judge88

just installed a cam (Helix 2) on an 02 and im starting to second guess i did it right. the only thing that i can think wouldnt be right is the cam gear lining up with the other gears. the cam gear has 00 and 0 on it that line up with the pump gear and the crank gear that also have a 00 and a 0 on them. not sure how there lined up exactly but the cam gear is lined up 0 to 00 with one and 00 to 0 with the other. not 00 to 00 and 0 to 0. is this correct . it just didnt seem like they were gonna line up any other way. should it be 00 to 00 and 0 to 0? the truck has no low end at all and its hard to build boost. its also bucking and jerking alot at slow speeds and dosnt sound real good. when it gets goin though it pulls real strong. its smokes alot more also but thats probaly just lack of boost on the low end. if it is lined up wrong would these be the symptoms? any help is appriciated.

HOHN

I can't give you specific help-- but I can tell you that retarded cam timing is associated with a lack of bottom and end better top-end pull.

Still, 180º out of phase is pretty bad-- and I don't think the engine would even run right (if at all) with it THAT far off!

cummnz4x4pwr

You installed it correctly but the helix cams imo are more for top end power.

jake

Don M

The cam gear 00 needs to align with the crankshaft 0.

The cam gear 0 needs to align with the 00 on the VP44 pump gear.

Once you have it correct, it will pull very hard on the bottom end. Just the opposite of what you have now. Also, the smoke will be much lower than the stock cam. EGT as well.

Also, be 100% certain you have the cam gear pressed fully down on the cam nose. The 02 uses the cam gears tone ring to set injection pump timing.

Don~

Don M

Helix 2 cams pull mucho harder on the bottom end of the RPM range. The turbo will spool faster and the bottom end TQ rise is insane.

Don~

Don M

Judge,

I am almost certain that one of the gears is off at least 1 notch. I have seen the pump gear off 1 notch on the cam gear and cause this very thing. Also, if you are off 1 notch on the cam and crank, the same thing can happen.

Just a single notch off cam mean as much as 10 degrees of retarted or advanced injection timing. Certianly enough to be the reason this thing is doggy.

Once you get it all apart, make certain you did not bend the push tubes/rods.


Don~

judge88

don,
thanks for the quick reply. im gonna pull the front end off tonight and give it a look. i know i had 00 to 0 but not sure on the crank or the pump to the cam. the truck has your mach 7's in it so its not real friendly when theres no boost

Don M

Youll get it! Youll love the way it drives once it is aligned in. (:

judge88

ok, cam is 100% right. everything is lined up correctly. valves are adjusted at 8 and 18 . wastgate on top turbo is opening at 25 psi. did the apps reset nada. changed the iat sensor and the map sensor nada. fuel pressure is good. took the boxes off and still the same thing. . starting to drive me nuts. any more suggestions?

KVD

I don't know for sure but 25 psi sounds low to me.

Don M

Do the valves appear to open and close properly?

Remove the valve cover and insure that all the valves appear ( as close as you can see ) to open the same amount to insure you dont have a flat lobe on the cam.

I can get you another cam pretty quick if we need to.

What type of cam lube did you use during install and what was the break in period?? Dont sweat it Dude. I have some cams coming the end of the week.

judge88

don,
i have not checked the valve openings yet but will do so in the next hour. i used assembly lube on the cam and used alot of it. all over the cam. looked just like moly lube. the break in was 1500 rpm's for 15 min then let it cool down. then another 1500 rpms for 10 min. at that point it was at operating temp. i let it cool down again and then drove it easy.

Don M

Right on! Ill cover the cam Man. No sweat.

I really doubt you have a flat lobe, but stranger things have happened. 150 cams in the market now. No failures yet.

Could be a bad grind too. Hard to tell. Yank it and send it to me. Tim and Rip have my shipping info.

We/you might consider new tappets if it does have a flat lobe. The latest and greatest tappet from Cummins is inexpensive and works better than the standard 24 V tappet.

Don~

judge88

don. i checked the valves they and they all look good from what i can see. i actually have a crazy question. could it be possible that the grind was off were the keyway is on the end of the cam for the gear therefor making the cam retarted by whatever degrees? should i try spinning the cam one tooth advanced before i pull the whole cam out and see how it runs? i can do this without removing the intercooler and bumper. if so would i spin it clockwise standing in front of the truck. just a thought to try to advance the timing. if you think this would work could you give me some details in how to line it up with the pump gear and the crank gear. thanks

Don M

Dont do that! Piston to valve contact is certainly likely in that case.

It is hard to say what is wrong. The cam could be ground wrong, but that would mean it got by the grinder and by me. I check them all before they leave here.

I am also present when many of the cams are ground.

Who knows, it is all guessing at this point what is wrong.

I will have more cams in about two days and get one coming your way. In the mean time, yank that one and send it back.

Don~