Just how far does the oil pan need to be dropped in order to remove the timing chain chain cover? I am considering changing the cam with the engine in the car. Pitfalls?

I did a in car cam change in 2days(and im a novice rodder) I think I could have done it in one day but I needed parts( and its best not to rush things)
the pan only had to be moved a bit(wasnt hard). I have a 66 and the cam gave me a little trouble with the grill and radiator support when trying to remove and install. all I did was unbolted the motor mounts and raised the motora bit to clear everything.

Bill, I've swapped a few BB Chevy camshafts while the motor was still in the car and never had to drop the pan at all. Just removed the forward-most pan bolts that thread in to the timing cover and loosened one or two bolts directly behind them. It takes a little patience, but if you take your time and then make sure you seal her back up well, you should have no problems.

bill
you should have no problem.losen the front oil pan bolts ,say front 4 or 6 and take your good old time getting the timing cover off.you can get it to seal when you putit back together with new front crank seal and new front pan seal.and ofcourse some silicone. your cam should just clear the rad support. if not,lift the motor a hair to clear it. i have done all these many times with no hassles. hope it works out for ya

[This message has been edited by 67RAT (edited 06-20-99).]

If you have a small block you will have to drop the pan some to compress the front oil seal between the timing cover and pan. I have tried to jam one back in with the pan in place and couldn't get on to the dowel pins. Most cam swap sets come with complete oil pan gaskets since the side gaskets will probably rip after you loosen the bolts to move the pan lower, if the pan is recent maybe it won't rip. Check some previous posts about swapping oil pans with the motor in the car. You shouldn't need to remove the pan completely but it could be fun cleaning the gasket surfaces. I never changed the cam in the car though, have heard about the rad support issue.

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I got away with dropping the oil pan just a little bit. I loosened about 6-8 oil pan screws from the front and then that allowed me enough room... I am an 18 year old novice engine builder and it took me like 8 hours to do a cam change. I would do it in the car rather than pulling the engine.

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Jeff Ridge