camshaft install

[ercp98]

hi,
I am trying to install after market camshaft. the manual says to install it with the cap bearings and try to rotate the cams by hand.
it only says that the cams should spin by hand.

i ask because the intake cam can be rotated but with slight resistance. however, the exhaust
cam can be freely rotated with slight left and right movement.

my question is, how much resistance should i expect? or should it be loose?

thanks in advance for any input.

 

[GSTwithPSI]

If you can rotate the cam with one hand fairly easily it's fine. You shouldn't have to use and excessive amount of force. If it's like you are trying to crack open a stuck jar, or something equal to that before the cam rotates, you have a problem. If you have to use two hands and it's really stiff the whole way you have a problem. How hard is it to turn, and how many hands are you using? If you have a bar or gauge type torque wrench you can measure the turning torque and give us a better idea of how stiff it is. Before you do anything else though, make sure none of your caps are over torqued, and also make sure they are all in the correct order. If you have a cap out of order, that's definitely your problem. Double check your caps are in order, and also are in order from side to side. Meaning, make sure you don't have an intake cap on the exhaust side and vise versa. If you mixed up and caps at all you are going to have problems.

 

[GSTwithPSI]

One more thing, take a look at the stock cam that came out. Look to see if it has any groves, scratches, scaring or any damage whatsoever. Check the caps as well for all of the same things. If the stock cam or caps are damaged in any way, you have a problem. If the stock cam and caps are free of damage, try and put the stock cam back in and see if you have the same turning torque with the stock cam installed. Again, be sure your caps are all torqued properly and in the correct order. If it's the same with the stock cam installed, triple check your caps are in order. If you are absolutely sure the caps are good, and the cams are both feel like the same stiffness to turn (meaning the stock and aftermarket cam feel the same to rotate by hand), I would say you are fine as long as the stock cam isn't damaged in any way.

 

[ercp98]

thanks for the advice. i will double check the caps are in order. i took pictures and labeled them before i took it apart.
i will try the stock vs new cams and see if there is any difference in rotating them.