96 JGC Limited 5.2 perfomance cam?

[motocip]

I am the new owner of a 96 JGC Limited w/ a 5.2 liter. It has 145,000 miles and I am in the middle of replacing the water pump. I remove the entire front to repair some inner bumper damage and now have full view of the front of the motor. I also removed the A/C, alternator and the entire bracket to gain full access. Going that far I decided to remove the timing cover to look at the timing chain, this is where my question begins. By the way the chain is well within specs.

I am awefully close to the cam and thought Hmmm, I wonder if there is a performance cam that would be worth the time and money. I can say that the motor, even though high in mileage, is in good condition. I have good power and have not experienced any oil burning or drips. I talked to a rep at Summit Racing today. He said that I have a Magnum motor that has a factory roller cam and that they did not have much to offer as an upgrade. Although he did mention a cam that would produce an additonal 10 HP but did not seem eager to go into details. He also mentioned that I should call Comp Cams to see if they offer a cam that would not interfere with my computer. I have yet to contact them and thought I would ask you all for your experiences.

I realize that a cam is only a portion of the formula to building power and that exhaust and intake flow are good ways to build power to.

Would I be gaining much if anyting by pursuing a cam for this application or should I just put it back together stock and go with exhaust mods and so on. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[tech_ed]

You may indeed be close, but you have a heck of a long way to go before you can get that cam out. Think about it...what is touching the cam...LIFTERS!! And where are those lifters! Inside the Lifter Valley under the intake manifold...and what's pushing on those lifters? Pushrods! And you need to remove the valve covers and rocker-arm assemblies to remove those!.
So, you need to remove the intake manifold, including disconnecting the FUel injection system, remove the valve covers (and any brackets spanning the valve covers) and remove the valve train...Once you get all that done, you can remove the cam...Oh Yeah...and remove the distributor once you mark it so that you can put it all back together again!
And if you loose the mark, you need to retime the engine all over again...If the words Static Timing and TDC scare you, don't do it!
So, rethink your cam idea...it's probably not worth it.
Ed
web/gadget guru

[motocip]

Ed,

Thank you for your reply. I was thinking that no one was interested in performance upgrades.

To give you an update, I decided to pull the cam and am glad I did, here is what I found. The bearings did have wear which I expected at 145,000 miles but it was not that bad. I found the rear journal of the cam to have a factory defect. The cam grinder did not grind out all the machining marks thus leaving about 1/4 of the journal with a grooved finish. This took it's toll on the rear bearing which may explain less than desireable oil pressure at idle.

I found a camshaft through Crane Cams that I just got in the mail today. It was the only cam I found that allowed you to reuse, Yes, reuse your used factory roller lifters and valve train! It is two stages above stock and the claim is that it will work with the computer with no modifications needed. I pulled the cam bearings (in the car) and will be installing the new ones as soon as they come in. I will admit that I don't know if this will all be worth it when finished but I will post my results when the job is done. I also ordered a cold air intake system w/ a K&N style air filter on ebay for less than $60.00. The person I bought it from sells them on ebay. From what I see it looks like it will do the job as well as the ones going for $275.00.

I show my friends what I've done to my car and they look at me like I am nuts, but that is okay with me. I have a good motor to work with and I am confident all will turn out well.

PS: If anyone wants info on replacing the A/C evaporator I can help. I have mine out right now, wow what a job that is! This one is for the brave.

[msrjeep]

you should've done a valve job and replaced the lifters and pushrods while you were in there.

[xj31]

I'm just wondering how you are changing the cam bearings with the motor in the car

[motocip]

msrjeep,
I wanted to pull the heads , but I decided not to go any further. This whole project snowballed from a water pump replacement. As I said before, the motor is in good condition. Never burns or leaks oil and ran pretty strong. Internals of engine are very clean also. Someone did their oil changes. Am I taking a chance? YES.

Also the lifters and pushrods can be reused as per Crane Cams. Keep in mind that roller lifters are different that standard lifters. As long as the roller bearings are good and the lifers themselves don't show wear, Crane Cams says to reuse along with the entire stock valve train. Also this cam did not come cheap. With sales tax and shipping I spent about $380.00. I shopped around, this was the best way to go in my opinion. Other cam manufacturers require you change valve springs.

xj31,
I was able to pull the cam bearings with little trouble, yes, in the car. The rear bearing was a little tricky because there is a plug directly behind it that you would normally remove to remove/install the bearing. I figured out a way to get that last bearing out using a large washer, a bolt, and used my cam bearing installer/remover as a slide hammer. I just got the bearings today and I hope that I can install them Sunday 4-10-05. I will let you know how things go. Got to put on the thinking cap on how to get the last bearing in first. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

Thank you for your replies.

[Cam7]

I made a tool that sounds about what you made for the cam bearings for a GM. I remember that last bearing was rough never tried it on a Chrysler.

