camshaft plunger and spring

Al Bass

Al Bass

Senior Member
when I stripped my engine down I noticed there was no cam spring and plunger. I am in the process of putting the engine back together and the spring and plunger I ordered will not fit, it appears there is a sleeve installed in the gear cover. should I try and remove the sleeve and install spring and plunger or is this the way it should be ? engine #A4462782
 

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No it needs the plunger & spring , remove bush or find another front cover , Stops cam from climbing forward & altering dist timming , YOU need it ,
 
It looks like someone put the sleeve in there with a thick flange to act as a thrust. Did your cam pound? With too much end play they make a horrible pounding and of course, the gears get eaten up. I would pull the thing out and have the bore checked for a good fit to the plunger. Often the bore is so worn that the plunger will spin and squeal. A sleeve bored to fit the plunger with a loose slip fit will alleviate that.
 
the engine did have a knock when I would lug it a little on a tight slow turn, and the cam gear was a little chewed up
 
It's funny this should come up today since this morning I helped a friend with an elusive knock and trouble with timing.

He had a screw with lock nut on the front of the timing cover which is sometimes used in racing to eliminate cam "walk".

The screw was somewhat loose and I tightened it and cinched the lock nut but there was no way to check clearance since I couldn't get a feeler gage in there.

With my hearing, I never did hear the knock but he said it went away. I retimed and got the idle down nice and slow at retard.

I recommended returning to an original setup too.

Richard
Anaheim CA
 
Find A "good" replacement cover. You may check several, before you find one with minimal plunger to cover side play. Most covers you locate will have a worn oblong plunger bore. Who ever installed the bushing in that cover you have, machined out the plunger bore, on a boring mill, to true the inside diameter before installing the flanged bushing. If you remove the bushing, you will probably find that the plunger will not fit the cover anyway. If you do decide to remove the bushing, you may be able to find a machinist in your area, that will build you a new "hardened" plunger, providing it would be practical if there is enough material strength left in the cover.
 
I found a good cover and installed my plunger and spring.
Thanks for all the feedback.
still learning
 
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