got the camshaft out and have a few more notes for anyone else doing this:
- walking the timing chain off the phaser sprocket is tricky. i burned about 2 hrs in total screwing around with it, but it's a 5-15 min job if you know what you're doing. after watching several videos that weren't especially helpful in terms of the technique to use to walk it off, i developed my own. first, you need at least 1 smaller screwdriver that has the just the right shaft diameter. if the diameter is too big, it prevents you from having enough play to push the chain over the sprocket, and if it's too small, you can't get the leverage you need to wiggle the chain. once you have 1 screwdriver with the "just right" diameter, you can use a pair of other less-perfectly-sized screwdrivers to pry the chain behind the sprocket. it's easiest to pry the chain behind the sprocket when the lead screwdriver is further from the pry point.
- i found that having a 2nd person to set the pin to hold the timing chain tensioner in place was a hard requirement. it only takes a couple minutes of someone else's time, but i couldn't generate the force required to compress the tensioner _and_ get the pin in from that position.
- when removing the camshaft, it would be ideal to have a second person to gently push the ac condenser grill back to give the space needed to remove the camshaft. i did this by myself and bent some of the condenser fins, and i hope i did not create a leak in the condenser as a result. i will have to test for pressure loss before reassembly.
i am in the process of ordering the replacement parts, and i was able to find most of them on gmpartsdirect to confirm part numbers. however, there are a few parts that i need to confirm are correct before ordering that i was hoping to get some help with, primarily the camshaft.
in the video, he says that he's working on a 6.2 L engine in his yukon, and the camshaft he uses as a replacement is part number 12672469, described as
L8T camshaft for L83 5.3 L engines. afaict, this camshaft doesn't match for a 6.2 L engine (L86), but it is indeed a non-dod camshaft. i want to retain oem performance with a non-dod/non-afm camshaft. i see texas speed has a camshaft that looks like a better fit, TSP-316804, but i wanted to get input before potentially making a questionable decision here.
i noticed that gmpartsdirect seems to have none of the high pressure fuel parts listed, i.e. high pressure fuel pump (GDP105), intermediate fuel line (GDL109), crossover fuel line (GDL704), and fuel pump lifter (GDF103). is this expected and does anyone have advice on confirming these parts match?
