Cam timing

[rkreigh]

Originally Posted by gbrtng

Sounds like a possible solution assuming the screw is steel - you might want to check first.

at one of the gatherings Marc Haibeck talked about the cam timing procedure and although it can indeed be done with the engine in the car he felt it was actually easier and less time consuming to pull the engine.

by having it on the stand you can access everything you need and it will be much better for a first timer.

the Kent Moore tools are often in the hands of the ZR-1 guys and if you put the word out they will likely be happy to loan them to you and give more advice. Marc is a great source of info on cam timing and it's fairly well documented in the supplements and videos but those "little tricks" that make all the difference sure help

I've never done it before and although I've worked on lots of engines, I don't have any LT5 "assembly and cam timing" experience. did get to tear one down with the wazoo gang which was really cool.

good luck. sorry to hear about your misfortune. I know it's aggravating.

[SharkPilot]

Thanks for the good wishes.
I actually got some good news tonight. I picked up a new boroscope at Harbor Freight on Sunday. Tonight my brother and I gave the cylinder a very careful inspection. We could not find the screw in there anywhere. We saw evidence of it bouncing around but it looks like the screw is long gone. This 'scope is really sharp and we got a very good look at both the piston top and cylinder head/valve area. Based upon what I have read I fully expected to find it in there, punched into the head or something like that. The 'scope that I borrowed from work wasn't as sharp and a piece of carbon stuck to the top of the cylinder liner fooled me into thinking it was the screw.
So it looks like I lucked out. I won't have to worry about cam timing or whether or not to pull the engine.
I'm going to perform a leakdown test and provided the readings are good I'll put the whole thing back together and drive it. It was running okay before the plug wire went south so I think it will be fine.
Once again, thanks for the encouragement,
Jim