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SVT cam install......feels kinda tight?

TRicker

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Jun 25, 2006
Messages
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Location
Center City, MN
i used assembly lube until i realized it was about 20 years old then i went to 30 weight oil on the other cam. they are tightened down within spec (72 to 108 in/lbs or 8.8 ft/lbs max)

all the journals and caps are lubricated and the cam contact points too. the caps are in order, and were marked out as they were removed. nothing is out of place.

the cams are a bit looser feeling on the head i havent touched yet but i can still turn the cams a little bit that i have changed (i can turn them until the lifters start to restrict)

anyhow, its about 30% tighter i'd say than the other ones..... is this normal?
 
How are your turning this? is it timed? are you spinning them by hand? are the RFF out??
 
do not turn the cams while the lifters and rollers are in place you bend valve. You are suppose to put the cams in first without the rollers and then turn them by hand to make sure they are handy you should be able to roll it by hand.



i am turning the cams by hand, everything is on underneath them, but its not timed yet.
 
do not turn the cams while the lifters and rollers are in place you bend valve. You are suppose to put the cams in first without the rollers and then turn them by hand to make sure they are handy you should be able to roll it by hand.

Sure, makes complete sense. Then how do the valves not get bent when you start the engine with the cams, roller, and lifetrs in.......give me a break.....
 
Sure, makes complete sense. Then how do the valves not get bent when you start the engine with the cams, roller, and lifetrs in.......give me a break.....

This is all relative to whether the heads are on the engine. If they are not you don't really have to worry about any interference. If they are on the engine and you're turning the cams without turning the engine over (IE not timed) You could cause the valves to hit the pistons from my understanding.

Tyler pull those rollers out of there and then give it a shot.
 
Sure, makes complete sense. Then how do the valves not get bent when you start the engine with the cams, roller, and lifetrs in.......give me a break.....

What???? He is turning the cams without the chains on. If a piston is all the way up on that side he could be opening a valve when he spins the cam and smashing it. When the engine is assembled "correctly" the cams and crank spin together and are timed so that the valves are not open when the piston is all the way up.
 
He said he was turning the cams by hand. I highly doubt that he is able to turn the cams by hand to cause a valve to bend. You can't even turn the cams by hand with everything installed hard enough to get them to pass by the lifters. IF he had the chains on there he should'nt be turning it without having the engine timed.
 
He said he was turning the cams by hand. I highly doubt that he is able to turn the cams by hand to cause a valve to bend. You can't even turn the cams by hand with everything installed hard enough to get them to pass by the lifters. IF he had the chains on there he should'nt be turning it without having the engine timed.

If you had a set of mechanics gloves on and tried turning the cam you may be able to turn them. If they aren't bolted down his original comment that they are "harder to turn" wouldn't make sense. That's like holding the cams up above your head and saying one is harder to turn than the other one. Also if he put the chains on it would be timed. All you do is line the marks up when you put them on and you are good so by having the chains on it would mean it's timed.
 
If the chains are installed & the cams are being turned, the tensioners are not doing their job. He's putting the slack on the leading side of the crank... Timing WILL be out a bit & MIGHT cause damage, I don't know for sure, but it can't be good for the tensioners at the very least.
 
hey guys i'm turning them about 1/4" not enough to get the cams to rotate enough to snap through a valve cycle. i put everything together and timed it out, and i can turn it over with a wrench on the engine damper bolt and it turns great. i'm just being paranoid. the engine is almost ready to go in, i just have to somehow cut off the pilot bushing (die grinder with a cutoff wheel on it?) and get the porting done on the intakes. i have really good bits so the porting should only take me about 4-5 hours if i stay on it.
 
the engine is timed correctly according to the book, everything lined up, and i pulled the paperclips out of the tensioners after everything was kosher and they snapped everything tight, on the right side of the chain. it spins nicely :) i got the timing covers on, the alternator is there, everyting is good. i guess i shoulda been more descriptive when i was talking about it. i wasnt trying to fully rotate the cams i was just barely moving them in the position i took them apart so i could turn them back and forth a tiny bit without moving any valves.
 
Sounds awesome man! You never did call me again last weekend :shrug: Hope everything goes smooth from here on out!
 
it's almost ready to go in, what sucks is i have to leave the UIM off and the wiring harness is still on the car. i have too much **** (MSD, SAFC) to take the harness off at the ECU and put it on the engine first. i want to splice these wires before i put it in, but i still have to get the porting done and get the trans bolted up. i still dont know how to cut the pilot bushing
 
It may take a while, but turn the motor over by hand until the cams line back up, that way you know its timed.

Also double check your cam caps and make sure the stampings are all oriented correctly (1L, 2L, etc.)

CHECK THE PULSE WHEEL! :blackeye::laugh:
 
did it, did it, and i marked out the pulse wheel off the 2.5L and used that again. nothing like paint marker saying "this side out" and an arrow at the right keyway.

everything should be great i just need the info on the wiring.
 
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