98z28jorge

iTrader: (4)

i was doing my cam swap and everything was going great till one of my pen magnets fell in and lifter fell down after the cam was out what do i do now the motor is outside of the car any info please help

conan

iTrader: (5)

Your going to have to take the oil pan off and find it, then remove the head to reinstall.

98z28jorge

iTrader: (4)

oh man!!! thanks ok so when i take off the heads do i need to send them to a machine shop and stuff or can i just take them off pu the lifter and put them back on with a new head gasket ? and would i need new head blots????

KCS

iTrader: (20)

You probably won't have to send the head off to a machine shop unless you can't get the gasket clean. IIRC the older LS1's had graphite gaskets and come apart when you take the head off, so you'll probably need a new head gasket. You'll need new headbolts as well.

defaultexistence

iTrader: (11)

The is no "probably" YOU WILL need a new head gasket and a new set of TTY bolts,unless you used arp's and you just re tork! and unless you wana chance an oil pan leak...get a new oil pan gasket

KCS

iTrader: (20)

I only say probably because I don't know what headgaskets are on there now. I'm not psychic. It surely wouldn't be the first time to pull a head expecting a stock graphite gasket, and finding an MLS instead. Betting that the headgaskets haven't been replaced on a 12 yr old car already, I say again, he probably will need new gaskets.

CalSpeedPerformance

iTrader: (64)

If the motor is out side the car, you do not have to pull the heads. Flip the motor over upside down. Pull the camshaft out. Get a large magnet that can hold up the lifter on its own with no problem. Feed it down the cam hole and put it back in place and use a 2nd person with the pen magnet down the pushrod hole to help pull it back into place.

Ive done this more than once over a decade ago when ls1's first came out learning the ropes

orangeapeel

iTrader: (18)

Boo for pen magnets. I did it one time for the sake of documenting.

vettenuts

iTrader: (4)

If the motor is out of the car, why didn't you flip the motor upside down when you pulled the cam? You wouldn't even need the magnets.

KCS

iTrader: (20)

I did the same here, except I wrapped a rubber band around every two to keep them held up. The guy at O'Reilly's thought I was crazy when I bought 16 pen magnets.

bww3588

iTrader: (49)

dowl rods work better.....

98z28jorge

iTrader: (4)

hey thanks for the replies guys i already took the heads off now to day i will take off the oil pan and find the lifter would there be any gain or even worth to port and polish these stock heads????? how much does port and polish cost any way?????

rich5368

iTrader: (2)

Depends on the shop, but you can get a set of ported assembled heads from TSP at a good price. Could try for a used set too. A used set of ported heads a lot of times will cost you less than trying to get a shop to do yours. Just my $.02

twitchtwice

iTrader: (12)

i did this when i did my cam swap but in the car. let me tell you its much more difficult in the car. mine fell in the windage tray so i had to remove all the accessories lift the engine drop the pan down and remove the bolts for the tray. they were just sitting in there.

but you can do what the other have mentioned and leave the heads and feed them back in. if they are the back ones like mine it may just be easier to pull the heads. especially since its not in the car.

flippincamaro

iTrader: (23)

Thats the reason I use metal dowel rods, That way Im pretty safe.

02SLPCAMARO23

if ya gotta take the pan off might as well do some rod bolts since you have a 98..

Pro_built7

iTrader: (9)

don't take off the head if the motor is out !!!!

Just flip it upside down, use a magnet to reinsert it into the lifter bore.... WAY EASIER

also ALWAYS use dowels. (5/16)

lifeisgood

iTrader: (4)

ive heard of the dowels any one have pics? would like to see this

TooLateVTEC

iTrader: (2)

They make metal ones, but on a buddys car he jsut bought a wooden dowl rod from a craft store and we cut it to length and used the grinder to put an angle at one end. Worked great and was cheap.

Trying to use 16 pen magnets is asking for trouble and has to be one of the worst jerry rigs ive ever heard of when doing something this major.

Good luck to you OP, live and learn.

flippincamaro

iTrader: (23)

Pics, Are you wanting pics of how its done using them or pics of how a dowel looks? If pics of how a dowel looks, Just think about what your mom or wife would use to hold up a flower in a flower pot, Get 5/16s dowel can be bought in the craft section at walmart or any store like that, I prefer the metal ones which can be bought at tractor supply or a hardware store. That way you wont have to worry about the wooden dowel breaking on you.