No. Dist has to come out to change the cam. intake has to come off as well.

 

Change the cam and the fuel sync has to be done anyway, add about $80 thats what shops up here charge.

 

RnR said he was able to change the cam without removing the dizzy, me I just pull the dizzy and the oil pump gear shaft or intermediate shaft when installing a cam in these motors.

 

I didn't think you could pull the last bearing surface past the dist drive gear.... sure doesn't look like it on my engine...... (on the skid... not the one in the truck. )

 

^^^ Nor did I, but I have never tried it.

 

Happen to have a cam laying about? Have a look at the distributor drive gear, and the rearmost bearing. If that bearing isn't signifcantly smaller than the gear, gotta pull the drive to get the cam out. (posting a pic would be nice. )

 

i was able to pull the old cam out without removing the dizzy. however, i removed the dizzy afterwards, to make things easier for putting the new cam in.

 

I'm tossing ideas around, for now I'm just trying to get somethings straightened out on what I want to do...I think I won't replace the heads yet and re-use the old ones( I know not the best idea) but that'll give me cash for the cam and valve springs if I can spare it. That way down the road when I have more cash I'll replace the heads then which is a heck of a lot easier to replace than the cam. Thanks for everybody's input!

 

You haven't shed any light on what you are going for, therefore, people can't give you recommendations with the rough budget you stated. Let's say you get a very aggressive camshaft, then you have to deal with tuning and streetability, assuming it will be street driven (DD?). Expected usage matters here. That is just an example. There are a good handful of people here that have done a camshaft swap and nothing ran right. Will mpg be a factor for you? Being in N. Dakota (if your profile is correct) does not require any emissions check. Good for you jerk. :P Those kinds of details would help in the responses here.



I don't remember the specifics but I'm sure Wild and/or Merc will share and I recall that going to higher lift also impacts the stock valve covers. Is it also recommended on doing RRs that pushrods be replaced?

Well, keep in mind that when you pull the heads, it is possible that you find cracking. Also, on the note of replacing valve springs, does that mean going to taller ones or just stock ones?


Note, as far as I know, I'm the only one that has replaced my camshaft and not needed fuel sync set. The reason is b/c I marked my distributor housing on the block to know exactly it's position prior to removal.

 

Yes, the 5.2 cam is different than 5.9. The 5.2 actually has a little more lift.

It's wise to replace the cam bearings if you do a swap, but not mandatory I guess. The problem is the rearmost cam bearing cannot be replaced without pulling the motor.

How is your motor running? After messing with a few 5.2s and 5.9s my personal rule is to never fudge with a perfectly good motor.