Dodge Caravan Engine Question

[70 Challenger Lover]

I know it's not E body stuff but it's a Mopar and I'm hoping there is an experienced mechanic that can give me some good advice.

Wife's 2012 van has been a good vehicle but it's tired with 175k miles now. Lately, it's developed a tick and today I pulled the valve cover off to examine things. One of the rocker arms went bad and this in turn caused a cam lobe to get completely wasted.

It's dual overhead cams and it appears to me that if I wanted to drop in a new cam, I'd be forced to remove everything on the front of the engine to access the chain tensioner. The way the cam drops in from above and it has what appears to be a bolt on gear, I'm wondering if it might be possible to try and replace the cam without opening up the front of the engine. Is this just wishful thinking?

I know the obvious move is to dump the van and replace it but I was hoping to put it off another year while we try to buy our vacation home.

Any one ever attempted such a move?

[Chryco Psycho]

I can't see this working, the odds of timing the new cam properly even if you unbolt the gear on the front of the cam & leave it in place is highly unlikely but hey you have nothing to loose, if you can't get it done you will still have to get into the front of the engine   , they are surprisingly easy to work on really . Mine has 260,000 miles & is still going strong