anyone know the specs on the stock cam.
Intake/Exhaust Lift?
Duration?
Centerline?
Lobe Seperation?

 

I'm on rock trails and fire road type stuff, hill climbs, so there is a good mix. Rarely any mud. I've done my search and this is the happy medium for me.


Btw -- cam bearings do have a good deal of difficulty to replace. Alignment, clearance, champfer, honing, etc. This is a job for the severely right tool. At least this is what I've learned about the magnum.

 

in my past, I have always had a machine shop put in my camshaft bearings.

 

search?

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...num-360-a.html

Partial info: http://dodgeram.org/tech/gas/specs/5_9v8.htm

http://dodgeram.org/tech/gas/specs/cam.html


Yes, it's better to have a machine shop do it, UNLESS you have direct experience with the process, tools, and space.

 

Yeah, but, how are you going to GET That experience, unless you do it? Catch 22.

Rebuilding a motor can be complicated..... and a lot of it is simply technique, which you develop, and improve, over time. The first engine I built, ran for about two weeks, at which point, it froze, and blew the block into little bitty pieces. (I TOLD my dad to put the friggin anti-freeze in there........ oh well.) Since then, I lost count of how many...... Having the SPACE is one of the biggest challenges. It's gotta be clean, organized, and large enough that you can do what ya gotta. Doing cam bearings on the engine stand/bench is simple. (with the right tools) Doing it in the truck is more fun, and requires far more care. I could rarely afford to pay machine shops to do much of the work on mine, and even when I WASN'T paying for it, I actually ENJOYED doing as much as I possibly could. (made for a nice excuse to buy tools too...... wish I still had them all.....) Ok, I will stop rambling now.....

Do you have something else to drive while the truck is down? How many miles on the short block? May not hurt to just yank it, and re-ring it while its out???

 

You were blessed with one of those fathers too, huh?

I told mine not to touch my car after I had it towed home with a broken oil pump. It was towed 30 miles with the nose in the air, which drained all the oil out of the top end. And of course the old man started it... it clattered like a runaway team on a steel bridge so he revved it "to bring the oil pressure up". Made $1860 worth of artsy looking windows in the block.

I've always sent my blocks out for hot tanking and machining and done the rest myself. I don't trust myself all that much and I trust the other guy even less. And having learned to enjoy it, I'm not going to pay someone else to have my fun for me.

I'm in the same boat tool-wise, and done rambling, too. For now.

 

Have you replaced all/any cam bearings in a magnum v8 while it is in the bay?

Sometimes you keep bad habits from build to build....

Believe me, I was already envisioning myself laying on top of the passenger cylinder head, ouch to the pokey things, and reaching back behind the engine to get the tool in and operating correctly. Wow, that would be a nice contortion, agreed? She might like it....

As long as I don't have to carry large and heavy things, the motorcycle does alright. Just carried the old camshaft and pictures of bearing surfaces over to the machine shop. His opinion (as well as coworker) was that there is no through-wall cracking to the backing plate. There isn't gobs of material removed in similar fashion. The new cam will not even know the difference and the oil pressure will be unaffected.

126K miles.

As to yank and re-ring, yes that was considered as per this post on the previous page: https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2689112-post34.html

Old crankshaft was blessed off too. Meaning it can be reused without issue. Maybe just wet sand the score marks on the 2 lobes. This should drop straight into a 318, right?

 

haven't done 'em in a magnum motor in anything..... On an engine stand.... yeah, but, that's easy. (and I think it was an LA block to for that matter....)

Taking a peek in the 01 manual though, I find this:

REMOVAL—CAMSHAFT BEARINGS
NOTE: This procedure requires that the engine is
removed from the vehicle.

Bummer..... They have the cool tool that does ALL the bearings at once though..... I always did 'em one at a time. No clue if that changes the game at all though...... I am thinkin' that you would be unable to change the rearmost bearing with the engine still in the truck (and trans still in the truck as well....) as there would be no way to drive it out. Not like you can 'pull' it......

Wonder if simply cleaning them up with some 2000 grit emery cloth (silk rag?) would be sufficient?

 

It probably won't hurt to cloth it.


Question: is there some trick to remove the distributor/intermediate shaft? Bolt/latch removed, housing moves, shaft moves, but no liftoff!

Tips?

 

There may be an o-ring in there, or, it may just really like where its at..... and not wanna come out. Twist and pull. Just keep at it. Should come out. Take the cap off, and try spinning the shaft a bit too, as it will have to turn some in order to come out.