Once you verify TDC and line up your pointer with the zero point on the degree wheel, then you do all the degree measurements while turning clockwise.
A few challenges I had when degreeing the cam:
- I bought a degree wheel from Jegs that did not have simple 360 degree markings. However, every video I looked at showed a wheel with just 0-360 tick marks. I had to just count ticks on the wheel instead of looking a simple numbers from 0-360.
- The degree wheel did not come with a crankshaft turning tool, and the hole in the wheel was only big enough to bolt the wheel itself on the end of the crankshaft. There was no way to install a turning tool on the crankshaft snout after the wheel was mounted. Trying to use the flywheel would not have worked well, since the engine was still in the truck. Other manufacturers do sell a degree wheel/crankshaft tool combination that would work better. Those wheels have a hole that is big enough to let you slip the wheel on first, and then add the turning tool.
- I had the heads off, and the pin on the dial indicator was either very short or very long (it came with an extension). This made it harder to keep it aligned and vertical all the time.
- Finding the base circle and exact .050 lift points was challenging, mostly because it was hard to turn the engine over smoothly. In the videos they usually had a very large turning tool on the back of the engine and it was easy to turn very small amounts. I had a fairly short wrench around the crankshaft snout trying to also turn small amounts, and I couldn't do more than about 90 degrees without moving the wrench because I was hitting obstructions in the engine compartment or losing my leverage. It took several tries to get decent measurements.
Bruce
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