My first attempt at timing the LT5 camshafts

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Well, after installing the camshafts to factory settings and determining TDC, getting a degree wheel mounted, making a metal bar to bolt on magnetic base, a dial indicator with homemade extension tip, and installing a indicator on the block I was ready. I screwed up drilling the hole in the plate and had to end up on top of the camshaft hold down and not ideal. I don't have a drill press and it would have meant going back to the auto craft shop on the post to drill another hole and it worked anyway.

Thanks Pete for the late night call I had to make when I initally got the camshafts and forgot that since I don't have stock camshafts it was not going to line up so easily like the factory manual and CPT video indicated.



I probably should have waited and not installed the front cover, but I did not have the heads or camshafts then and wanted to keep moving on this. So after establishing TDC before installing the heads I set up the locations on the torsional damper with the timing tab and locked everything down so I would not have to find TDC with the heads on. By the way, the tape was removed from the intake and exhaust ports during the process.



So there are many ways to do this and just threaded some welding rod that I found at the local hardware store with a 4-48 UNF die and cut to length. I was going to do the curve around the camshaft but found I did not need to by catching an area to the immediate side of the camshaft lobe.

It took me awhile intially in the learning process of this and special thanks to information from Marc Haibeck's site to give me the basic idea and more importantly the details from Jim Milstead off this Registry site that explained how to make the adjustments once I found the factory setting was 2 degrees off where I wanted to be for the intake cam.

I went around and around to get the feel and figure out the MOP (maximum opening position) and then got it down to where I feel comfortable and the other three will go much quicker. The bottom line is it was not as difficult as I thought it was going to be or maybe I am more capable than I think I am. I can see why shops would charge quite of bit of labor to do this.

I'm not done with the first cam (left intake) even though I have it adjusted and checked/confirmed a few times. I need to wait until I get help to have to back of the camshaft held for my final torque with new bolt and lots of loctite (not too much of course). Hopefully we can do the final torquing without moving the setting or will be doing it all over again. I did this by myself so it took longer. I know if I had help when making the adjustments it would have been much easier since it does not take much to move the setting once the bolt is loosened and I had to do it more than once to get the right setting and then lock it down with one arm holding the back end and the other tightening the sprocket bolt. The bottom line is get someone to help you......period. I just did it myself to get used to before having my friend come over and went farther than I had planned to; I was just going to set it up and check where the factory setting were at.

Well, I just thought I would share my novice point of view on my attempt with timing the LT5 camshafts. I'm going learn more about this over the next few days and figure out better ways of doing everthing.

Craig