[3-fords1000]

Does the motor need to come out?
Do the cam bearing need to be replaced?
Do the pushrods need to be replaced?
Are there any special tools required to do it?
Any concerns I need to aware of?
Any suggestions?


Thanks for your help.

-Jeff

 

[FlamingTaco]

Originally posted by 3-fords1000@Aug 31 2004, 06:42 AM
Does the motor need to come out?
Do the cam bearing need to be replaced?
Do the pushrods need to be replaced?
Are there any special tools required to do it?
Any concerns I need to aware of?
Any suggestions?


Thanks for your help.

-Jeff

The motor needs to not come out.

The cam bearings need to be replaced only if they are near or past their service limit.

The pushrods need to be replace only if they are bent or show excessive or uneven wear on the contact surfaces.

You will need a patience kit to do this job. All other tools are readily available at Sears 1/2 way through the job and an hour after you figure out you will NOT be getting the car done that day.

You should be concerned for your friends. Much like the time you took that fat chick for a ride, they are not going to understand why you will be so proud of what you have done, or why you just won't let it die.

I suggest you check the head bolts while you are in there for good measure. Check the rockers for excessive wear. Be sure to put some assembly lube on the contact points during install. Prime the oil before starting.

 

[FlamingTaco]

Oops, I missed the fact that you are installing a NEW cam. I would put new bearings in with a new cam. It's not required if the cam bearings are not near their service limit, but anything you can do to bring up the oil pressure on an older motor is a good thing. If you've gone to the trouble of purchasing a new cam in the hope of extending the motor's life, you might as well go ahead and install new bearings to match.

 

[godspunk32]

I would think that you would need to pull the engine to make it easier when installing the new car and stuff. Hell, I'd pull it just to be able to clean it and paint it.

JR

 

[3-fords1000]

Thanks. Good info.

At this point, I don't think paint is really a priority. It's not my car anymore and my Bro-in-law isn't a Taurus guy. He longs to have another Mustang.

-Jeff

 

[FlamingTaco]

The engine will need to be lifted at the front of the block to get the cam in and out, but it does not have to come out of the car. Sorry for the incomplete explanation!

 

[3-fords1000]

Would it be easier to get it out than trying to work it in the car?

And does anyone know if the Police cam will work in a base 3.8 without any other changes?


-Jeff

 

[3-fords1000]

:bump:

Okay, here's the situation. The repair manual says to replace the cam if you have to replace ALL of the lifters. Well, if we replaced 1 two weeks ago, 3 this weekend, and a couple more in a few weeks, we don't replace the cam but all the lifters get replaced. How is this different from replacing all the lifters and leaving the cam alone? Will it hurt anything? Are we looking for trouble by not replacing the cam? Money is tight and another $175 for a cam is making things tighter.


-Jeff

 

[95se]

Unless this is a 1988 3.8L it shouldn't matter.. All 89+ 3.8L's use a roller cam, and roller lifters.. If a lifter collapses, you'll have noisy valves.. Big deal, just replace the bad lifters. I don't see how roller lifters go bad anyway.. I reused mine on my Thunderbird SC (same part number lifters as 3.8 taurus) during the hi-po rebuild, and after neaerly 200k they are holding up to the new high lift cam, hi-po valve springs, and 7k rpm a few times by accident. Not to mention the hp and tq numbers listed in my sig..

The police cam is exactly the same as the NA cam of equal years.

My friend had a '91 taurus 3.8L he bought with a collapsed lifter.. Turns out the oil hadn't been changed in 2 years..

It was remedied by changing the oil, and running a bottle of engine flush through the crankcase in 5 minutes.. Dumping it, then puttign fresh oil in it again.. It free'd up the sticky lifter.. Go figure!

Jeramie

 

[3-fords1000]

Originally posted by 95SE@Sep 1 2004, 08:52 PM
Unless this is a 1988 3.8L it shouldn't matter.. All 89+ 3.8L's use a roller cam, and roller lifters.. If a lifter collapses, you'll have noisy valves.. Big deal, just replace the bad lifters. I don't see how roller lifters go bad anyway.. I reused mine on my Thunderbird SC (same part number lifters as 3.8 taurus) during the hi-po rebuild, and after neaerly 200k they are holding up to the new high lift cam, hi-po valve springs, and 7k rpm a few times by accident. Not to mention the hp and tq numbers listed in my sig..

The police cam is exactly the same as the NA cam of equal years.

My friend had a '91 taurus 3.8L he bought with a collapsed lifter.. Turns out the oil hadn't been changed in 2 years..

It was remedied by changing the oil, and running a bottle of engine flush through the crankcase in 5 minutes.. Dumping it, then puttign fresh oil in it again.. It free'd up the sticky lifter.. Go figure!

Jeramie

Well, I don't think we'll get 330 rwhp with new lifters but if worked for you, I'll do it. What kind of warrenty does your advice come with?

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[FlamingTaco]

Originally posted by 3-fords1000@Sep 1 2004, 08:39 PM
:bump:

Okay, here's the situation. The repair manual says to replace the cam if you have to replace ALL of the lifters. Well, if we replaced 1 two weeks ago, 3 this weekend, and a couple more in a few weeks, we don't replace the cam but all the lifters get replaced. How is this different from replacing all the lifters and leaving the cam alone? Will it hurt anything? Are we looking for trouble by not replacing the cam? Money is tight and another $175 for a cam is making things tighter.


-Jeff

The lifters and the cam lobes wear down to match each other's surface. If you replace one but not the other, it's like replacing brake pads but not the rotor. The worse the condition the rotor is in, the faster it will wear down the new pads... but they WILL work if there's no damage to the rotor.

With new cams and lifters, multiply the mileage x10. If your cam is worn it will wear the new lifters until the surfaces match, but as long as the cam lobes are not cracked, pitted, chipped or otherwise damaged, you're still going to get another 100k miles out of it?

Do you think your brother is going to have the car then?

Of course, we don't know why you are changing the lifters at all in the first place. Did the spring fail, causing them to stick?

 

[3-fords1000]

Originally posted by FlamingTaco@Sep 2 2004, 08:40 AM
Of course, we don't know why you are changing the lifters at all in the first place. Did the spring fail, causing them to stick?

We replaced a collapsed lifter a couple weeks ago and now we have found one more that has collapsed and a couple that don't seem to be as "tight" as others. So we are just going to replace them all to avoid having to tear apart the motor again.

 

[FlamingTaco]

Originally posted by 3-fords1000@Sep 2 2004, 10:33 AM
We replaced a collapsed lifter a couple weeks ago and now we have found one more that has collapsed and a couple that don't seem to be as "tight" as others. So we are just going to replace them all to avoid having to tear apart the motor again.

In that case, if the cam lobes look good, don't bother replacing it. You can still replace the bearings if you want to improve oil pressure, but it's a lot of additional work over just replacing the lifters.