Cam gears for V6. Add power AND mpg

Are you running a JustDSM HP Tune? That helped my driving enjoyment, but also helped my MPG's

 

Thanks for the review Dana!

 

I had his tune for a while, which is what I was getting the 13.8 mpg on.

 

Knocked it out. Now I'm retarded.

Truck runs good. Need to data log and send the file to Justin to have it dialed in, but I am happy. Thanks Kelby!



A couple things to note:
-Due to intake cleaning, MAF and throttle body cleaning and maybe having the battery detached for 5 hours, truck didn't start immediately. In fact, it took 5-6 attempts with me running around crazy trying to troubleshoot and see what I forgot to attach in between attempts. It scared the bejesus out of me, but no codes, everything I could see was put back together right and then it finally sputtered to life. Whew!
-I didn't remove the spark plugs. Was able to get to TDC just fine without taking them out
-BFCB (Big F&#$ing Cheater Bar) over the 17mm wrench broke the cam bolts loose just fine.
-If I had to do it again, I would remove the oil filter for more clearance for torqueing driver cam bolt.
-I planned on 5 hours. Got most of it done in 4, but with MAF, throttle body cleaning, shop clean up and organizing the tool bomb, along with trouble-shooting the slow start-up, it ended up being darn close to 5 for me. As quick as things went in the first 30 minutes, though, I thought I'd have it done in 2 hours, but there's a lot of plastic clips and fasteners to figure out how to remove, old FIPG to clean-up, and also...
-F$#@ that little 10mm bolt that holds the heater hose support bracket to the plenum. F$#% it right to death.

 

So true! Forgot about that awkward little fucker.

 

In the middle of mine now. These are 100x better to work on than the 3. . Will be breaking cam gear bolts loose very soon. We'll see how much cussing and yelling is involve .

 

Good luck! I threw myself off of a step ladder breaking those bolts loose by myself. Lol

 

I used a 3 foot cheater...

POP!

 

About did the same!

 

Should be done later today then! Looking forward to everyone's initial and long term thoughts about going retarded

 

Well I can give you plenty thoughts on being retarded (short and long term) way before these gears were a thing.

Btw little dab of loctite and 3 fuck YOUS and 1st cam gear is in. Btw did anyone else find the 2nd hardest part getting the new cam gear back In the chain? Had to run to 3 diff stores to get a 24mm wrench.

 

Yeah, I had to finagle the tensioner and rotate the cam with the 24mm wrench a little to get the keyway lined up.

 

All done! Man do those really make a difference. Feels much more powerful mid throttle throughout the rpm range. Noticed it seems smoother.

You guys weren't joking about the cam bolts. It's a must to stuff some rags down the timing cover. I'd have lost thr cam bolt if not. Thanks for all the help and advice, thanks to @mightytacoman for the gears and @JustDSM the future tune!

 

I agree with you on everything. My truck is lifted a fair amount and my step stool kept sliding when I was leaning over. Like you said, the most time consuming part was all the little shit that has to come off. My truck started right up after, but had check engine on for several codes. Maf error, idle temp sensor, and a few more. Cleared them and they all stayed off. Runs amazing!

It took me about 6 hours, but I had to run out to a few stores to find a 24mm wrench, and had to make my kids lunch in the middle. Best $150 performance upgrade I've ever done!

 

Yeah Im planning a sunday afternoon for this. Looks like good ole HF has some long reach wrenches of the right sizes (Cus i also realized i dont have a 24... got just about every other size, tho.) long reach 24 and 17 for that extra needed leverage... and also ye ole illusive 10mm

still no luck here finding a 17mm single torque adapter

 

So I just have to say after I initially installed the gears, it felt great, but I only drove it a few miles. I drove about 100 miles yesterday and it's running a lot better (not that it was running bad). I think the ECU must have gotten used to the new gears. It has noticeably more power throughout.

 

I only took a short 15 mile test ride and then put the truck up as we left town for a trip. Looking forward to logging some miles soon and seeing what the new gears can do!

 

Has anyone installed these backwards for 3* of advance yet? That should give more top end power, right?

 

I doubt anyone has. They would loose so much drivability for the possibility of gains. I gained 20g/s on the maf reading at red line by adding the retarded gears. I'm hoping @nd4spdbh will have similar data logs (since he is an hptuner user) showing the same trend soon.

 

Logging will DEFINITELY be occurring once i get the cam gears in. 20g/s at the top end is pretty substantial... tho you are supercharged, but still. I made extensive logs awhile back with maf readings so i should be able to compare pretty easy.