After spending the last several days removing the Cam Shaft gear (big pain) from my 88 F150 inline 6 - 300, I'm now ready to install the new one along with a new crank shaft gear (matched set).

My questions is which gear to install first? The teeth on these gears in angled so that if one is installed, the other will not slip straight on. I'd hate to damage the fiber cam gears while installing this thing. I have the proper tools to pull on the cam gear (7/16" threaded bolt), just want a little reassurance before I proceed.

Thanks

 

The crank gear.

stractor

 

Sorry, scratch that -----get the cam in place and the retaining bolts torqued and then start the crank gear so the correct teeth mesh and use the crank pulley bolt or some other grade 5 or 8 bolt to pull the gear on the crank. Be careful that the timing mark on the crank gear is on the side towards you. Better yet get a book on Ford trucks and read it before you start.

stractor

 

You might find the procedure here.

 

Helical cut gears "roll" off each other creating more surface to surface contact allowing for much more power transmitance and smoother, quieter operation. The cam will not fit "straight" in, but if you allow it to rotate into position, you'll be fine. It may take a few tries to ensure the timing marks are aligned. Put the crank on first, then deal with the cam - it will be easier to rotate the cam than the crank.

 

You probably don't want to put the crank gear on first , because you will have a hell of a time getting the cam seated in the cam bearings, while trying to juggle the timing marks and keep from dammaging the cam bearings. Put the cam in and bolt it in and torque the two bolts ,slide the crank gear on and have the correct tooth entering the cam gear, mind the front of the crank gear has the dot, the side towards you. You don't have to turn the crank as when you draw the crank gear into place the cam will rotate on its own, and if lined up with the correct marks ,index itself.. There is no load on the cam so it will turn very freely. When you try to remove the old cam gear from the cam , DON"T grab it by the cast iron thrust plate. If you can't get the cam off, you may have to break the plate to put a gear puller on the cam. This cam is not going to part with the gear easily. I ended up sawing the gear off the gear hub and breaking the cast iron thrust plate to get the gear puller on the hub to remove it. The thrust plate is cheap ( $8 from ford) so you should replace it anyway. DON"T LOOSE THE CAM GEAR KEY as they are no longer available. Search my posts and I think I wrote a removal and replacement article for cams.



stractor

 

The above is assuming you have assembled the cam gear to the cam in advance. If you do so don't forget the cam thrust plate. It is much easier to preassemble the cam and gear as you can hold the cam in padded vice jaws and draw the gear on using the threads in the cam nose. Best use a grade 5 or 8 bolt to do the drawing as it is a near press fit and you run the risk of snapping a plain bolt. Home Depot has grade 8 bolts. Use blue locktite on the two bolts that hold the cam in place and a torque wrench.

stractor

 

Thanks to all for your advice. I just sucessfully got both gears installed and am ready to replace the front cover and everything else so I can get back on the road. But first I'm going to flush out the oil pan because i'm sure it's full of the old cam gear's teeth.

Bruce