[motocip]

Update 4-10-05

I was able to install the cam bearings today. All went well. As expected the rear bearing gave me a challenge. I was able to make a special adaptor for the end of my installer and it went right in. Not as hard as some will lead you to believe. I bought a cam bearing installer off ebay for $140.00 (shipping included) and was planning on reselling it when I was done with it. Worked so well I don't want to part with it now.

I installed the cam and it went right in. Seems a little tight though. I have to put a wrench on it to turn it. The resisitance is more that you can turn by hand by grabbing the end of the cam, but with a wrench it turns easily. I hope this is normal because I don't plan on doing anything about it.

That's all for now.

[Cam7]

I forgot to ask what is the difference in the lift and duration?

[motocip]

Crane cam 704212
Lift 458 int/ 467 Exh
Duration @.050 204/208 or total 260/264

I will get back with the factory specs. I want to double check.

[Cam7]

With that lift you should be getting a 20 hp increase. Hope it dosent throw the computer out. Post back and let us know how it performs.

[motocip]

4-17-05 Update.

Got the Jeep running a couple days ago. Before I buttoned up the motor I did the following.

I Flushed the motor out while I had it apart. With the intake and cam removed I drained the old oil and poured one gallon of mineral spirits and about 3 quarts tranny fluid into the motor and installed a new oil filter. I took a drill and spun the oil pump for 15-20 seconds and then allowed it to soak. I repeated this about 5 times then drained the mix and the filter. I then added 3 quarts 10w-30 motor oil and did the same and drained. I left the drain plug out of the pan for a couple days so everything that could drain would. Note, I made sure when I added the mineral spirits and tranny fluid that I did not go near the lifters. I did not want any residual mineral spirits in the lifters (the lifters will not come out of the bores unless you pull the heads so I lifted them as far out as they would go and held them there while I did my work).

Installed cam bearings, cam (instructions say not to use assembly lube on a roller cam but I missed those instructions until I had it together, I took my chances and let it go) push rods and rocker assemblies. While I could see everything I rotated the engine twice to get one full rotation on the cam while watching the springs. I got pretty nervous when a couple of my springs came very close to bind. I am curious as to why this happened. Should the hydraulic lifters been drained before putting in a higher lift cam. After I cylced the motor a second two revolutions the spring bind situation went away. Any way I closed her up and got it ready to fire.

Motor fired right up. Oil pressure went up fast but engine was not sure of what speed to idle at, was idling about 1200rpm. Before I started this project the motor would occasionally pulse at idle between 800 and 1200, kind of like someone pushing the accelerator pedal and letting off every couple seconds. So considering this pre-exisitng condition I am conviced it is sensor related and will go away when I take it to a friend who can scan it. The motor sounds a bit changed. I won't say it is a real noticable but it has good response, the idle is smooth, and you can tell it is not stock. I won't be able to road test until Monday because my plates are expired.

I got into the exhaust (funny how these projects snow ball). All my hard work was being overshadowed by a rattling converter, so I remove the exhaust and took the converter off. This was fun. I took a heavy steel pry bar and stuck it into one end of the converter and smashed the guts out of it. Now I have a pile of ceramic honeycomb dust on my garage floor and an empty converter. I hope this doesn't screw up the computer but I will let you know. I then shopped around for an exhaust system. Just happens I live in Ohio about 30 minutes from Summit Racing so I payed them a visit last night. I will admit I wanted a flowmaster cat back system but I decided to go with a cheaper dynomax sytem for about $100.00. I am not real happy with the rolled steel construction of the muffler but I felt guilty spending $200.00-$300.00 with my wife standing next to me. Living in Ohio I am sure the salt will eat through that muffler in about 1-2 years. I was thinking about putting a couple coats of paint in it to fight off ruat. What do you think?

I will get back to you all once I've taken it down the road. Feed back is always welcome.

[Cam7]

he fdifference in Idle is most probally the Engine has to relearn to idle . It will take a few times of reaching operating Temp or unless you have a Scan Tool to relearn it.

[mx52nv]

you should try the upgraded performance ECU from Mopar. or the Jet chip.

[motocip]

Got it on the road today and it runs good. It's not a power house but I am happy with the results and I like the sound. A low mur mur at idle and a little tough when getting on it. Idle did come down after I drove it a couple times around the block.

mx52nv
You mentioned chips and ecu. Have you any experience with either? I am curious what the cost and gains would be. Let me know.

What do you all think about Quadratrac? I wish you could take it out of 4-wheel drive! I think it is a waste having 4-wheel drive in the summer on dry roads. I think it robs power and uses extra gas. My wifes 97 has the select trac which I prefer. People I've talked to say the Quadratrac is the premium set up. Any opinions? I wonder if I could swap a selec trac in or is there more to it (computer, axles, etc)? My tranny has a 1-2 slip so it will be coming out one day anyway. Good time for a swap. Anyone try a tranny rebuild on their own? I have been researching it and am considering doing my own. I did a Buick Turbo 400 years ago with a book and a kit, wasn't that hard. Worst part is getting it out and putting it in.