cam gear? newbie needs help
 

Ok so I picked up a dirt cheap 1994 F-150 sport with a dead inline 6 300 (174k miles). I trust the guy I bought it from, he says the cam gear is shot.

While I know how to turn a wrench, this engine is new to me. I own a couple dodge/cummins and can do about anything I want on those. I just don't know how hard of a job it is to change a cam gear on this 300.

I would appreciate any help you guys can offer me. If its more work than its worth I might just drop in a 12 valve cummins I got sitting around for fun :D

I have never done this myself, but I am getting ready to.

If the cam gear is bad, you will need to change both the cam gear and the crank gear.
You have to pull the vibration dampener/pulleys off the crank. Then pull the timing cover. I believe the crank gear will slide off without too much effort. The cam gear, unfortunately, is pressed on. It can be really hard to pull it with the cam in the engine. Most people end up pulling the cam out. This is time consuming. You have to take off the valve cover and the lifter cover on the side of the block. You have to back off the rocker arms, pull the push rods, pull the lifters. The pushrods and lifters need to go back in the same spot they came out of, so keep track of their position (most critical for the lifters). You will have to pull the radiator and maybe the grill too to get the cam out. When taking the cam out and putting it back in, be careful not to ding the cam bearings. It is easy to let a lobe run into one and nick it or scratch it.

Once the cam is out, you may want to take it to a machine shop to have them pull the old gear and press the new one on.

Some people have reported that they were able to pull the gear at home. You have to be careful not to bend or scratch the thrust plate behind the gear. Some have reported that they were even able to pull the cam gear without removing the cam from the engine. It is not easy to get a puller on it, and often the puller just breaks off part of the edge of the gear rather than pulling the gear, and you can end up with broken pieces of gear down in your oil pan.

If you do a search for timing gears on the site, you will probably find more info.

Hope this helps.

Thank you! that is a big help. while the cam is out is it beneficial to replace it with an aftermarket cam of some sort?

LoL sorry I'm just not that good with engines that use spark plugs. My cummins made a pretty good gain with a max spool cam though :-jammin

Use caution when pulling the gear off the cam not to get the puller bahind the retainer. It's pretty hard steel and easy to break. It's even harder to find one after you break it.

And when those fiber timing gear goes, you'll find your oil pump pickup is jammed with the remains.

The gear usually starts chipping up little bits before it goes completely. My gear was still holding but had nearly clogged off the oil pick up already.

Boy, can I testify to that!!! I broke my thrust washer trying to get the cam gear off and it took me almost six hours to find someone online that carried it. It's cheap, but a bitch to find.

Thanks guys, I have been out on the road and haven't had a chance to even push the truck into my garage yet to get started. I ordered the new gears and they should be here Thursday and I should be home Friday to tear into it.

I will search for the write up, it would help a lot!

Yup. Me too. Just did this a few weeks ago and had to drive 45 min. each way to my parents to get one off my other engine there. I think it's cast steel, case hardened by the look of it. Wears good, but very brittle. I called around and the nearest one was at a dealer 3 states away. This on a Friday afternoon. I'd spent weeks collecting parts, getting machine work, etc and wanted to assemble over the weekend. It would be Tues. to get a new part. Wish I'd ordered if I'd had any idea how tight that thing was on there! Trashing the gear and the cam, I only wanted the plate and the key. What a lot of crap for one little part. Anyway, both of mine were on so tight I'd recommend pressing it off. I didn't have the luxury of a press(or a buddy with one), so I tried a puller, busted the fiber gear, couldn't get between hub and plate with jaws, so I figured the plate would be tough enough. Wrong! Be careful with this, so you don't end up with pieces!

Well I think today is the day that I am going to start this project of swapping out the cam gear.


I did a search but couldn't your write up ? I also tried to search to see if a piston and valve could meet when the gear goes.. but couldn't find anything on that either

The 300-6 is a non-interference engine so you're safe. You really should pull the pan and clean all the gunk out as well or you'll be back in there quite soon.

I don't think so, since the pistons do have a valve recess (not sure if it lines up now that I think about it), but the valves are way up inside the combustion chambers as well. I don't think they hang very far below the bottom of the head at all, unless you put in a big cam.

