How do you install the camshaft on a 69 GTO?

Answer 1

This is NOT a job for someone who isn't accustomed to doing engine work. Disconnect the battery. set engine to top dead center. Mark location of distributor housing and rotor. Remove valve covers, distributor, oil pump drive rod, intake manifold and valley pan. Loosen rocker arms enough to remove pushrods, make note of which one came from where and which is top and bottom. They need to be replaced the same way and place they came out. Remove lifters. Remove all accessories from front of the engine. Remove water pump and housing. Remove harmonic balancer and timing cover. Make sure timing marks on crank and cam sprocket match up. Remove timing chain bolts and timing chain. Remove cam thrust plate. Insert long bolt into camshaft and carefully slide it out, make sure to not damage cam bearings. Apply cam break in lube to lobes and journals of new camshaft. carefully slide cam in. Replace thrust plate. Replace timing chain. Make sure engine is still at top dead center and timing marks line up properly. Install timing chain bolts, make sure you use a lock plate. Use cam lube on NEW lifters and install lifters. Replace timing cover, harmonic balancer and water pump. Reinstall pushrods and tighten down the rocker arms... Pontiac engines had a non-adjustable valvetrain, so no adjustment should be necessary if original, stock valvetrain is intact. Reinstall valley cover and intake manifold. Reinstall accessories on front of engine. Make sure engine is still at top dead center. Reinstall oil pump drive rod and distributor, align body and rotor with marks you made before removal. Reinstall valve covers. IMPORTANT NOTE: If new camshaft has higher lift than the old one, you MUST replace the valve springs with springs recommended by the camshaft manufacturer!!!! Make sure everything you removed has been properly reinstalled. Connect the battery. Start engine and break in cam for 30 minutes by running the engine between 2000 and 3500 RPM slowly going up and down between those two engine speeds. Do NOT let the engine idle for the first 30 minutes. NEVER use used lifters on a new cam OR a used cam if it came out of a different engine! Idling during break in or using used lifters will wipe the cam lobes, and you will have to replace the cam again within hours of installation.

Once again, if you haven't done a lot of engine work, I recommend paying a mechanic to do this job. There are a LOT of things that can easily go wrong here, and many can and will result in severe engine damage if this job isn't done right. You REALLY should at the very least, obtain a Chilton's manual to do this job, if for no other reason, it will provide the torque specs for all of the bolts you will have to tighten down in the proper sequence and to the proper torque specs. If you don't understand what I just explained VERY clearly, you probably should NOT attempt to do this job yourself. If you do decide to do this job yourself, I am NOT responsible for any damages, injury, or any other grief you may experience. This really is one of those jobs that if you don't know what you are doing, DON'T attempt to do it because you will cause FAR more harm than good.