I am about to swap the cam on my LS1 and was wanting some feedback from you guys on the which tool/tools would work best. Which spring compressor tool is better, Thunder Racing or Crane Cams and where is the cheapest place to purchase them? Also I am not really comfortable just spinning the cam to seat the lifters in the cups and then pull the cam. Would'nt a small wooden dowl rod from Home Depot work instead of purchasing a installation tool?

 

I have used a small wooden dowel rod from a craft store to hold up the lifters in a car I helped do a cam swap in...worked good.

The crane tool would be the **** if I was to change valve springs, it does 2 on one time...Im pretty sure Speed Inc. sells that tool, not sure about who else.

A 10mm rathet wrench is great to have, if you dont have a set get one. Almost all the bolts on this motor seem to be 10mm.

 

what size dowel rod did you use ?

 

5/16" wooden dowels.

I recommend the "Tim's tool" for compressing springs. It's cheap and it works great. He sells them on thids site.

You will also need a puller for the balancer. A standard 4" 3 jaw will do it.

Most importantly - you will need a tool to press the balancer back on. You can buy one, or you can make one like I did. There is info on this site under "engine internal" or "fabrication" to get the dimensions. This is a critical step. Incorrect procedure on pressing the balancer will result in a damaged crank.

Other than that, cam swap is a nice job on an LS1.

Have fun!

 

Hawks tool works great on balancers.

 

i say screw the balencer tool.....take a piece of wood and hammer it on then take the old bolt and use that to put it the rest of the way on then put the new on on to specs with the new bolt

and basic hand tools to do the rest. and + that on the whole 10mm wratchet wrench for the driverside oil pan bolt

 

^^^thats the worst advice ever. Banging on the crank causes undue stress on the thrust bearing inside the motor. Do you know what a thrust bearing is? Stop advising people to do **** the wrong way.

 

Tims tool here too but havent tried it yet. nice price and quality. I would go with steel rod instead of wood, because there has been a case of stuck wooden dowel in the engine, but the werent the right siez though.. good luck!

 

I've used both the crane and Thunder Racing's/ Moore performance tool. Personally I like the Thunder Racing's one much better. It's a lot easier to use when you go to larger valve springs. Plus the best tool to use to install a balancer is an LS7 crank bolt. It's longer than the LS1. You just get the balancer started with the LS7 bolt on a good ways and when your old LS1 crank bolt can grab more than 4 threads use the old ls1 bolt to finish the job of seating the balancer. I always save my LS7 bolt and label it so that i don't throw it away. It's a sinch to use and only cost like $7 from the dealership. Also if your car isn't an M6 I recommend getting a flywheel holding tool that bolts to your block to keep the flywheel/crank from turning or Summit sells a plate that fits on the balancer and you use a break over to keep the crank from turning. Look on ls1howto.com. They have an excellent write up on how to do a cam install. Lastly get a good set of torque wrenches. One for in lbs and one for ft lbs.

ttranssam-(as 01ssreda4 said)- That is the worst advice ever! It's people like you who make me learn to work on my own stuff. That way I know it's done right and with care. If I walked into a shop and saw a worker doing that to my car all hell would break loose!

 

Here you go most thorough information you can get, Good luck

http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?article=23

 

You have no clue at all on proper instillation of the crank balancer ... please do not pass bogus information on to others who wish to learn the right way to do it when you have no idea on the correct way to do the install.

 

You need something to hold the lifters up while you extract the cam. They make rods for it, no one likes to spend money on real tools around here so they go with a substitute.. do not use a wooden dowel, use a brake line instead or make you own aluminum rod.

You need to hold the valves up while you change springs. Best way is with compressed air, (as long as you have a good air system and it doesn't bleed off in a minute or two).
Do not use pen magnets !!! if anything use a cotton rope and TDC method, at least you wont drop anything in that way.

You need a spring compressor. Be it a piece of flat stock with a hole in it you spend money on that you can make yourself, or a real tool... you need a spring compressor.

The Crane dual tool is the best on the market. Two at once takes half the time and it's geometrically correct. It use two rockers bosses to hold itself in place and then compresses the spring using it's on body and threads directly over the center of the springs. It is a perfect system.

I'll rent it out again if people want to use it. I was renting out a cam swap package with all the proper tools including the pulley installer but stopped doing so for the abuse the tools were taking.

You don't hammer in the lifter rods !!!


Also its always good to have a few extra locks around, they tend to fly off sometimes. Take a rubber mallet and tap the retainer as you compress it and that tends to loosen them up and keep them in place.

Have a telescoping magnet with you at all times. Buy a good automotive one not a cheap one or the head will come off.

Use it to pick off the locks and to snag anything you drop.. which you will drop stuff and it will get into a nook or cranny that your fingers cant get into..

Take your time and keep the cam straight when you pull it out. Same goes for installing.
If you do an oil pump don't pinch the o-ring. Cover the oil pan with a rag to prevent anything from falling into it.

 

good info