Cams don't turn freely in head after installing another head's caps.

[LT1andDSM]

Just put a head on my car than I bolted in the cams. While trying to install the belt the valve springs don't feel like there being depressed. You can move the cam to any position and they stay there and its really hard to move.

 

[Quasimondo]

What kind of assembly lubricant did you use? What did you torque the bearing caps to?

 

[LT1andDSM]

Oil and 15 flbs. BTW these caps are from a different head which might be the problem.

 

[toybreaker]

I don't think you're going to have any luck using cam caps from another head.

When the head is manufactured, the head bore and cam caps start undersize. The caps are bolted to the head, and the cam bores are then line bored and finish honed.

Each head will have a very small amount of core shift, and so each heads caps really only fit that head.

What happened to the original caps?

 

[LT1andDSM]

The guy I bought the head from should still have them. I should be able to get them.

 

[Quasimondo]

Yeah, cam caps are not interchangeable from head to head. If you cannot find those caps, I recommend just getting another cylinder head core and swapping over all of the valvetrain components.

 

[laserspeeddemon]

As said above. You must you the orginal caps for each head. No builder should ever swap caps.