Johny GTO

not a full cam install. dont need springs, retainers, pushrods, etc.

how much is the average cost to do a cam swap? How hard is it for someone to do by themselves.

mike c.

iTrader: (1)

I have done seven cam swaps and it's really not hard at all. I'm no great car wiz either. I got alot of help from ls1howto's and it had directions step by step. now seven cams later,i'm a pro. I wouild do a cam swap for $100. and make them help so next time they don't bother me. I have no idea about a shop's price,I never used one.

AnotherScreenName

iTrader: (15)

Ill do it for 200 cause I know you.

Cheapest shop around is probably going to be 300, but I don't know if any of them are still in business.

Nothing difficult about it (some things are a pita though), its just time consuming.

jwindbigler

iTrader: (20)

Its really not all that difficult if you want to do it yourself. All that you would need is 2 rods to hold the roller rockers up, so that they dont drop. You wont need to take off your heads or anything like that. How I did mine was pull the front bumper completely off, pulled the water pump, radiators, ect and pulled mine right out the nose of the car. Kind of a pain, but it was pretty simple. All of the tools that you need are in a basic tool kit, with the exception of the torque wrench.

jwindbigler

iTrader: (20)

If I remember right, it was mostly 10mm, 13mm, and 15mm bolts. Just be sure to time it right...aka line up the dots and get the ECU tuned

SweetS10V8

iTrader: (4)

Never heard of a cam that didnt need springs, unless you wore out your stock one, or have springs already??

jwindbigler

iTrader: (20)

I swapped mine out without springs. Most of the time people change them so that they can raise their redline. Your stock springs start to float at 6350RPM. Thats why they change them

Gen414

iTrader: (38)

You meant lifters, not rockers.


That is not necessarily true. When you go to a different cam, it is typically more agressive, and you need a valve spring that can handle the additional workload of the new cam. I am amazed at how many times I see "Will a xxx spring work on my xxxx heads?" And people will say, "sure" or "Yes" but NEVER ask what cam they are running The CAM is what dictates what spring you run, not the heads (even though you do need to know what type of heads, teh cam still tells you what rate spring you need).

You swap out a cam, and not know the condition of your springs, you are just asking for trouble. I mean, you just had some springs installed, and they offer "X" rate, and 1000 miles later you want a different cam, and you check to see if your "old" springs will work with new cam, nothing wrong with reusing the springs, again, as long as you check. You have a set of springs that god knows how many miles on 'em/6000K RPM shifts and putting in a bigger cam, and you don't check/swap springs? When you drop a valve because of a broken spring caused by coil bind, and you tear up a piston/cylinder wall and you need a rebuild, your gonna wish you swapped out springs

Gen414

iTrader: (38)

Agree. Pretty amazing though, huh? How many times you see it, people swapping to a bigger cam, and not even CHECK the springs

Johny GTO

the springs i have in there are a good set of after market springs to handle a rugged cam. If they are in good shape, i would re-use them as my new cam would likely be less aggresive.

thanks for the info fellas.

CalSpeedPerformance

iTrader: (64)

Labor rates for a professional install range from $300-$500 at most reputable shops. This labor covers cam/valvesprings/timing chain/oil pump/pushrods/non-adj rockers/plugs/plug wires installation. If you arent changing valvesprings subtract some labor time.

Since all of these parts are standardly removed for installation, any combination of those new parts are included in the labor.

1bdtrk

damn, you guys are quoting some pretty low prices. Not saying they are not accurate, but myself and two other buddies do work and tuning to late model gm cars/trucks up in Alaska on the side and the last job we did before we deployed was a cam swap/tune on a vho and we charged 1200. Up in Alaska....that is cheap.