Cam Install on a 3rd gen with pics

[Matt400]

I thought I would post how I did my cam install.

It’s not meant to be a “how to” just an overview of the way I did it. That’s my disclaimer.

• Drain coolant
  
• Disconnect negative battery terminals
  
• Remove AC condenser
  

I have heard where others have rotated it out of the way leaving the hoses connected but since I have recovery equipment I removed it.

• Remove top cross brace that’s between the intercooler and radiator
  
• Remove intercooler
  
• Unbolt PS cooler and let it hang on the hoses
  
• Remove intercooler pipe to intake
  
• Disconnect transmission oil cooler hoses (special tool)
  
• Remove washer tank (gave better clearance for radiator removal)
  
• Disconnect radiator hoses and remove radiator with transmission cooler attached
  

Doing all that got me here:

#ad

 

[Matt400]

• Unplug fan connector and remove the connector bracket bolt
  
• Remove fan (special tool) Note: it has right hand threads
  

This all got me to this point:

#ad


Notice the repaired core support, (I don't weld that often) I took this after I was going back together

In looking at the core support I thought if I cut out the center top area there would be enough room to get the cam out but I was wrong and had to cut it in half to get it all the way out so it ended up looking like this:

#ad




A better way would have been to cut it in half down the middle.

• Remove fan shroud, mine is an 05 so it is engine mounted
  
• Remove drive belt and marked which way it was on because drive belts don’t like to be reversed once installed.
  
• Remove drive belt tensioner
  
• Remove top idler pulley
  
• Remove center pulley and its mounting bracket
  
• Remove PS pump pulley (special tool)
  
• Remove front timing cover
  
• Line up timing marks
  

I did this by putting 2 bolts in the front crank and using a pry bar to turn clockwise.

• Loosen 4 bolts where the bumper brackets attach to the frame so the bumper slides down some.
  

It was just enough for the cam gear to clear the bumper without having to remove it.



With all that out of the way I put a milk crate under the timing gears and one in front of the bumper to stand on inside the engine compartment. Made it nice standing right in front of the block to do the work now required on top.

• Remove valve cover
  
• Remove all rockers and set aside to reinstall in the same location

 

[Matt400]

• Remove wiper arms and cowl cover
  

I just blocked up the cover without taking it all the way off. It has one screw on each side and the rest are plastic push buttons.

• Remove one bolt from the wiper pivot bracket
  

This made it more easy to get the push rods out and the dowels into the rear cylinder tappets, there are 2 rubber plugs to remove that allow for this.

• Remove all push rods and noted their location so they would go back in the same spot.
  

Here is a pic sliding the dowel down into the rear tappet

#ad


About the dowels. . since I have never done a cam replacement on a Cummins I wanted to see how the dowel was suppose to lift and hold the tappets up out of the way so I had ordered a single tappet from Cummins, it was only $6. 00.

I bought ½” dowel rods from the hardware store and cut them to 12 and ¼” long, 2 are needed for each cylinder.

I drilled a 7/64" hole and then cut the end down to the hole, this allows for the dowel to compress some without cracking.

Here is a pic of a dowel stuffed into the end of the tappet where the push rod goes.

I also tapered the end just a tad for the dowel to start.

• Drop all the dowels in where the push rods go
  

I centered each one on the tappet by feel, it helps to rotate the dowel cuz when its in the right spot you can feel it grip and rotate the tappet.

With the palm of my hand I gave each dowel a hard push and it squashed down into the tappet



Next I raised the 2 tappets on the rear cylinder and rubber band them together, this keeps them raised, they only rise a little bit. I worked from rear to front so I wouldn’t bump my work while leaning over the engine.

Did the rest of them and it looked like this:

#ad

 

[Matt400]

• Remove the 2 bolts on the cam thrust plate and pull the cam out.
  

I worked extra hard keeping the cam straight as it slides past its bearing surface, forcing it or dragging it out will scratch the cam bearings that are pressed into the block.



Now looks like this:

#ad




I used a shop press to change the gear out, it needs to be pressed back on as far as it will go to keep cam end play to a minimum and the cam gear close enough to the cam sensor.



Reverse procedure to finish up.



