oodahss

How much do most shops charge to install an aftermarket cam and valvetrain setup?? Thanks for the input.

NviouSS

iTrader: (8)

between $3-700.

oodahss

Also, they don't have to pull the motor right?

777

iTrader: (21)

nope...just the radiator, water pump, timing cover, oil pump, timing chain, intake from throtte body forward, crank pulley, and a lot of hoses and sensors...some shops an arm and a leg though...it's not that hard i would do it myself if i had to...

my01camaroz28

iTrader: (15)

Are you mechanicall inclined? Do you have some time? It is cheaper to do it yourself. We can walk you through it and there are some sights like ls1howto.com with decent instructions and pics. Imagine pocketing that $300-$700.

oodahss

I've never had anyone else work on my car, but just recently I had all of my tools stolen from my garage (about $5 grand worth), and my buddy is gonna give me his cam setup from his car for a really good price and i don't really wanna wait until i rebuild my tool collection to install the cam.

ss rally red

iTrader: (8)

Its an 1hr job to pull the motor through the bottom, I do cam & springs for 400.00. but if someone wants a new pump and chain it will save them money to drop it out the bottom.

prostock_bigblock

iTrader: (11)

www.ls1howto.com

try to do it your self , dont waste money , altough its a good chance to get some mech experience .

Jimm

You'll pay more money to have someone do it for you, than you would to buy the tools to do it yourself and build your tool collection back at the same time.

01_SuperSlow

iTrader: (7)

You can use the money that you would pay for the install to get the necessary tools for the cam swap.

my01camaroz28

iTrader: (15)

If you look on the ls1howto.com or other topics in this forum it will give you a by name list of the tools needed and you wont need to buy a complete kit of stuff. If it were me in your shoes, I would attempt it with the needed or borrowed tools. Sorry to hear about the theft to man.

oodahss

Thanks for all your help, I think I'll do it myself and start rebuilding my tool set. Thanks again.

Jimm

The most important resource is free too www.ls1howto.com and here for asking questions.

Derek98z

iTrader: (55)

gotta do it once yourself to learn! BTW~ oil pump and chain do not have to come off unless you are repacing them.

Jimm

Especially since you have a '98 (for mechanical and mileage reasons) it's very good advice for you to replace both your oil pump and timing chain.

cyphur

iTrader: (10)

i would replace both while you're in there. its likely you have a little slack on your chain by now...slap an ls2 chain on at least and get an ls6(ported or not) to avoid the possbility of failure from the weak 98-99 units.

ssheets

iTrader: (1)

blkZ28spt

I'd also recommend you spend some time searching the forums for cam install information, tips, encountered problems, etc. ls1howto is a great resource, but it does not cover everything that you will more than likely want to know. It also helps if you have read problems others had, and what they did about it. That way if you encounter that same issue you will know what to do. If you follow my advice you will come across this kind of thing anyway, but here goes.
1) Be carefull with the oil pump pickup tube bolt. Very carefull.
2) BUY A GOOD SPRING TOOL!!!
3) Have a small torch on hand.
4) Do NOT re-install the old crank bolt. You use the old, or a longer, crank bolt to re-install the pulley and the brand new crank bolt that is stretched into place once the pulley is istalled.