock is/was about $1550 from Tousley through frpp. Add in enough supporting parts to bring the bill up to $1650 and shipping is free.

Thats not bad at all! Im sure if my head is junk i could find a used one on here too. Thanks for the info!

 

[VTXFrank]

Man, that sucks to hear. Sorry this happened to you. But don't let it turn you off from doing your own work. Mistakes are what teaches us to be careful enough to build good engines! Trust me, I've jacked up a couple in my time!

 

[Captainstr8edge]

The only lesson im taking from this is to double check, and then tripple check EVERYTHING!

 

[VTXFrank]

The only lesson im taking from this is to double check, and then tripple check EVERYTHING!

Good lesson to learn!

I had built/rebuilt probably 10 engines by the time I was 18. Then I had a Honda Civic as a daily for awhile and blew the head via overheating. Put a junkyard head on it and didn't get the timing chain on *just* right. Went to the junkyard the next day for another one. I got that one installed right!

 

[Silverrider]

man i didnt know shit about engines when i installed my cams by myself in my tiny garage... good thing i researched for about a month on the process and while doing the install i took my time and quad checked everything! my car only had 7,000 miles or so, i would have killed myself if i blew it up! lol, sorry to hear man! at least you tried and learned a great lesson! hopefully it doesnt set you back too much!

 

[LuckyH]

Man, that sucks to hear. Sorry this happened to you. But don't let it turn you off from doing your own work. Mistakes are what teaches us to be careful enough to build good engines! Trust me, I've jacked up a couple in my time!

+1

I have seen what shoddy work people pay for. At least if I mess something up I know what to what extent. I would be even more pissed if I paid someone to mess it up, knowing full well I could do the same myself for free. Biggest thing I can say is make sure you have the time available to take your time. I'm waiting on getting a different DD, then I'll be installing a rotating assembly and doing the whole boost thing. My cams + bolt on's just aren't enough anymore.

 

[AnotherS197GT]

What side did you nuke? I have a good passenger head. Just needs the valve springs swapped back to stock. I have a set laying around

 

[Captainstr8edge]

What side did you nuke? I have a good passenger head. Just needs the valve springs swapped back to stock. I have a set laying around

Passenger side is what i will need. I will let you know later today. Pm me a rice if you want.

 

[2NY]

Sucks bro! I just put my hot rods in last week and the first start up I was worried most about. I cranked it over a few times to make sure nothing sounded funny. But I know when I was putting them in, a couple followers popped off and DAMN do those fall off easier than I thought.

As said above, i researched and watched videos the whole week before doing it, didnt use ANY special tools (used a yard hose to hold the chain ) and didnt even pull the followers and everything worked out perfect. Its a VERY easy install if you know what you're doing and not taking apart more than you have to. Hope everything gets resolved though

 

[S197gt07]

Did you guys turn the motor over a few times once you torqued the caps down?

 

[Captainstr8edge]

We didn't. In retrospect it probably would have saved my engine to turn it oover by hand a coule times with the covers off. You know what they say, hind sight is 20/20.