I blew compressed air into the rocker arm mounting holes to clear oil that ran in there on removal, covering the air nozzle with a rag kept oil from blowing everywhere. Not doing this can cause a hydraulic lock when tightening the bolt giving an incorrect torque value.

#ad




The only thing I used a torque wrench on was the rocker bolts (27 ft lbs) and the cam thrust plate (18 ft lbs).

I have a PS pulley installer but this pump had different threads so I just used a bolt, nut and washer to press the pulley back on.



Welding the core support back in place is what I did, you could probably drill and bolt a piece of metal over the cut. Its awful thin material and doesn’t look like it does much. I had to turn the heat way down on the welder.



Don't do what I did. . I pressed the cam gear flush with the face of the cam and this gave too much end play causing the cam sensor to set a fault code and yes. . that meant doing it all over again



Also Note. . The crossheads that attach the valve pairs have a dot on the top which corresponds to one end being elongated on the bottom. My truck had them all different ways which concerned me and the only data i could find on the subject was this document that mentions all dots should be on the left side (exhaust manifold side) as you look at the engine from the front.

Someone at Cummins designed one end different than the other which makes you think it has a direction but maybe not.



Could be that the elongated end simply allows for small distance variation between the two valves on all the cylinder heads they build so its a mystery at this point.





A valve adjustment is mandatory changing a cam, Cummins spec is:

• Intake- . 006 to . 015
  
• Exhaust- . 015 to . 030
  

With such a wide range I came up with my own custom setting and set the valve adjustment to . 008" Intake and . 017" Exhaust

 

[sag2]

Good write up.

The cam and gear are only serviced as a set from Dodge, so there is no special tool to properly set the gear depth on the camshaft. I guess in hindsight you would have had to measure the back end of the cam to the cam gear, rather than measure the cam gear to the nose of the cam.

 

[jwilliams3]

Maybe its just the lighting of your picture.

But the edges of your cam journals look all chewed up?



PS you can install the crossheads with the dot facing either way.



So have you drove it yet? Results??

 

[Matt400]

Maybe its just the lighting of your picture.

But the edges of your cam journals look all chewed up?

I think thats just the picture, camera flash and oil making it look odd I looked in there and it all looked good. The #2 and #6 journal has no bushing, not sure why but they don't put one in that location.

PS you can install the crossheads with the dot facing either way.

Are you sure about that? I was able to locate one document that said otherwise.

So have you drove it yet? Results??

It has a different tone at idle, hard to explain. . not any more or less noise. Throttle response seems more crisp, I think the turbo is building boost sooner. On the highway it feels good.

My truck is all stock except for the cam and a 3 degree advance on the tone ring so no more fuel is being added, just a change in the air flow & timing.

It will be interesting to see if the mpg's improve any.

 

[hasselbach]

Wow, great write up.



Makes me glad I'M not doing a CAM swap for a while.



Why cut the center brace? Doesn't it just unbolt?

 

[MCummings]

With the motors in 2nd gen trucks, there was only a Cam bearing on the first journal, all the rest were bare block. If I am reading this correctly, the motors in the 3rd gens have bearings other than just the first journal?



With my 2nd Gen, I was able to raise the wipers to a direct upright position, and this gave me enough room to get the pushrods out, but I had to put a 1x2 piece of wood (Actually, used a trashed cell phone :-laf ) to hold the pplastic cover up just enough to give me a little extra room.





Did you replace the tappets when replacing the cam? Many people told me the tappets had to be replaced with the cam, otherwise the cam, or tappet would wear flat.



On my wooden dowels what I do is shave the last 1/8" of them down a little bit so they have a slight cone shape (to help guide them in the tappet), and I take a band saw a cut a "X" in them so the sides can collapse and hold tension on the tappets. I've had very good luck with this method.



The last cam swap I did, I used a hydraulic press to press the gear out, but to put the new gear on, my press was not big enough, so I put the gear in the oven @ 400* for 20 minutes, and left the cam in the shop. I pulled the gear out of the oven (I used a trashed cookie pan so SWMBO wouldn't get oil drippings in the oven), put the gear on the floor supported by two pieces of 2x2 metal tubing to get the gear from sitting flat on the floor, and put the cam in from the top. (Make sure the gear is correctly faced :-laf )





Did you find a gasket for the front cover? I understand the 12v's have a gasket, but the 24V's don't? I have always used Gasket maker/silicone for my truck.