Read the following, it is a post I wrote some time back. The engine being described is a 1990.
1. Remove the valve cover
2. loosen the rocker arms and remove the push rods and number them.
3. remove the distributor--- line up the dist to number 0ne first and note where the timing mark is ( should be between 0 and 10 degrees on the timing plate ) try not to turn over the engine from now on.
4. remove the valve lifter cover behind the dist, the long and wide tin thing on the drivers side of the engine.
5. remove the lifters and mark them as to where they were, an egg carton makes a good container.
6. the cam is held in with two bolts behind the gear , they are assessed through holes in the cam. If you have to turn the engine to get the cam to move return it to where it set in step 3.
7. You should be able to remove the cam, be VERY CAREFUL not to tear up the cam bearings when you pull the cam. Pull it out slowly and lift it at the same time and you will be able to feel the cam bearings as the journals slide in and out of the bearings, there 6 or so cam bearings you have to clear.
On my truck I had to remove the radiator, ac condenser, and grill and drop the bumper to clear the way for the LONG cam. At this point you can devise some way of removing the gear. As mine was fiber , I sawed off most of the gear and took a hack saw and carefully split the steel hub of the fiber gear. Even with all this I had to use the largest gear puller I had and it didn't give up easily.
A word of caution, when you unbolt the cam from the engine you will be unbolting the cam thrust plate, This is a cast iron oval plate just under 1/4 inch thick and it is ground on both sides. DO NOT TRY TO PUT A PULLER ON THIS PLATE to pull the gear you will end up with a two part plate. In fact you may have to break this plate to get the jaws of a puller behind the gear and if you are careful in splitting the gear hub you might save the plate Don't loose the cam gear key you can't get them. While this is all in parts on the ground look at the cam and lifters.Now is a good time to replace the cam, lifters ,thrust plate and push rods. Check the web for a Melling cam kit and timing gears( yes it is the same Melling that used to sponsor Bill Elliot in Nascar). It's stock and the cam kit will go for around $80. with cam and new lifters in the kit. The gear set is about $35 and the thrust plate is $20 or so. Push rods are $1.50
each. Gasket kit for the side cover and the front cover( get the one that comes with the front seal ).
Before you run out and do all this get a good manual for Fords and read up on this. I have described what you would do for a 1990. Yours might be slightly different. Its not as hard as it sounds , it just pisses you off when you find the cam won't clear the front bumper as it is too long
As far as timing the cam , replace both gears . A good puller will remove the crank gear easily, I think Auto Zone has a loner gear puller for the crank gear.If you replace the crank gear and you should, make sure the DOT IS FACING OUT!!! It is also cheap enough for you to buy a puller, about $15. Getting the gear on is the easy part as long as you REMEMBER---to put the spacer and thrust plate back on first. I am assuming your cam has the spacer and thrust plate behind the gear, I think they all do. To replace the gear you get a grade 8 bolt from home depot to match the threads inside the cam nose, mine was 7/16 x 14 tpi. Yours may be different but the grade 8 bolt is for safety so you don't break it off in the cam while you are using it to pull the gear on. Any way you put the spacer on first with the bevel to wards the cam and then the thrust plate , if it is worn get a new one from ford for $8, then the key goes back in the cam, save the original key as they are no longer available from ford and they seem to be a hardened key. Start the gear on the cam and make sure it is going on straight , I made an aligner out of some scrap brass turned on a lathe so it fit inside the gear and had a hole through it of 7/16 to match the bolt. Start the gear by hand , it won't go far, find a heavy washer with the inside hole the size of your bolt and the outside larger than the hole in the gear.Thread the bolt in the cam nose and tighten away, a little oil is helpful, and you will pull the gear on the cam. Be careful of the following----- on my cam the nose of the cam stuck out of the gear about 1/32 of an inch when seated all the way, and there was very little clearance between the thrust plate and the cam gear. It should be .005 or something like that. Using the above method the cam will stop moving when the nose hits the washer. I noticed at this point that the trust plate
had a lot of clearance and I realized that the gear had to keep moving. I made a spacer about 1/4 inch thick to put between the
washer and the gear so the nose would pull through more, the inside diameter of the spacer was larger than the cam nose.

wow guys! THANK YOU! your write up's will really help me along! Who knows how many other people it will help if/when this turns up in a search.

Just make sure not to set the press behind the plate, it will break. I think just about everyone who has changed a timing gear set has broken at least one plate.......

I'll save you a world of hurt......Get a bolt on type puller and run some coarse thread lag bolts through the puller and drill them right in to that fiber gear. Worked for me after breaking a bunch of chunks off of that gear trying to pull it off. I didn't have to pull the cam out....

Well guys I figured I would give you all an update. I have a pile of parts on the floor of the garage and the cam is hanging half way out. I am back out on the road for 2 weeks so I will have to finish it up when I get back.

haha actually I have considered it, can these engines be bored out at all for any decent gains?

Yes its an EFI engine. This truck is a dog (last time it was running) To be honest I don't know what the stock hp/tq ratings even are. It is 2 wheel drive reg cab short bed with a 5speed and 2.73 rear end, yes it really is 2.73 I double and triple checked the axle code.

