Camshaft question

[tibZ]

I am in the process of removing all my valves to clean up the mess of very old dirty sticky gooey slime and carbon covering the head. One of the books suggest I don't even think about taking off the cam support towers as they are bored in place.

I want to de-grease and hose off the head and I was wondering if I should slide the cam out to prevent water from entering the bearings in the towers.

Visually looking at the cam though, it looks to me that the lobes have a larger OD then the bearings and I would not be able to slide it out?

Anyone with experience with this situation? If it's as easy as removing the retaining plate and sliding it out I may try it, if not, will hosing it down cause any issues later on?

Thanks, Mike

[JimmyZ]

You can take off the towers. Just make sure that they are marked. My towers have letter stamps on them but you could even use a nail/hammer to make a series of small dots. Just search the various Z boards and you'll see it's very common to remove the cam towers. Search for details about getting them back on and aligned right.

The cam slides right out.

Make sure that you keep the valves in order also. I got a bunch of dixie cups for mine.

Water isn't an issue as you can blow the oil passages clean with compressed air. I bead blasted my head which removed everything undesireable. Laquer thinner cleans well but doesn't remove chemical deposits. If you don't have a compressor you could just shell out a few bucks for a head shop to clean it. They can also inspect the head for a small fee. Well worth it.

Jim

Edited November 2, 2008 by JimmyZ

[Walter Moore]

Yes, as Jimmy Z said, the camshaft slides out easily, but of course you have to back off the rocker arms and remove the timing sprocket (I think...)

Anyway, it is crucial that if you remove the towers, they must go back on in the right place, and be reinstalled properly. I know that there is a thread here somewhere that describes doing that because I specifically asked the question when I reassembled my cylinder head.

To save money, I reassembled my cylinder head after it was repaired and had new valves installed. It can be done, just be careful. Oh, and re-installing the valve springs is a royal pain. They are way stronger than most of the valve springs I have dealt with in the past. If the head is off the car I recommend using a "C" style spring compressor because it holds the valve in place, and you will need that.

[tibZ]

Thanks for the reply's.

I have bagged all the valve components in baggies for cleaning later. I didn't use a compression tool, I am fortunate to have a bridgeport milling machine in my basement. I cut some slots in a small length of pipe and used the quill to hold down the spring while I removed everything. I found no damage at all, just a black sticky mess that I need to clean off everything. I would rather not remove the towers if I don't need to. I do have a compressor that I will blow through the oil passages after cleaning. Thanks.

ps let this be a reminder....change your oil!