Tips and advice please for IMS bearing replacement

[Viper10000]

I'm loving the Home Depot bucket giving me more confidence as I get started, lol.



This little transmission jack from Harbor Freight was great for this task!




My stopping point for the day.



I see a little oil...hmmmm...





Starting to make a mess in my garage.


Everything went well so far. I managed to leave the rear bumper on and the axles attached to the wheel bearings. I would have took more pictures but it was tough not getting grease and dirt everywhere. I'll try to take more when I get down to removing the pressure plate and flywheel. Thanks again everyone for the tips and advice!

[Viper10000]

So, as I am trying to set bank one to TDC, I am not sure as to which cam plug I should pull off for the cam lock tool. I have a 5-chain motor so I was planning on using the short lock. Does this lock go into the top or bottom cam shaft behind the passenger seat? Or should I just pull both plugs and put the longer cam lock on?

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by Viper10000

So, as I am trying to set bank one to TDC, I am not sure as to which cam plug I should pull off for the cam lock tool. I have a 5-chain motor so I was planning on using the short lock. Does this lock go into the top or bottom cam shaft behind the passenger seat? Or should I just pull both plugs and put the longer cam lock on?

http://www.imsretrofit.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/imsretrofit.pdf

[Viper10000]

Ok, I guess I'll pop the plug off the top cam shaft on bank one behind the passenger seat and lock the short cam lock there.

[Viper10000]

I pulled the top plug and there are no notches in the cam shaft. Just a little "scribe" mark and 180 degrees from that is a double "scribe" mark. I popped the bottom cam cover off and there are the notches. Looks like ill be using the short cam lock on the bottom cam. Another question to throw out there; What size/thread bolt will hold the cam lock onto the engine?

[Viper10000]

Ok, so I went to the local hardware store and purchased a few bolts of different sizes and I think the M8x1.25 is the winner to bolt the cam lock to the engine. Now after i install that, i still need to remove the pressure plate and flywheel. I know i need to remove the pressure plate bolts in a pattern and a little at a time, but does anyone know how many turns can be done on each bolt before moving to the next one? If i do 2 turns each will i be there all day? Whats the best way to go here? Thanks again!

[Jamesp]

I did not use either the TDC or the cam locks to counter any torque for clutch or flywheel bolts. I used a breaker bar on the front pulley bolt to react torque. In fact I removed all the locks before applying torque to the crankshaft as I did not want any of the locks reacting torque. When I install or remove a clutch I use 1/2 turn increments on opposing bolts whenever spring tension exists. That takes very little additional time and provides consistent spring deformation during installation and removal. It might be over conservative, but I'd rather error on that side.