cummins cowboy

did you see sr knights hotrod cam install, what is your opinion on not using a spring compressor at all, instead slowly backing off the caps for removal of the stock cam, then slowly tighting the caps back on when you install the new cam, essentially smashing down the valve springs on the cylinders that have open valves. you would do this by spreading the pressure out among the caps across the top of the head, kinda like how you alternate torquing down a cylinder head. if you could get way with doing that, you wouldn't have to mess with spring compressors or retainers.

JDWalton

Because these are spring required cams, you have to go after every spring anyway. I was going to lay the followers on and and lay the cams in but because I was doing phaser also, instead of laying the 9 unloaded followers in then just having to do the three that are engaged after rotating the motor, I had to ignore motor position when removing the cams so that I could rotate the spring on the phaser to the top position and lock it out for removal. I tried laing the follower in and then putting the cams in, but where mine were positioned it was going to take a lot of force to get the last cap to even start to catch. Was going to chance my motor to cut a corner and save a little time. So, for my install, the compressing sequence when like this.

Position motor
compress spring, remove folower
repeat with other 8 that are up
rotate motor 180
remove 3 other followers
move to 1st cylinder
pressurize cylinder
compress spring, leave stem up
remove keys
remove spring / retainer
install beehive spring / retainer
compress beehive
install key
decompress spring
repeat 2 more time with the other valves in that cylinder
repeat all of that for every other cylinder on that side of the motor
rotate motor to access phaser spring
lockout phaser spring
break phaser locking bolt loose
insert timing chain wedge
remove caps
remove phaser
remove cam
install cam
install phaser
install caps
remove wedge
position motor so that 9 lobes are up
compress spring WITH stem
install follower
decompress spring
repeat for other 9
rotate motor 180
finish last 3


So this is why spring required cams take SO MUCH TIME. Theres no way around many of the compressions. I thought about some things I could have done that would have saved some time here or there, but it just wasn't worth the associated risk. The biggest time saver was the adapter I made for the tool. I went from over an hour per valve to less then a hour for a whole cylinder. Also, I didn't make any more cyst.... lol

deekum1627

nice work jd. and i had a cyst the size of a golf ball on my wrist and it was like cement i had to have it removed, i would of need sledge hammer to break it but if i did that i dont think i would of had a wrist left haha. cant wait to se the cams done bro. now did you bore oil on the cams before installing or no?

Jer5757

Knows how to install a cam and perform minor surgery. And you said you werent a genius. LOL

JDWalton

hey deekum, how did they fix it via surgery though? if they used a high gage syringe and sucked it out, you probably coulda hit it with a book. The first time I did it, mine was much bigger and much harder, as I went a few years without knowing what it was or how to fix it. This one wasn't gonna get to that stage!
Also Jer, I didn't say I wasn't one, I just said I try not to brag... lol If it helps my last job was fixing missile guidance systems, night vision devices and so on, and now I'm a field service engineer for fully automated clinical chemistry analyzers and dna analyzers.

deekum1627

mine was wrapped around the nerve they went it and cut it off. thats all i really now. and at first they tried a cortizone shot and they couldnt even get teh needle in really and that didnt work at all.

10GTSTANG

What uncle sam club did you do that for? What analysers do you work on, GC? I bet a rubber mallet would work on one of those cysty thangs! I once dropped half a keeper into a cylinder, I did not know where it went, but since I had the plug out, I stuck a magnet in the hole, and there it was!

JDWalton

The club was Marines.

The machines I work on are not GC. Mostly all the chemistries and immunoassay's run on the machines I work on. I have some training on PCR stuff also, but not many accounts. Most of the time when you have your blood drawn they end up going on the types of machines I fix. Everything from small bench top ones in a Dr's office, to large fully automated hospital labs and everything in between.

As for the keeper.... wow that scares me. I'm fairly sure mine went down a vein into the oil pan. From what I was told, it should do no harm down there till I can pull my pan and get it out. I was informed that plenty of guys have done it and will not go past a filter in the pan on the oil pickup?

10GTSTANG

I start a new job with Dornier Med tech next week down in FL, they were looking to hire an engineer up your way, I don't know if they found one. I'm an FSE too.

JDWalton

Cool, good luck! I work for Roche Diagnostics, got to say pretty happy with them.