tez_14_2000

Hey folks,
I bought a whipelash ii cam kit from englandgreen and have started fitting it myself.
I was going to post a thread on how it goes etc, but then i figured, youv all probably seen it a hundred times by now! lol

Anyway,
Ive got the car pretty much ready for removing the rocker covers, taking out the rockers and rods, and pulling the cam:



But, im at a bit of a stick, im sure i can make up some kind of compression tool for changinf the springs, and i can get a land of a spring conpressor, but when changing the cam itself, im undecided how to hold the followers up. it seems theres three ways
First, is a wing and a prayer.. flick the cam round a few times, and hope the followers stay up by themselves... not feeling this option really. lol
Second, is using 16 pen magnets to hold them up from the top. but here in rip off N.Ireland, to get 16 magnets which would suit would cost around £50 sterling, plus, with our shipping times, could take weeks!.. so thats plan B.
The third is using a 'tool'... whick looks to me like a bar with a flat face on it, which pushes through the block, stopping the followers falling.. but the tools $110 , which by the time it gets here, is twice the price and again, could take forever... but ive hear a length of 5/16 bar can be used instead... and will do the exact same job.

I wanna know if there are many poeple used this method of plain 5/16 bar, and if its a neat enough fit to be a full proof method of stopping the followers falling?
Cheers,
Terry.

vettenuts

I used 5/16" rod and round the ends. Note it won't let the lifters fall out, but it won't stop them from coming down enough to cause issues with cam removal/installation. As for the valve springs, you don't need a compressor. If the piston is at the top, the valves won't fall and only go down about 3mm before they hit the piston. Easier way to change them IMO.

jedblanks

The lifters wont fall. Pen magnets offer extra warm and fuzzy.

Tool probably isn't necessary. If they do fall, there is probably something worn in your lifter or tray anyway and you need to pull the heads and change them.

chevylad

you could always make something up with some really strong refrigerator magnets. Some rare earth magnets glued onto a stick.

Venomous

Go to your local lumber supply company or hobby place and pick up some either 5/16 or 3/8 dowel rods made of wood. They will not nick or gouge cam bearings and hold the lifters just fine. They should not fall out but if the lifter tray keepers have rotted and broken they will drop to where the cam will not glide in easily then you have to worry about the cam nicking the bearings.

tez_14_2000

Cars a 2003 Z, only 9000 miles on it... so hopeing theres little wear and tear in it.
This is something ive never attempted before, so prefere to have plenty of opnions on the matter to give me a solid idea of what im doing next... so thanks for the come backs.
I can get steel rod pretty handy, i thought if i tapered the end of each on, it should slot in quite smoothly.

vettenuts

Here are the ones I made. Have used them on a couple of swaps. The one I had the most trouble with was a low mileage 04, likely because the lifter trays held the lifters well and they were hard to get up into the tray by spinning the cam. After someone on another forum broke off a wood dowel, I would hesitate using wood for this.

tez_14_2000

Pics are great...Thats exactly what i mean... so what size rod is that youve used vettenuts? and provided you can get teh lifters out of the way, to locate the rods into place.... these will 100% stop the followers falling right?
cheers.