Camshaft removal in a Van was a nightmare. Van Project pt 2. 

There are probably a hundred different ways to have done this, but we got it out. @AdeptApe on Venmo or AdeptApe@yahoo.com on PayPal for donations, thank you so much for supporting the channel! Amazon Affiliate Link to Lisle Gasket Separator: amzn.to/3xC8bwu

That's going pretty good. Working on an engine in a van is like working on an engine that's under a picnic table. But worse.

streatch belt removal tool - pocket knife streatch belt install toll - zip ties

I’ve done this job a few times and I have come to the conclusion that it’s easier to just pull the engine out to do major repairs like this I know others will have their own opinions and that’s ok It just saves a lot of bloody knuckles and cursing and lost tools lol

I would have 100% agreed with "why not replace them while we have them off...." until the last four years or so. The quality of replacement parts has become so unpredictable and unreliable that I have had to adjust my mentality on this.

The old small block chevys in the 80s were prone to having the same cam lobe to wearing out i guess that is why gmc stands for get a mechanic comming

You’re there and it already has 160K on it. You should replace the timing chains and guides. They are maintenance items.

When the screaming goat popped up, soda shot out of my nose

Back in the 80s I worked at a GM dealership twisting wrenches . My father ran the shop so it was an easy place to go to work while I was in high school. From there, I went to work on heavy equipment for construction company and became a certified welder and then a machinist so I’ve been around a little bit and I would have to say that working on automobiles is not for me. Working on heavy equipment and trucks isn’t really any easier, but it did suit me better. I salute any anybody that wants to get in the trade of working on automobiles ,it ain’t easy.

The water pump/accessory hanging bracket looks like something designed by a committee.

I agree about the GM electrical connectors they are all different and like a puzzle but only done while on your head underneath something where you can't see what you are doing.

Having just replaced the cam/lifters and deleted the AFM crap off my son in laws 2019 Silverado with a 5.3 I feel your pain. Not a failure that should be happening at 64,000 miles. Internet full of horror stories about the Dodge 5.7 lifter failures, but from what I can tell the Chevy problem is FAR worse than the Dodge problem.

Those are a hot mess to work on. Probably the understatement of the day. I found myself shaking my head going, wow, nope, what?, Jeez. 😅

Josh those rocker arms are pretty much the same design that GM used when the LS/gen 3 engines came out in '97. Some of the early 5.3's ('99 - '03) were developing an oil consumption issue (that was one of other oil useage issues).Turned out that the rockers were over oiling caused by the lifters. Excess oil being slung by the rockers was getting into the PCV baffle channel in the left bank(right bank didn't matter) valve cover in which that oil was drawn in by the PCV valve then burned by the engine. GM's fix at first was to run the engine with valve cover off and watch and pinpoint which lifter(s) were over oiling and then just replace those lifters (of course under warranty), then later GM came up with a different PCV valve which was designed with a small orifice (a hollowed out valve with a small hole in the end of it). Then on later Gen3,4's they redesigned the entire valve cover with a different baffle tray and fixed PCV inlet orifice. Around that same time GM had released a TSB that addressed the small needle bearings in those rockers working out and falling into the oil pan. Dealers were finding those needle bearings when they changed the customers oil. They would just work there way down into the pan. As far l know there wasn't any internel engine damage caused. In that TSB i do believe that listed an updated part number for those rockers. Personally l always hated doing engine work in vans because it sucks!! Looks like a major can of worms your dealing with, but l have faith you'll "Getter her done". Good luck.

The struggle I am witnessing on this video makes me feel much better about the struggles I am having changing fuel injectors and turbo on my 6.0. Being 63 is making my experience probably much more painful than your ....................................experience. However, the struggle is REAL. I feel your pain probably much more.

My brother replaced the cam / lifters on his son in laws ram hemi. Half the cam lobes looked like your bad one. About 160,000 miles. Huge job.

