Broken cam!!

[higgie03]

Well the unfortunate has happened. A bolt backed out broke the cam and injection pump gear. My main question for you more experienced guys/gals, how can I remove the cam without disassembling the motor or is it even possible. Thank you in advance for any knowledge given.


Kevin.

 

[BigPapa]

Pull the radiator, CAC, fuel pump, and front gear cover. Remove the valve covers, then remove the rocker towers, then the push rods. Get some 1/2” wooden dowel rod and cut them @15” long and cut a vertical slot in one end @ 1” deep. The slot will allow that end of the rod to go into the tappet with enough tension to pick the tappet up off the cam. Push the dowels through the pushrod holes and into the tappet then lift the tappet off the cam. You can put a rubber band around a pair of the dowels to hold them up or put a clothes pin on them. Now you can pull the cam out. You can get a piece of conduit or exhaust pipe the same diameter as the cam hole and put it in the hole to hold the tappets up or to reseat the dowels if it will be out for a while.

There’s probably a video on it.

 

[Fastback67]

If that's the only thing that broke, consider yourself extremely fortunate.

 

[higgie03]

If that's the only thing that broke, consider yourself extremely fortunate.

I’ve found all of the exhaust pushrods bent. Haven’t gotten to deep as of yet. I have a cam for it already, it’s broken right after the first bearing journal. At this point should I scope it , pull the oil pan?

 

[higgie03]

Pull the radiator, CAC, fuel pump, and front gear cover. Remove the valve covers, then remove the rocker towers, then the push rods. Get some 1/2” wooden dowel rod and cut them @15” long and cut a vertical slot in one end @ 1” deep. The slot will allow that end of the rod to go into the tappet with enough tension to pick the tappet up off the cam. Push the dowels through the pushrod holes and into the tappet then lift the tappet off the cam. You can put a rubber band around a pair of the dowels to hold them up or put a clothes pin on them. Now you can pull the cam out. You can get a piece of conduit or exhaust pipe the same diameter as the cam hole and put it in the hole to hold the tappets up or to reseat the dowels if it will be out for a while.

There’s probably a video on it.

Thank you for the help, any help is appreciated.

 

[mweiman]

Check your crank gear and make sure it did not spin on that small alignment pin. I bought a truck with the same issue and the crank gear was slipped. I think on a first gen you will have to remove the bolts from the bottom of the core support and kind of pull the front clip over a little to get the cam gear slid past the center bar in the core support.

 

[Fastback67]

I’ve found all of the exhaust pushrods bent. Haven’t gotten to deep as of yet. I have a cam for it already, it’s broken right after the first bearing journal. At this point should I scope it , pull the oil pan?

Bent pushrods are never a good sign... at "minimum" I would use a scope to check a few things out, the tops of the pistons would be one area of particular interest.

 

[mweiman]

I had several bent pushrods on mine also. I pulled the head and had it gone through. I don’t recall that there was any damage like a bent valve. The pistons were fine on mine. May be a good time to replace the head gasket anyways while you are part way there and then be able to check everything out.

 

[DavidC]

I’ve found all of the exhaust pushrods bent. Haven’t gotten to deep as of yet. I have a cam for it already, it’s broken right after the first bearing journal. At this point should I scope it , pull the oil pan?

Hate to say it but this is sounding like a tear down.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

The valves hit the pistons squarely but they will still be "tweaked" some and at a minimum you should pull the head for a valve job. That will also make it easier to deal with the lifters and remove the cam. As others noted, check closely for a cracked block, etc. because extreme forces were involved in breaking the cam.

 

[higgie03]

The valves hit the pistons squarely but they will still be "tweaked" some and at a minimum you should pull the head for a valve job. That will also make it easier to deal with the lifters and remove the cam. As others noted, check closely for a cracked block, etc. because extreme forces were involved in breaking the cam.

Thank you for the advice. It’s much needed

 

[RVTRKN]

Its been years since the last time I tore down an engine, the carnage I've seen though is unforgetable. Do a proper rebuild and inspect everything.

 

[higgie03]

Its been years since the last time I tore down an engine, the carnage I've seen though is unforgetable. Do a proper rebuild and inspect everything.

Can I do an in frame rebuild on these trucks?

 

[RVTRKN]

Your asking the wrong person for this info, the last time I tore down the innards of an engine was 1983, sorry. FWIW, even if you could do an inframe rebuild, I wouldn't.

 

[DonFitzwater]

Pull the engine. You’ll thank yourself later.

 

[HPSimpson]

The only way to repair this Cummins is remove from truck period, frame rebuild I would not really try.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

Remove the engine with the head already off. If the bores aren't worn or etched at the top of ring travel, you can just hone the walls with a ball hone (dingleberry type). That assumes you will get replacement chrome rings and that fairly rough finish is appropriate. However, cleaning the block to remove all abrasives is much easier with the block out of the truck.

 

[Philip]

If the camshaft is broken you will have bent valves. I took a head into a machine shop from a broken cam engine. That engine had a injection pump gear break. They replaced 11 of the 12 valves the head had.

I would pull the engine. With it being a cummins it most likely needs a full load of gaskets anyway.

 

[higgie03]

If the camshaft is broken you will have bent valves. I took a head into a machine shop from a broken cam engine. That engine had a injection pump gear break. They replaced 11 of the 12 valves the head had.

I would pull the engine. With it being a cummins it most likely needs a full load of gaskets anyway.

Thank you. I really appreciate everyone’s help

 

[ofelas]

Sorry to hear about this higgie03.

A bit after the fact, but here's a piece you may want to consider - https://shop.dieseltuff.com/Updated-VE-Injection-Pump-Gear-stronger-Updated-VE-pump-gear.htm