72OLDS-EH

i changing the cam in my 72 350 olds i was told that the little gear and the big gear should line up before removing...but mine don't seem to line up perfect 6 o'clock to 12 o'clock
it's off by an hour or so...i have turned and turned and they won't line up ...what should i do ????
Any help would be nice and any ideas and tips for the next steps also would be great thanks guys...

olds425

You should be able to line them up. Have you ever done this on any other car? You just set the crank pointing straight up and the cam pointing straight down towards the crank. Are you trying to line them up before removing them? If so your timing chain probably slipped time and I would not worry at all about lining them up before disassembly, just when reinstalling. I would also replace the timing chain and gears.

72OLDS-EH

i don't know why it's off car was running fine before ... i was told to line them up before pulling out ...so i wouldn't have to play with the timing after...so the set up would stay the same...but if your saying i can.... does that mean i have to re time the cam??? after installing
btw nice fish ...
never done this on a olds ...so i don't know if anything is different...chain doesn't look that lose....so do i mark it where it sits now and put it back to that mark or put it all back in and line them up 6 and 12 o'clock the way it should be???
please just need so help before going on thanks

olds425

I would just retime it afterwards. If I remember correctly when you install according to the timing marks, turn engine one revolution and then you are at TDC. From there just line up distributor to #1 and set the rest to the firing order. Is the cam gear still the nylon gear? If so I would replace it anyway. The guy who told you to line stuff up is not wrong, but to me I would just redo it after the new cam. Thanks about the fish, it is a steelhead caught way over here in eastern Oregon. Hope I helped a little. I think they should line up before disassembly but maybe it was set up wrong previously. Good luck.

captjim

I'm confused?? You are changing the cam, right? So you have to pull the dist and intake, it really makes no difference at all. Just have the crank gear close to 12:00. You should degree the cam, especially with an inexpensive set.

BTW, just curious, what cam are you putting in there?

72OLDS-EH

intake and dist. is off...the cam is really mild 450-460 lift cam has very little wear on it...but it was a name i never heard of but lobes were calculated and that's what we got about a 450 lift...
now i took chain off and it still has the plastic gear with a lot of cracks on it crank gear looks good...i will buy new cam gear and chain does the crank gear just slide out or is there some trick???also what's the trick with the lifters i can't get them out do i just pull them out from the top???please help...