Lowering cradle for cam swap

chavomilkstain · 02-25-2023, 02:03 PM

Morning, gents. I'm currently at the point of putting the engine back in the car post head/cam work. I've loosened the six bolts holding the cradle up, but it hasn't budged at all. When I pulled the engine out, it came down no problem (had to put the bolts back up to move the car, I've been paying hefty shop fees to do this). Maybe I'm missing something here, but figured I'd ask the experts and see if there is something I did differently. Appreciate the input!

L78toLT1 · 02-25-2023, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chavomilkstain

Morning, gents. I'm currently at the point of putting the engine back in the car post head/cam work. I've loosened the six bolts holding the cradle up, but it hasn't budged at all. When I pulled the engine out, it came down no problem (had to put the bolts back up to move the car, I've been paying hefty shop fees to do this). Maybe I'm missing something here, but figured I'd ask the experts and see if there is something I did differently. Appreciate the input!

I'm fresh off of proving that my memory isn't great in another thread, but are you sure there aren't eight cradle attach bolts? As often as I've had my motor out, there's no excuse for me not to know this. Sure seems like there are eight.

chavomilkstain · 02-25-2023, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L78toLT1

I'm fresh off of proving that my memory isn't great in another thread, but are you sure there aren't eight cradle attach bolts? As often as I've had my motor out, there's no excuse for me not to know this. Sure seems like there are eight.

Did you have the bumper off, as well? I've loosened all eight and still no movement.

L78toLT1 · 02-25-2023, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chavomilkstain

Did you have the bumper off, as well? I've loosened all eight and still no movement.

No, you don't have to remove the bumper.

Joshinator99 · 02-25-2023, 05:21 PM

The new Whipple install manual says there are 10 bolts and 2 nuts to loosen…?

L78toLT1 · 02-25-2023, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chavomilkstain

Did you have the bumper off, as well? I've loosened all eight and still no movement.

How are you supporting the body? Obviously, the cradle won't drop with any weight on the front tires

L78toLT1 · 02-25-2023, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chavomilkstain

Did you have the bumper off, as well? I've loosened all eight and still no movement.

How are you supporting the body? You can't have any weight on the front tires / suspension

L78toLT1 · 02-25-2023, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joshinator99

The new Whipple install manual says there are 10 bolts and 2 nuts to loosen…?

10 bolts huh? That would explain why the op is having problems. If I wasn't lazy and it wasn't raining, I'd go out to the shop, put my car on the lift and take a look. If push comes to shove and the op is still having trouble after reviewing the Whipple instructions, I'll do it anyway - my phone won't open he attachment for some reason

chavomilkstain · 02-26-2023, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L78toLT1

How are you supporting the body? You can't have any weight on the front tires / suspension

It's on a lift currently. I solved my problem, just following up. Yes, there are eight bolts in total, but you only have to loosen six of them. Most aft, and the two immediately forward of those aft bolts. I had some binding issues somehow with the aft bolts, but once I removed them, it came right down. Appreciate the input!

L78toLT1 · 02-26-2023, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chavomilkstain

It's on a lift currently. I solved my problem, just following up. Yes, there are eight bolts in total, but you only have to loosen six of them. Most aft, and the two immediately forward of those aft bolts. I had some binding issues somehow with the aft bolts, but once I removed them, it came right down. Appreciate the input!

Glad that you worked out the cradle issue. You should be able to wrap things up fairly quickly now. Good luck!

chavomilkstain · 02-27-2023, 03:17 AM

Out of curiosity, when you all cammed your cars, how much exhaust smoke did you have? I fired it up for the first time today (just to make sure it started, didn't put the base cam tune in yet. Had issues with my MPVI2 device), and it smoked a little bit. I shut the car off, started it back up with the shop door open this time to ventilate, and it was a full on fog machine back there. Granted, I live in Alaska and it's currently -3° outside, so I'm sure that had something to do with it, but I still felt it was a bit excessive. Don't remember it smelling sweet or anything, but naturally I'm a little nervous.

RamAir02 · 02-27-2023, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chavomilkstain

Out of curiosity, when you all cammed your cars, how much exhaust smoke did you have? I fired it up for the first time today (just to make sure it started, didn't put the base cam tune in yet. Had issues with my MPVI2 device), and it smoked a little bit. I shut the car off, started it back up with the shop door open this time to ventilate, and it was a full on fog machine back there. Granted, I live in Alaska and it's currently -3° outside, so I'm sure that had something to do with it, but I still felt it was a bit excessive. Don't remember it smelling sweet or anything, but naturally I'm a little nervous.

Some smoke on the first start is normal. Oils from your hands, assembly lube, etc. needs to burn off. I'd guess it's a mix of that and the condensation in the exhaust from cold weather. Should clear up as the car gets to operating temp. How long did you let her run?

chavomilkstain · 02-28-2023, 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RamAir02

Some smoke on the first start is normal. Oils from your hands, assembly lube, etc. needs to burn off. I'd guess it's a mix of that and the condensation in the exhaust from cold weather. Should clear up as the car gets to operating temp. How long did you let her run?

Not long, maybe 1:30? Not enough for a full thermal cycle. I have a video, a bit lengthy, but I can maybe send it to you for your input?

02-25-2023, 02:03 PM	#1
chavomilkstain Drives: 2022 Black ZL1 M6 Join Date: Nov 2021 Location: Alaska Posts: 19	Lowering cradle for cam swap Morning, gents. I'm currently at the point of putting the engine back in the car post head/cam work. I've loosened the six bolts holding the cradle up, but it hasn't budged at all. When I pulled the engine out, it came down no problem (had to put the bolts back up to move the car, I've been paying hefty shop fees to do this). Maybe I'm missing something here, but figured I'd ask the experts and see if there is something I did differently. Appreciate the input!

02-27-2023, 03:17 AM	#11
chavomilkstain Drives: 2022 Black ZL1 M6 Join Date: Nov 2021 Location: Alaska Posts: 19	Out of curiosity, when you all cammed your cars, how much exhaust smoke did you have? I fired it up for the first time today (just to make sure it started, didn't put the base cam tune in yet. Had issues with my MPVI2 device), and it smoked a little bit. I shut the car off, started it back up with the shop door open this time to ventilate, and it was a full on fog machine back there. Granted, I live in Alaska and it's currently -3° outside, so I'm sure that had something to do with it, but I still felt it was a bit excessive. Don't remember it smelling sweet or anything, but naturally I'm a little nervous.

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