billgot

Does anyone have problems putting the Cam Tower on?I went through 3 Gaskets already it is becoming a pain in the ***.Does anyone have special ways that work for them? I might have successfully did it this time but I got Grease and oil all over the place What are the odds of a leaky Cam Gasket?Any Advice will be great Thanks.

rage2

If you're talking about the rubber donut cam gasket at the end of the cam tower near the headlights, there are 2 versions of it with different sizes, different part #'s. If you install the wrong one, it'll be a leaky mess.

Laust Pedersen

I'll tell you in a day or two, when I put mine on.
Is the problem holding on to the 8 cam followers when turning the tower around?
It may be a 4-hand job.

billgot

I was talking about the main Cam Tower gasket betwwen the cam tower and the Head.I think I will need 4 hands to turn its kinda heavy

Waterguy

Just did it yesterday and it wasn't a problem for me. Clean the cam tower well and get as much oil out of it as possible. Let the cam followers drain well and wipe them dry of oil. Line the cam follower guide holes with assembly lube to hold the followers in place. Clean both gasket surfaces well and put the gasket on the head,where it will be held in place by the two dowels. Ensure camshaft and engine are at TDC #1 cylinder.

Line the cam tower up along the right side of the head while holding it at a shallow angle to keep the cam followers in place, then rotate it into place on top of the valves. The #2 and #3 valves will keep the cam tower a 1/4" or more above the head, so have your lovely assistant hold the tower in place. Use a fine screwdriver or similar to line up the gasket with one of the center top bolt holes, then insert the allen bolt in place and screw it finger tight. At this point the cam tower is held by the two dowels at the end and the bolt in the middle, so it is just a matter of ensuring that the gasket is aligned with each bolt hole as you insert the bolts then snug it down working from the center to the outside.

This job would be much tougher to do by yourself.

jwl

Thomas,
A co-worker and I removed and replaced mine yesterday and it definitly helped to have the extra set of hands to hold the cam followers. Another thing is that if you don't intend to pull the motor any time soon remove the pad eye at the back of the tower to keep it from snaging on the wire harness. Once you roll the cam tower onto the head make sure the followers line up on the valve springs in addition to housing with the fore and aft dow pins. Start two bolts on the top and two bolts on the bottom and snug them up, pay attention to the gasket, check for any binding and install the rest of the bolts, torque to spec.

billgot

Thanks alot guy's I needed some advice from people how did it before.Thanks again all of you.

Tom M'Guinn

I tilt the car as much as possible, so that the top of the head is almost vertical. That way, you just kind of roll the cam tower on, without worrying about all the lifters falling out.

Laust Pedersen

In preparation of the installation I laid the gasket on the cylinder head (fixed by the dowel pins), but saw the potential problem of the sagging midsection (misaligned holes) and gave it a tiny dab of gasket glue there, to hold it in place.

Danno

"What are the odds of a leaky Cam Gasket"

VERY high likelihood, so do it right once. Trick is to take your time! Gently move the cam-tower into position. it should be sideways so the lifters don't fall out. Then you want to get it as close to the head as possible so the lower edge is just in contact. You'll need to wiggle the back end to get around the wiring and stuff. Then just SLOWLY roll the tower over and the lifters will fall out, but not all the way because the tower is already so close. By rolling the tower ower slowly, you can move your hands back and forth to hold the lifters in place. Again, the trick is to have the cam-tower as close to the head as possible before you roll it over.

MHT

glue the lifters in place with some grease that has been put in the freezer to thicken. This will hold the lifters in place so that you don't have to worry about them falling out. I use a long 6mm allen socket to install the bolts, put the bolts on the end of the allen and hold them in place until they are in to the carrier as far as you can reach and then quickly push them the rest of the way and use the allen socket to line them up with the holes and start them, there will be a gap between the head and cam carrier so you will be able to get the gasket lined up and see what's going on.

baron951

I should be able to help you on Sunday ok
billgot all you have to do is use a little gasket spray (high tac I think its called its red) let it sit so it
sticks and you should not have a problem make sure everything is clean first do what mht told you.
spray 1 side of the gasket (the side on the cam tower) let sit for 3 minutes before pressing gasket on to Cam Tower make sure holes line up best to lay cam tower on flat service with weight on top
let this sit for a good hour before install. Dont get any oil on gasket or top of head or gasket will slide

baron951

One other thing you can do but its kind of crazybut full proof is to get some threaded (same threads as holes) rod cut long enough to stick thru holes in cam tower so that you can un screw them one at a time and replace with stock bolts. You can then lay gasket on Head instead of on Cam tower
This will work but just takes more time

baron951

One other thing if you rip that gasket you will have a leak for sure no two ways about it. That damn gasket is a pain in the ***.

Claus Groth

Reading these last posts reminded me that I use Hylomar gasket sealant there. This stuff is available at some auto parts stores and I think that it is made by Permatex. This is a non-drying sealant originally developed by Rolls Royce and is licensed to others to manufacture. One applied to both sides of the gasket, I place the gasket on the head and it stays there. I then position the cam box as others have done.

Also, I took a 6mm right angle allen wrench and cut it so that I have the longest straight wrench that I can. I put sone grease in the screw head and put the screws in by hand. Then tighten with a 1/4" ratchet with 6mm socket.