Cam swap tips

[Colin15]

Hey first post here. This isn't going to be very well written. I just did a cam swap on my 2015 ram and figured I'd post how I got the oil pickup tube bolt back in without dropping the pan. Hopefully this will save someone else a headache.

I didn't take pictures or a video cause I didn't wanna try it again.

What I did was put a rag into the oil pan then wrap 10 wraps or so of fishing line around the bolt by the head with 2 long tails (wrap it so when you pull the bolt will spin the right way). lined the bolt up and pulled the line.
*Edit* put the bolt in the pickup tube before putting the oil pump back on. I put a small magnet on top to hold it there. Then twist the oil pump so it lines up again remove the magnet and align the bolt using your fingers or the fishing line

Another tip for removing the MDS plugs. If you're not going to reuse them just snap the top off. There's a small cylinder in the middle that's hollow in the middle and has a notch in either side. Stick a small flathead in the notch and put a screw in a little bit. Then I used one of them nail puller screwdrivers to pop them out.

Cam removal - I found that my cam was binding while trying to take it out and would only come out if cylinder 1 was TDC.

I'll keep adding more as I remember the problems I ran in to. I took pictures of some of the things but don't know how to post them. Hopefully this will help someone out.

 

[dell1991]

Hey first post here. This isn't going to be very well written. I just did a cam swap on my 2015 ram and figured I'd post how I got the oil pickup tube bolt back in without dropping the pan. Hopefully this will save someone else a headache.

I didn't take pictures or a video cause I didn't wanna try it again.

What I did was put a rag into the oil pan then wrap 10 wraps or so of fishing line around the bolt by the head with 2 long tails (wrap it so when you pull the bolt will spin the right way). lined the bolt up and pulled the line.

Another tip for removing the MDS plugs. If you're not going to reuse them just snap the top off. There's a small cylinder in the middle that's hollow in the middle and has a notch in either side. Stick a small flathead in the notch and put a screw in a little bit. Then I used one of them nail puller screwdrivers to pop them out.

I'll keep adding more as I remember the problems I ran in to. I took pictures of some of the things but don't know how to post them. Hopefully this will help someone out.

Are u saying u took a shortcut and didnt have to take everything off that u normally would?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[Colin15]

Yeah you can turn the oil pump enough to get the bolt started. It takes a while to get it out just have a magnet handy in case it falls.

 

[Colin15]

Here's a picture of the pickup tube

 

[Colin15]

I used a 5 foot cat bar with a u-bolt on the very end to hold the crank while undoing and torquing the crank bolt

 

[Colin15]

here's how I got the MDS plugs out

 

[Colin15]

Installed the heads with the headers on. The dipstick tube needs to be bent down before the drivers side will go in

 

[Wild one]

What part of Saskatchewan are you in Colin?

 

[Wild one]

Kurtis is a Calgary native,and has a very good cam swap How-to that probably should go here with your tips to help out the guys who are contemplating a cam swap.

https://www.ramforum.com/threads/how-to-4th-gen-hemi-cam-installation.82531/

 

[Colin15]

I'm in moose jaw. His is actually the guide that I followed to do my swap

Sent from my S61 using Tapatalk

 

[Colin15]

If he doesn't mind I could put them onto his post. Better to have it all in one spot

Sent from my S61 using Tapatalk

 

[Wild one]

If he doesn't mind I could put them onto his post. Better to have it all in one spot

Sent from my S61 using Tapatalk

Kurtis doesn't hang around here much anymore,but he's a pretty easy going guy,and I doubt if he'd mind you adding your tips to his thread.If he does,i'll swat him upside the head and clue him in for you,lol.He's a good friend and I get away with picking on him a fair bit,but he also returns the favour,lol. Some of the pic's in his thread are from when we did my cam swap in his shop,and he added them after he'd wrote the article,so anything you want to add i'm sure he'll appreciate. Moose Jaw been a few years since I drank beer in that town,i'm originally from Kindersley and still a die hard Riders fan,lol.
Rick

 

[Colin15]

Kurtis doesn't hang around here much anymore,but he's a pretty easy going guy,and I doubt if he'd mind you adding your tips to his thread.If he does,i'll swat him upside the head and clue him in for you,lol.He's a good friend and I get away with picking on him a fair bit,but he also returns the favour,lol. Some of the pic's in his thread are from when we did my cam swap in his shop,and he added them after he'd wrote the article,so anything you want to add i'm sure he'll appreciate. Moose Jaw been a few years since I drank beer in that town,i'm originally from Kindersley and still a die hard Riders fan,lol.
Rick

Okay I'll post them over there later today. Browse my pictures and see if anything else comes to mind. Moose jaw is pretty decent. I'm originally from manitoba. Spent a few years living in Calgary as well.

Sent from my S61 using Tapatalk

 

[Wild one]

Okay I'll post them over there later today. Browse my pictures and see if anything else comes to mind. Moose jaw is pretty decent. I'm originally from manitoba. Spent a few years living in Calgary as well.

Sent from my S61 using Tapatalk

I married a Calgarian gal,so I ended up over here,lol. I'm about due to swing by Kurtis's house one of these days,i'll let him know you've added pics to his thread,but I doubt it'll be a big deal to him.Besides none of us had thought of the fishing line trick to re-start the pick-up tube bolt, that's a hell'va an idea,i totally approve,and i'm sure Kurtis will to,lol.
Some day when you're bored hunt up his build thread down in the Member Trucks area,he's got a hell'va thread on his truck. He's in the process of re-doing a 426 BGE motor ,he scattered his first attempt with the 426 ,this time around he went whole hog on the pistons and rotating assembly.His first 426 blew up with less then a 1,000 clics,when they were tuning it.He hit 7,000 rpm and pegged the boost guage at 21psi,the Mahle pistons didn't like it much,so now he's running a set of high dollar custom forged CP pistons,and has told his tuner to back it down a bit,i think his wife had something to do with that,she hadn't got over the bill to do the first motor,lol

 

[Colin15]

That would make sense. I didn't mind Calgary at all. Moose jaw is central for work purposes though so this is where we ended up. That sounds pretty awesome will definitely check it out. I'm currently waiting for a revised tune she's running pretty rich. Don't know what this cam is like yet. Trucks been down for 2 months waiting for parts. Just want to get going already

Sent from my S61 using Tapatalk