Magnum 5.9l Rebuild

[Braeden Clark]

So I am in the process of rebuilding a 5.9l for my truck. One question I have is how to install the distributor what I have the cam and crank back in and timed? I have read mixed things. Do I have to have the TDC mark on the distributor pointed toward cyl 1 when it's on tdc? Do I then have to point line the rotor up with that mark on the distributor? Any help is appreciated.

 

[dapepper9]

Time the cam and crank, cyl 1 should be at TDC on the compression stroke. If the heads are on, you can confirm this with your finger over the spark plug hole. You'll need the cam pickup plate installed on the distributor and on that plate will be a mark for Cyl 1. The rotor should point to THAT mark, not the actual #1 cylinder. This is a mistake many guys often make, with where the mark is located the rotor will point more towards cyl 6. If you can't get the rotor to be dead on that mark, you'll likely have to lift it up and rotate it a tooth. As the distributor slides down it rotates slightly due to the gear type so you'll need to keep that in mind.

 

[Braeden Clark]

Time the cam and crank, cyl 1 should be at TDC on the compression stroke. If the heads are on, you can confirm this with your finger over the spark plug hole. You'll need the cam pickup plate installed on the distributor and on that plate will be a mark for Cyl 1. The rotor should point to THAT mark, not the actual #1 cylinder. This is a mistake many guys often make, with where the mark is located the rotor will point more towards cyl 6. If you can't get the rotor to be dead on that mark, you'll likely have to lift it up and rotate it a tooth. As the distributor slides down it rotates slightly due to the gear type so you'll need to keep that in mind.

Makes sense. I think I got that fixed. Now my next question is about the camshaft. I have narrowed it down to 3. Comp Cam 20-745-9, Comp Cam 20-744-9, and Hughes SER0814ALN-14. Any experience with any of these? I want the Cam to sound noticeably different from stock while increasing power.

 

[dapepper9]

Makes sense. I think I got that fixed. Now my next question is about the camshaft. I have narrowed it down to 3. Comp Cam 20-745-9, Comp Cam 20-744-9, and Hughes SER0814ALN-14. Any experience with any of these? I want the Cam to sound noticeably different from stock while increasing power.

None of those will sound too awfully different tbh. If you want some chop, look for something on a 110 lobe sep. One of the common basic specs for ram camshaft upgrades is a 210/220 duration @ 0.050, 110 LSA. Lift with stock heads I wouldn’t go much over 0.500”.

None of these will work with stock pcm program, you’ll need custom tuning. You’ll also need a valvespring upgrade. Hughes offers an upgrade kit for stock heads