Head gaskets

[Devil6sinner6]

Morning everyone.

new too this so I’m probably doing it wrong haha,

anyways I’m working on my 04 Dodge Ram 1500 4.7 V8, changing head gaskets.

I got the motor at TDC when pulling sprockets off the cams the right side rolled about 45 degrees, so my question is when putting the right cam back on should I keep it at the top or install it the way I took it off?

 

[EdGs]

When you say right side, you are referring to the passenger side head, right?

When I did the head gaskets on my '02 4.7L, I remember that the camshaft on the passenger side head rotated a bit counter-clockwise. This was just spring tension because the timing chain was no longer holding the cam in place.

Are you replacing the timing chains, sprockets, and tensioners?

If you are reusing the timing chains (I wouldn't), hopefully you marked them so that they can be put back exactly where they were, along with the camshafts positioned as they were before the sprockets were removed. Unless, of course, if you have removed the chains and plan to line them up in the proper orientaion.

There is a tool that holds the camshaft chains in place on the idler sprocket when you install the chains. Also much easier to put together if the tensioners are compressed as well.

Here is a pic of my 4.7 at TDC (note the colored links are not in the proper places, that's because I had oiled the chain and guides and had rotated the engine a couple of full cycles to make sure there was no binding, etc.).



I should have taken a pic before I rotated the engine, but I forgot to in all the excitement of having the timing set in place.