@AdeptApe for the love of jeepers stop with those little removal install tools. A simple trim tool/pickle fork will remove. To install take a zip tie or 2 wrap belt around A/c and partially on crank pulley near ‘12 o clock. Leave slack of belt loose and BEHIND the pulley. Zip tie ahead of crank pulley spoke and rotate engine clockwise. Make sure belt stays grooved on A/C but you can easily walk in on by hand with a zip tie

Love listening to the commentary while you are working on something that you are not familiar with.🤣

Your a stone cold professional sir love your videos

I never liked working on vans and you have shown me why. Also my love for the 95 Cummins Engine in my truck.

In my opinion the height of GM was the 02-06 trucks. Reliable, easy to work on, just enough electronics, and incredibly reliable. I have driven an 02 6.0 with 380k miles on original everything.

Josh, that was painful! I was elated as you were to finally see the cam out! As i had said before as a heavy equipment/truck mechanic I am stunned at how difficult automotive repair has become, i agree with the comment about removing the engine. I am starting to believe the manufactures do not allow for anything but complete unit R&R

Josh I noticed on the close up of the pushrod tip when discussing the oil flow to the rocker arms. The pushrod you showed had wear on the end of it. I suggest replacing the pushrods and rocker arms that have that shiny wear to them!! Hope this is helpful from a former gm tech

I once had to pull the dampener off an old D7E dozer. Using my 16:1 torque multiplier rated at 2200 ft/lb. it was all I could do to get it loose. I'm sure I passed the rating of the tool. Also had to saw cut a slot in the dampener to get it to pop loose from the taper on the crank. You could have hung the whole cat from that dampener it was so tight.

Wow, a video where I actually know what's going on. Looks like you're getting it done. Keep the good stuff coming Josh.

I really enjoy the longer videos.

Electrical connectors push them in all the way then press the tab to release the connector. If you press the tab befor you have taken the tension off the safety it will be hard to get it to come loose. Just push the connector in press tab and pull to release

The second grooved cam journal is what feeds oil to the VVT actuator at the front of the cam. If that cam bearing is worn, it will set cam timing codes. Excellent work young man.

Not sure why people are hating on dex, but I just run Cat elc in everything. If I trust it with the $50,000 engine then it ought to work on the cheap little gasser. Started using it at the recommendation of a local mechanic that exclusively uses it who specializes in powerstroke pickups.

What a difficult job. You dis handle it well.

Connector tangs are recessed slightly. First push the connector in then press down the release and pull off. This trick also works great on European model vehicles.

It was a lot of work! Thank you for the video.

Toyota makes a nice gasket separator tool as well.

yeah now we are in the era of complete engine replacement at that scale

49:31 - wow.. the lip on that lobe is huge! Good thing you did this now rather than waiting till it got worse

Flat tappet camshafts were bad for that but I thought roller cams eliminated things like this. No doubt you are glad you are a diesel mechanic after this

Dont fix what aint broke.i like the way you figure out how it works.

That bolt in cross member is actually supposed to come out for the oil pan. Makes the job super quick and simple unlike a uni-body frame. just a tip for the future

so do not reuse the ac belt strech belts are one time use, also int he last video alot of the new belts are made out of epdm rubber so they dont crack anymore and u need a belt wear guage to check them if its off id replace the belts

For the connectors, look at Snapon's LN46ACF pliers.

Thanks for sharing, I do appreciate it.

Welcome to Van Life.

Hi 👋🏻 Josh 😊 Loving your new videos 👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Great video!

I second that water pump

I remember working on my 2001 blazer. When I was replacing the lower intake gasket. The front cover was leaking. I couldn't take the front cover off without taking the oil pan off. To pull the oil pan ya have to pull the engine. It never made sense.

That great gm feeling!

23:16. ITS LOCK TIGHT. TO FREE UP HIT SQUARE ON THE HEAD WITH A SLEDGE HAMMER OR HEAT. HIT WITH SLEDGE TO CRACK THE LOCKTIGHT

Heck ya man, good work! Great video!!!! Fantastic to see the insides of what is essentially a big part of your livelihood. That peace of mind. Once it’s running, curious to know how much $$ parts were, total.

I would change the oil pump and water pump while you're in there! It didn't look like much oil was coming out the rockers when you were running the engine. I got out of working in the automotive industry because they are just getting harder and harder to work on.

