xtturbo

i have a few questions. lets see if anyone can answer them. i have a 302. i have the gear drive for it. my buddy was helping me put it together tonight and we installed the cam, then we put the gear on the cam...he lined up the dots in this manner....crank shaft dot is up top, the cam gear is up top....isnt it suppose to be on the bottom? facing down.dot too dot?i also have it set on the 0. he tried too put it on the A. also when i went to bolt the heads on...i have ARP bolts. the short bolts on the bottom are longer than the stock bolts? should i force them down? whats the problem? any help would be helpfull

imnotmy77stang

a) gear drives really suck, i would seriously consider returning it or selling it and buying a decent timing chain. i have first hand experience here, and this is solid advice.

b) about the bolts man i dunno wtf, you shouldnt have to force anything.

xtturbo

i understand about the bolts...but what about the dots?....should they be top/bottom?...or top/top? first top being the crank

67mustang302

Follow the instructions for the gear set. And I hope you realise timing gear sets make a pissload of noise.

xtturbo

ok...im getting rid of the gear drive...it came with the motor when i bought it....once a buy a double roller....does it get setup dot too dot? crank dot pointing up....cam dot pointing down ...lined up?....thats the question...

mjr46

get rid of the gear drive= noisey and a waste IMO.....and the dot on crank = up top and on cam gear = down on bottom and don't line the A up that's to advance the valvetiming events unless you have a degree wheel to check specs don't advance the cam.. most cams have 2-4 degrees advance built into them right out of the box and the bolts?? wtf?? do you have the wrong ones??? part number???

xtturbo

ok...thanks...i have the cam gear set on the 0 .....not A or R ....the part # for the bolts is ....ARP 154-3601

67mustang302

They usually say to follow the factory instructions, but yes, dot to dot. With the engine upright on a stand the crank dot would be at the 12 o'clock and the cam at the 6 o'clock, lined up with each other(a straight line from the center of the crank, through the dots and to the center of the cam).

Technically you COULD put them both up or both down(however, you should not ever do that), since the cam turns at half crank speed and 1 full crank revolution puts the cam 180 degrees away. So if you started with them pointing towards each other and turned the engine by hand once, then the crank dot would still be pointing up, but the cam dot would now also be pointing up, rather than down. All that happens if you swap the cam position 180* is you change the exhaust stroke to a compression stroke etc. But, don't do that, even though it technically will work, you can't be certain you're lining up properly, and may end up a tooth or 2 off(which is a lot). Depending on clearances, it could destroy the valvetrain.

I run a Comp double roller timing set, pre stretched chain with steel gears, it was like $50-60 iirc.

mjr46

head bolts should be fine and the bottom ones shouldn't bottom out s they are open holes going into water jackets and need thread sealant applied and what heads are you using?? also arp requires the use of their moly lube to obtain proper torque setting.

67mustang302

Make sure the threads are clean, and use the proper sealant or lube.