Final question...



Does the PS pulley HAVE to come off?

Would it be easier (for those who don't have the special tool) to remove the pump? OR Could we get away with not removing it at all? Looking at the pics, it looks like it could stay?







I plan to be doing this on my 6. 7, '07 as soon as I pick it up.

Thanks much,

Merrick

 

[jwilliams3]

Merrick,

Some 3rd gens had a cam bushing at both ends of the block.

I know the 04. 5's had both but after that (or sometime there after) they changed back to the one at the front only.



There are no bushings internal ever.

 

[Matt400]

Why cut the center brace? Doesn't it just unbolt?

Yes it does, it has 4 bolts but then you still can't get it out even after removing them because it is slid inside the ends that support the radiator.



The factory way is to raise the engine and I thought I might do that but it looked like a ton more work and since I did the job twice I am glad I didn't go that route.

 

[Matt400]

With the motors in 2nd gen trucks, there was only a Cam bearing on the first journal, all the rest were bare block. If I am reading this correctly, the motors in the 3rd gens have bearings other than just the first journal?

I didn't count them but noted what the manual said about the #2-6 location not using a bushing.

Did you replace the tappets when replacing the cam?

No, PDR didn't recommend it. My truck has 6500 miles on it and I believe the cut off they said was 50K or less on the miles and its not needed.

Did you find a gasket for the front cover?

No, it was silicone only.

Does the PS pulley HAVE to come off?

Would it be easier (for those who don't have the special tool) to remove the pump?

The pulley is in the way of removing 2 of the cover bolts, I pulled the pulley because with a puller its more easy and less time consuming than to remove the pump. The mounting bolts looked hard to get to but yes... you could just move the whole pump.

 

[HeavyHauler]

Remove fan (special tool) Note: it has right hand threads

Unless I've confused myself with simple terms, the fan nut threads on my 2001 were left hand threads (reverse threads). Meaning I had to turn the nut clockwise to remove it.



Does a 3rd gen have a conventional/standard right hand thread on the fan nut?



Good writeup by the way. Did you not have to remove the bumper or did I miss that?

 

[MCummings]

He only had to loosen it to let it droop down. (Saves a fair amount of time especially if you have foglights. )







Thanks Matt.

50k cutoff sounds sweet. I hate having to R&R the tappets.



Great Work!





Merrick

 

[Turbo1Ton]

I have always been told to replace the lifters and cam at the same time. Because of the bearing surfaces 'wearing in' together. I have never heard anything about before or after a certain mileage. Of course this was on gassers. I would assume that they would be the same though. And unless the cost was just rediculous, it would just be cheap insurance.

 

[HeavyHauler]

I have always been told to replace the lifters and cam at the same time. Because of the bearing surfaces 'wearing in' together. I have never heard anything about before or after a certain mileage. Of course this was on gassers. I would assume that they would be the same though. And unless the cost was just rediculous, it would just be cheap insurance.

Yep, that's pretty much just a gasser thing. Don M (F1 Diesel) says NO WAY on replacing the tappets with one of his cams. They are much harder than a stock cam, but not hard enough to require a tappet swap. Everyone on here that has removed tappets has reported virtually no wear on them at all. That's what makes these diesels so great - the components are nearly bulletproof.



Don actually started a ceramic tappet project and scrapped it because it was just unnecessary.

 

[Matt400]

Does a 3rd gen have a conventional/standard right hand thread on the fan nut?

Yes, counter clockwise to remove while standing in front of the fan.

Did you not have to remove the bumper or did I miss that?

I just loosened all 4 bolts at the frame brackets which let it drop down enough.

 

[Turbo1Ton]

Good deal then, thanks for the info! Still really new to diesels so I'm soaking up all the information I can find!

 

[Matt400]

Still really new to diesels so I'm soaking up all the information I can find!

Same here, I been sponging all I can just since 03, allot from TDR.

 

[WUnderwood]

so what cam did you go with as a replacement?