@9:05 all data has more than torque specs and camshaft specs. It has procedures. And fastener specs. Procedures help avoid mistakes. I don't mess with modern Chevrolets to know exact pitfalls but some makes for example will burn out the coil driver in the pcm if the coil can't arc to ground, certain Toyota camshaft phasers must be unlocked before the fastener is torqued or internal damage will occur. It's often simple, seemingly innocuous errors that end up costing a fortune to fix. And those procedures will tell you how to remove your water pump, stretch belt, harmonic damper etc.

Just an anecdote, but i bought a chevy silverado with the 4.3 vortec used with 150k miles on it. Well i put on another 100k miles on it, and decided to change the timing chain as well as replace a bunch of seals and gaskets since the engine leaked like a sieve. When i got to the balance shaft, i notice it was 1 tooth off, so whoever was in there before me fucked up. Didnt cause a bit of damage, and honestly i could never tell if the engine ran smoother or not with it fixed. Either way, the engine well outlived the truck, because i sold it for parts since the entire body and frame was rotting out to the point that i couldnt put it on jack stands without it creaking and collapsing.

You should include made and model engine in title so DIY'ers can find it easier

You need to send that water pump to Eric at I do Cars. He'll have some skit for it.

When you use that removal tool to block the spinning of the balancer, use an old belt to protect the grooves ;) Damn and I thought that the bolt of the flywheel on a Wankel engine was tight (400Nm and 36mm socket)

Well the engine is deffintly causing you some problems on the strip down ..👍👍👍. The 're built should now be a lot easier 👍👍

VERY GOOD

My god wht a job!This would of cost 12000.00 dollars to fix at a shop!Good job bud

The M8 Harley Davidson has those plastic lifter deals that prevent them from rotating.

Wow, way hard

Pulling engine might a been easier being in a van...Either way a lot of darn work..

Would of been easier just to pull the motor Josh and just rebuild the motor at this point as far as you are into it now

Josh that looks like one big pita. Good job, brother.👍👍👍

For those ac belts wrap the belt around the compressor and then halfway on the crank and ziptie it to the balancer. Rotate it clockwise and belt falls right on.

Perfect kitty cat swap time

I worked on a 14 Chevy Malibu earlier in the wekk. Changing the Oil pressure sensor. I could not for the life of me get the oneector unplugged. I ended up breaking the connector off old sensor and got the piece out where I could actually get a hold of it.

Watching this gives me an ENTIRELY new respect for theechan8cs who used to work on the ambulances that I worked in. Either with the monster 460 stuffed into it, or with tje 7.3L diesel or turbo diesels. I now have a much better understanding for the air being blue with cussing, the blood shed of knucles, broken fingers, and more than a few tears shed in frustration. There is no way in heavens half acre that I would ever try working on a van motor, you good sir are a far better and more patient man that I would be working on that engine... Ill stick to working on my bird where I have all the room in the world in the engine bay. Thank you for anotjer awesome video.🙏💜

A weighted socket for the balancer bolt will get it right off

I would have just pulled the Mill and done a Quick go through. When you're done, sell it and get a Freightliner M class with a CUMMINS! Thanks Josh And, your never wasting your time. You are always Gaining KNOWLEDGE! Thank you

So the 4.3 now is like a mini LS engine Never paid attention to when they changed I bought a flywheel lock for a LS engine that should work to get the crank bolt off. I need to change the seal That engine probably has the faulty oil pump pickup tube O ring in the pump that I had happen and many others. Makes a nice tick

Josh I’m thinking pulling the engine and getting a long block from a reputable engine builder with a good warranty would serve you better. You could still upgrade the rockers if the engine builder agrees.