I am thinking about pulling the engine shortly after its running and installing a new powerplant and using the 300 for another project. But I need to find out how much the 300 weighs, ect. Correct me if I am wrong but I think its hard to find a cam that is compatible with the computer.

Figured I would post an update.

I got home from being on the road and got the cam all the way out. Took the cam into town to a shop to get the old gear pressed off and the new one pressed on, When I showed the guys the cam they said "well we can't promise you that the thrust plate won't break when we do this, do you still want us to try?" I said yes to go ahead..

Sure enough the thrust plate shattered (grrr). They gave me back the cam and didn't charge me because they broke the plate. I couldn't find a new thrust plate ANYWHERE except a junk yard but I wasn't about to pull ANOTHER cam out myself just for the plate so I went by the ford stealer and ordered one for $30. It should be here Tuesday but I will be back out on the road again for another 2 weeks before I can put this thing all back together.

It feels like I'm never going to get this thing done!

Thanks for all your help so far guys!

Just stumbled upon this thread doing a search for cam install information. The writeup on how to remove and reinstall the cam was great. I've had a very difficult time tracking down information on which way the cam spacer goes on (even my original 81 Ford shop engine manual doesn't say).


Ford 6 cylinder inline engines Cylinder head bolts / fasteners

For anyone who needs it, that site has the thrust plate, and a kit that includes the cam key, spacer, and new thrust plate bolts.

I figured I'd forgo the whole frustration with the fiber gear and just bought everything new since I was putting a new cam in anyway. Put a new spacer, thrust plate, and timing gear on my new cam. Take the old one out and chuck it all in once piece.


Ever get your project finished kc8yhk?

Heh, no worries. I have a new set of Comp timing gears sitting in my garage. I figured if I'm going to do the work, I want quality!

Definitely owe you a cold one anyway! Planning on trying my hand at making it this winter as is. :D

Ford newbie cam gear removal
 

kc8yhk. You do not need to pull the cam from the engine. To much work. To get the gear off. You will need a 3 arm puller(gear). It will probably break the gear into pieces. If it`s a composite gear. You will be left with a metal sleave aroung the end of the cam. Try pulling this off. It that don`t work loosen the thrust plate and grab that. It will probably break but, you will have plenty of metal on the sleave to grab with the puller and remove it. The new gear can be pressed on with a 7/16 inch bolt,nut and washer.

Removal Of Fiber Cam Gear - Read This!!
 

Yes you can remove the fiber cam gear without the special Ford tool. You must break the fiber gear apart to leave just the center bushing on the camshaft I used a dremel tool with a wood cutting disc. Be careful to cover up the exposed parts of the engine and the entrance to the oil pan because it gets messy. I used a dremel tool to avoid hammering on the gear so as not to damage the camshaft bearings. Don't use a hammer for anything pertaining to the camshaft. Once the bushing is exposed use a power steering pulley puller to grab the ridges on the bushing. Also, take a welding clamp and tighten it down on the two legs of the puller to give it extra bite. It should come right off. In order to replace the gear you will need a 7/16 course threaded bolt and a stack of washers. When removing or replacing the gear use the access holes in the gear, the 7/16" center bolt and ratchet and socket to keep it from turning. Be very gentle with the cam shaft.

A few more things you'll need
 

You will also need two 5/16" x 18 x 4" grade 8 bolts to use with your puller in order to remove the crankshaft gear behind the damper. Also, I would recommend that you buy a 5/8" x 2 1/2" fine threaded grade 8 bolt to use instead of the original 2" damper bolt. Sometimes the damper will not go on smoothly and you will need a longer bolt to get it moving or risk stripping the threads on the tip of the factory bolt.

Since you probably will not have the timing cover alignment tool you will have to put the gear on with the damper, pull the damper off, put the timing cover on loosely then put the damper all the way on, tighten the cover, remove the damper to get at the timing cover bolt behind the damper then put the damper back on. That's 3 times the damper will have to be put off and on.

Do you have to lift the engine
 

I just wanted to know if I to lift the engine off the truck frame alittle bit before taking the cam out

You won't need to take the cam out at all. Having said that, DO NOT pry the cam gear off or hammer the new gear on since you can damage the camshaft bearings. You should use pullers for removal and the right bolt to push the new gear in place.

On youtube there are several videos from a guy named SteveAZ711 where he fixes timing gears on a 1987 300. You will learn that removal of the fiber cam gear requires a special puller that is no longer available. In the video the guy taps the fiber gear so he can use a puller. Instead of tapping the fiber gear and using a puller I cut the fiber off and used a type of power steering pulley puller and a welding clamp (to make it grip better) to remove the remaining bushing.

It's a challenge but the video explains everything well. Good Luck.