There was a lot of adapting that was forced onto Mustang enthusiasts as push rods disappeared in the mid 1990’s. Most only knew of over head cams because the kid next door had them in their Civic. It was a steep learning curve and many went kicking and screaming. Nearly a decade and a half later things have become easier, processes have evolved, and many that resisted have since caved in. The inherent problem is that working on mod motors in a lot of aspects is more difficult than their pushrod pals. But our friends at Anderson Motorsports are always looking to make things easier when it comes to the hassle of swapping mod motor cams. “The main step you got to remember is to make sure to have the other cam there when it comes to actually swapping out the cams,” said Rick Anderson of Anderson Motorsports. “There is higher chance of the gear slipping off the chain, and that will mess up your timing if you are off a tooth.”
Anderson Motorsports has come up with a method that allows the average mechanic to swap their 2005-2009 Mustang modular cams in four hours, or around three if you are an experienced mechanic. Anderson also sells a tool for 2-valves as well, and that part number is below. Though we should mention, this process is designed for street cams that will operate without the need for stronger valve springs. This method is a modified version of the factory protocol on removing modular camshafts at the dealership, and Anderson Motorsports and honed their skills on the process by the extensive cam testing and design they perform on them.
In addition to the cam swap technique, Anderson Motorsports carries their own cam line for modular motors, called Hi Intensity and Hi Rev Cams. They have found were certain aspects of controlled engine operation that, with the correct cam profile, would allow the ECU to function without misreading the cam and causing a drivability problem. AFM designs their cams to increase the “rate of acceleration”, a term used by cam designers to describe the speed at which the cam lobe begins to open the valve, and similar design characteristics in closing the valve as well. Finally, after all the research and design of the AFM cams, they then dyno test them to make sure they are performing as they were designed. A wide variety of applications can be found for both forced induction and naturally aspirated camshafts.
Outside your basic tool set and a torque wrench, you will need the following tools from Ford:
Three-Valve
• Ford SPX-303-1039 – $131.88 – Valve Spring Compressor
• Ford SPX-303-1175 – $96.00 – Timing Chain Wedge
Two-Valve
• AF-0602 – Anderson Cam Chain Retention Tool for 2-valves
* Anderson Motorsports stocks these tools and you can purchase from them directly.
As you can see, swapping camshafts in a modular powered vehicle might even be easier than traditional cam swap in early-model Mustang. The process is fairly simple and straight forward when you have all the proper tools to do the job – it just requires a little time and patience. Anderson Motorsports is in the midst of testing a line of street cams designed for a variety of applications on your mod motor and we will be doing a tech segment on them during our next Anderson Tech Garage segment!