43:02 Yes, it needs to be exact or within a few degrees. On a 90° V6 engine, having non-split crankpins will result in perfect primary balance, but uneven firing intervals of 90° and 150°. To make the engine even firing, the crankpins have to be split by -30° to make each pair of cylinders hit TDC 120° apart, but the imbalance produced by each pair of cylinders is now greater in the horizontal direction than in the vertical direction. The crankshaft counterweights are used to "average out" the overall imbalance by providing their own imbalance that is one-half the _sum_ of the horizontal and vertical imbalances. The balance shaft also provides an imbalance of its own, which is equal to one-half of the _difference_ of the components. In order for the balance shaft to do its job correctly, it must be phased correctly. On a 90° even-fire V6, it must be oriented 30° counterclockwise from the vertical when the #1 cylinder on the right bank is 60° ahead of TDC.

Another great video from the Ape! And…you look mahveluuuus! I would buy a used car from this well groomed mechanic. 😊

A weighted socket makes balancer bolts much easier to remove. Why automotive balancer bolts need to lock as tight as they do is beyond me, I worked on Cat, Cummins and Mack engines that don't have Crank bolts as locked as some automotive applications. Modern Dexcool is fine, it was the early Dexcool that turned to sludge if mixed with other brands.

Man, that was a job and a half. Hope your van was not down for too long.

Spot on!👊🏻🇺🇸

I would replace the oil pump and cam phaser also as neither will last another 100k miles.I have done them on older GM vans.PS you quoted oil pressure numbers from the factory guage and while not certain on GM, on a Ford the factory guage on the dash is actually not a guage but basically a light so the readings are bogus.Evidently customers call regarding the variations between hot and cold and high RPM/idle so the real info is taken away from the customer. Good luck Josh.

Damm. That thing is like working on a rubiks cube !!

very good

Good luck getting the oil pump up line back up...

The easiest way to get the balancer bolt out on any of the GM Gen V engines is to heat the head of the bolt with a good torch. They come right out then. I broke 2 sockets on it. The thing on the cover with the pin is for the vvt. The cam bolt has an oil control valve in it to run the cam phaser.

Some things never change. It seems GM has had a problem with soft cam lobes 4 eva. You'd think they could have figured it out by now how to harden ALL the cam lobes.

I just did that belt, i ziptied it to the crank pulley half on and rotated the engine and it flopped right on... thank you tik tok

welcome to my world of gassers

Id pull that little TURD out pull the pan check the bearing n at least clean all the ring lands. Maybe a new oil pump. ETC. alot easier than assembling in a van chasis. Sometimes you can drill the oil ring lands for bettter oil return. Less sludge in the oil controll rings.

Its painful and fun to watch a diesel mechanic out of his depth. I know what its like.

All this work to save your sanity from a ticking noise, I have a much simpler way of dealing with that, turn the bloody music up, sorry mate, but I couldn't resist pulling your leg, but I would have yanked that petrol engine out and put in an old cummins 12 valve, much more reliable power plant. Keep up the great work my friend. 🇬🇧

i had call out tire service trk brake balancer bolt on my Oldsmobile, he used 3/4 drv gun

You are a true mechanic 🤘. Willing to tear into anything. The original 4.3 engines were a breeze to work on like a small block.

The 5.3 in chevy 1500 is a lot easier to work on. There is for sale in east idaho a Navistar with a knukle boom crane with a DT466 and 14 ft bed that looks like would make a good service truck. Craigs list.

When the connectors are new, they release easier. Years of heat cycles make them brittle and more difficult to separate

Welcome to the world of general mechanical repairs. Dealership mechanics get it so easy it's criminal.

Gotta Luv Van's Ape 🤣🤣🤣🥰👍

Using Dex Cool is fine, you just need to remember to change it as recommended by the service intervals. Leaving it in too long causes issues.

Great second sequel Josh. Learning right along side you man. Cheers man. 👊👍💪👊🔩🔧

Thx AA for an informative and relevant video with excellent production. Sure is alot different from your usual industrial diesel videos. Stay Healthy

Might as well drop a v8 ls in it and trans your toting a lil weight back there😂 call summit racing quality oem parts cheaper than dealer parts house cam kit gasket set😁

Roll it outside and light it on 🔥😂

My experience with replacement camshaft has been deplorable. Nothing but junk. Best Wishes to you!

Hi Josh The bolt at 9:30 A bolt with a thread at each end and a nut on one end like that one is called ........ a stud ;-)