I was talking to a friend of mine today who has a classic Mustang and were talking about engine performance. He said it was a one day job to open up the top of his engine, remove the stock cam shaft, and install a new one, and he did it all himself in his driveway. Is this feasible with the 2.8L V6, or is it much more work because of the engine placement and small compartment? Also, is there a lot more to it than just replacing the cam shaft itself, like timing and what not, or is it just pull and replace?

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Depending on how old the original cam is, you might want to replace the cam bearings also. I bet he didn't think about that in his replacement. If you just put a new cam in it will not match the wear pattern in the existing bearings.

In a Fiero you need to drop or rise the engine to slip the cam out. Or you can make a hole in the fender

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It's not just getting the cam out, but you also must remove the lifters which requires quite a bit of work. To get the cam the timing cover must be removed also. It is a big undertaking, I feel. Cam bearing you should just take the whole engine out.

quote Originally posted by avengador1: Depending on how old the original cam is, you might want to replace the cam bearings also. I bet he didn't think about that in his replacement. If you just put a new cam in it will not match the wear pattern in the existing bearings.

there is absoloty no need to replace the cam barings, far too many people have done cam swaps and have never to replace the barings and havent have any problems.

ok, im getting the feeling that this isn't a 'do it yourself in the driveway one saturday' type of job.

in response to the 'hole in the fender' suggestion, could it instead be done like working on a front wheel drive car, where you take off the wheel and wheel well and go at it through there?

I agree about the cam bearing. They basically last forever. But, still doing a cam is no driveway job, done in an afternoon.

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The engine has to come out for a cam swap, that is the way in the Fiero.It could be done in one day if ,you know what to do and have a lot of help.But, it will be nice to take a look at the engine and replace some parts like, timming chain, seals, water pump, etc. for a couple of bucks more, you can do a lot.It's not like you have the engine out every weekend,so now is the time to do some repairs.

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No, it is not a quick job. The best way is to drop the engine cradle. This give you lots of room to work. Cam bearings dont last forever, but they do last a good long time. Cant remember ever even hearing of one failing. Being its a somewhat involved job, heres some ideas to do at the same time as changing a cam: Roller Tip Rockers; Porting intakes, Plenums & Throttle body; Headers - great time for this - easy access

Mr P Body, please re-read my post, I stated that "depending on" how old the cam was it might be a good idea to replace it. If you have an engine with the original cam and over 100,000 miles I would even highly reccomend replacement of the cam bearings and the lifters. These parts have to be broken in together. You might get by without replacing them, but I am willing to bet Dollars to Donuts that your will experience premature wear and breakdown. It is better to do the job right and have it last a long time, than to do it half a$$ed and have your engine suffer an early death.

When swapping in a new cam you should always use new lifters and a new chain and gears too. If the engine is very high mileage, over 100,000, swapping a cam is probably not such a good idea anyway. Most likely the new cam will have a higher lift which will put a higher load on already weak valve springs. This is not even considering that a hotter cam puts more strain on everything in the engine, including the rings and the bottom end also.