BrandonR

Alright well I went to the junkyard today and found a 1996 Hyundai Elantra with the 1.8L. 165K and the cam looked good. (after I took the valve cover off) I took it home 11$ later and went to work on my engine. Mine has 95K and boy was it clean. Anyway I got it apart and got the cam in and alined the marks. (I followed the DIY on here) I turned the engine till the cam lobes on the intake werent pushing on any valves. Timing still right, just make the cam sit better so I don't strip anything. Tightnend the journals in a zig-zag to a little more than 9ft lbs (No torque wrench) and made checked everything over 40 times. Put valve cover on and without the spark plug wires on turned it over. No knocks or pings so I thought well good. (Or metal hitting metal noise) Started the engine. Ran lopey. Still no noises. Let it sit 5 mins. Drove easy for 2 miles. (Real easy) Seemed like it was gonna shutoff. never did. Anyway it does have a lope to it. Runs smooth above 1000 though.

My questions-

If the cam wasn't "balanced" would I know by now? (I drove about 15 miles)
Is there anything I should go back and check after a few days? (Cam journal bolts, bolts, etc.)
How long before I could get on it? I figure about 30-60 miles. Maybe more.
How "lopey" is it supposed to be? It makes my car jiggle quite abit. I'll get a video soon.

Thanks alot you guys! (And girls!)
hail.gif

capn tibs

your engine shouldn't lope at all. Many have had this issue after the 1.8 cam swap because they did not line up the exhaust cam correctly when putting it back. One sproket off and your engine will lope like a muscle car almost. Look at the diagrams on HMAservice.com to make sure you have the exact correct spacing of 5 links.

BrandonR

Yea.....It's not TOO bad, but it's like ruurr ruurr rurr. I can see my tach jump a little. Main question: Will it hurt it to run it tomorrow with it a link off (Timing wise)??

Kind like this... maybe a tad rougher:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FgxOEAkBBg



I started it a minute ago. It really isn't that lopey. Not like a muscle car. It really is most like that video. Maybe a tad rougher like I said. It feels more powerful. But I haven't really floored it yet. But I'll check timing tomorrow. Just I need to know if it's bad to drive it off timing by one link.
Thanks!

Stocker

The idle should be almost exactly the same as with the stock cam.

If you are willing to take another look pull the covers off and make sure it lines up right.

Laek thees!




The idle should be almost exactly the same as with the stock cam.

If you are willing to take another look pull the covers off and make sure it lines up right.

Laek thees!




I f'd something up doing my cams once, and it wouldn't start. It would crank and not hit anything but it wouldn't start. It wasn't lined up.

Then I put it all right and it was a lopey idle, sort of like a broken spark plug wire, which was the problem. You might check your plugs & wires while you're at it. wink1.gif

Oh, and don't worry too much about balance on the cam. I bet you wouldn't want to know what it would cost to get the balance done right, if you could find a shop that does it. If you put a new crank in, worry about balancing THAT. Cams, not so much balance, as alignment, is the issue of concern

LOL @ myself what a n00b somebody chop that double post for me please!

BrandonR

I haven't had a chance to check the timing yet. However, if the timing was off wouldn't I LOSE power? From 3-4 RPM it pulls alot harder than it did with the stock cam. ( I haven't floored it....waiting for the cam to break in a bit.)But I'm still gonna check it. Could the ECU still be adjusting? (I doubt that though)
Thanks guys. I'll guess we'll find out when I check my timing.

Caj Darkmoon

Advanced timing = gained power.
Retarded timing = lost power.

BrandonR

Well then If the cam is one link advanced, then when I out it to 5 links I would lose some power then. Hmmm. It's not hurting it running it advanced by one link is it? I'm at school so I can't officially check timing untill I get home. It's pointless to point in the dark cause I won't know untill I check my timing again. Thanks though you guys.

I'll report back when I check the timing.

Alright guys. It's much better. Idles smooth. Still has power. It was the intake cam being one link advanced. ^ Good call^ Thanks for all the help you guys! I'll get videos up as soon as I find the memory card to my camera.

Stocker

Good stuff. I can't tell you how many times the OCD made me double/triple/whatever check that I had those cams lined up right the last time I did it! lmao.gif

BrandonR

Haha yea. It pulls really good all the way up to 6100 RPM. It was definatly worth it. It only took about an hour. On a scale of 1-10 10 being hard I'd give it a 3.8.
The hardest part is not over tightning the journal bolts and getting the timing right.
Thanks alot you guys!

Bullfrog

Can I just suggest that you (rent,borrow,beg,plead,steal and give back without noticing) a torque wrench ASAP?! You basicly did open heart surgery to your engine, would you just wing it if you did open heart surgery on yourself? Think of it as an investment. Buy a torque wrench and not have to buy a motor.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Matco-Torqu...emZ270286583629