SirKnightTG

I'm quite confident that it is not due to the quality of the cats. In your situation, any cats - even stock - would have done that. The tune was overly rich and cats will fail when raw fuel hits them and ignites. Like you said, you could always smell raw fuel when the car ran and the MPG was horrible. That points to a fubar rich tune which lead to the cats failure.

Boozshey

[quote=SirKnightTG;6962251]Many doods over on s197forum say that they always remove the front cover (including BBR) when doing a cam swap.[quote]

That is true... But man what a pain in the *** that would be. But I think after I put this motor back together and I decide on which cams to get again, I will pull the cover. Only for the reason that if something goes wrong I am not worrying about it being that. Cause that was the first thing that everyone asked... "Did the chain jump?" and no matter how many times I said I was sure, I was still second guessed. And in all honestly how the hell would I have known to a 100% certainty that it didn't other than my own belief.

SirKnightTG

The SPR stage 2 blower grind sounds wicked as hell. I don't know if you have heard JDWalton's videos with them. They sound meaner than Thumprs and Hot Rods by far and gain great with FI. Plus, you already have the limiters which SPR needs anyway.

Boozshey

Nope, sold the limiters with the thumprs... Made it easier to sell as a package, but I do have springs now, so I am good on that side again...

I will just do lock outs this time if/when I do cams. Only because I have been looking at getting the mezier oil pump which makes the VCT useless and requires lockouts.

So that's whats making it hard. I need a new oil pump... cobra with billet gears or mezier, both cost the same... But will determine the future cam choice... :/

SirKnightTG

Well lock outs are cheaper and will eliminate any timing weirdness that VCT can have.

So Comp 127550 it is! I'd let the cams dictate what pump to use if it were me.

Boozshey

But the driveability with them is what I am worried about. Though this isn't my daily driver it is my long distance driver... So I will still need to be able to travel with it... :/ Choices.... grrr

hammeron

booz, i think driveability is going to be just fine if you
go with lockouts. i drove around for a long time with
VCT disabled below 4750 rpms and it felt fine.

there may be a very small gas mileage penalty and a small
peak horsepower reduction at high rpms, but that should be
the jist of it.

Boozshey

Oh I mean with the 127550 cams...

JDWalton

All right, I would not do the cam install that way. You can save time durring the uninstall by removing caps and pulling followers, however when you go to install.... I can not remember off the top of my head but the torque specs on those caps for the cams is low. I want to say like 18 ft/lbs. The springs and followers apply an awful lot of pressure back against the cams. I dont think its would be possible to set your torque and know its true on those caps, as you have no way of accounting for the pressure from each follower. Something like a cam install, you want to get done right.

For those thinking about pulling the cover... Done it twice now, its not that bad, just make sure you mark what screw came out of what hole, as Ford decided to use like 5 different screws to hold the front cover to the block.

Also, about the 127550s. Want to buy mine? lol, I'm already going through this weeks set of plugs. They are a AMAZING cam, do not get me wrong. The power is crazy and I pull 0 - 120 way quicker then I thought I would. But these dam plugs... If you had the newer head, I think you would be in better shape, as there are alot more plug choices in the mod 08 and up heads. But I am cooking these electrodes so fast.

Boozshey

That's my worry on my cam selection. I will run at the track yes. I am not worried about getting that last 10th or last hp out of it. I will also drive to shows and show off the car, so sound is just as important.

But again I have to maintain a sort of drive ability without going through $75 every 2 weeks for plugs...

About the install...
There is some pressure, but I don't believe there is more than 18lbs on them. If that's a worry, use a torque wrench when you do it, if you are pushing on them more than that then move to the next one. but I promise you it isn't that much. I remember doing it with my 1/4" socket wrech and it wasn't very hard.