Cam Install Questions
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 159
Likes: 0
From: Branford CT
Cam Install Questions I am planning on installing a cam in the next few months and I am trying to determine which is the best route to go on. Right now I am unsure if I should get it done professionally or do it my self. To have someone do it is probably going to cost around a 1,000 dollars in labor which is alot considering if I did it my self it could be done for significantly less. My car is a daily driver and I would need alot of time to do the install. This is also my first cam install and I know that it will take much longer then expected when doing this for the first time. Atleast thats how it was when I did my header, exhaust and ls6 intake install. I also would need to buy a bunch of tools that I dont have such as an air compressor, breaker bar, pulley puller etc. Then I was thinking if I did the valve springs and pushrods (from what I heard is the most time consuming part) my self and then a couple months down the road pay to get the cam put in which would require less tools and not risk me messing something up. Would the cam install cost signifcantly less if I did this? How did some of you approach your install? Did you go all out and replace the oil pump, timing chain while you were in there? Any advice would be appreciated.
Well I'm a 21 year old novice mechanic and I did my cam swap myself. My car was down for a week but I only worked a few hours at a time. I rented a pulley puller and valvespring compressor, both only required a deposit from Advance Auto. Everything else was basic tools I believe. I didn't degree mine. LS1howto.com was a huge help. Check it out or message me if I can help you out any further
I am planning on installing a cam in the next few months and I am trying to determine which is the best route to go on. Right now I am unsure if I should get it done professionally or do it my self. To have someone do it is probably going to cost around a 1,000 dollars in labor which is alot considering if I did it my self it could be done for significantly less. My car is a daily driver and I would need alot of time to do the install. This is also my first cam install and I know that it will take much longer then expected when doing this for the first time. Atleast thats how it was when I did my header, exhaust and ls6 intake install. I also would need to buy a bunch of tools that I dont have such as an air compressor, breaker bar, pulley puller etc. Then I was thinking if I did the valve springs and pushrods (from what I heard is the most time consuming part) my self and then a couple months down the road pay to get the cam put in which would require less tools and not risk me messing something up. Would the cam install cost signifcantly less if I did this? How did some of you approach your install? Did you go all out and replace the oil pump, timing chain while you were in there? Any advice would be appreciated.
Teching In
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
From: Tinley Park, IL
When I did mine, I changed everything while I was in there to prevent having to take the engine apart later. Oil pump, timing chain, springs, and I even did the trunion upgrade. I rented a puller to get the balancer off too. Look up tim's tool for a valvespring compressor its around 35 bucks or so, and it works well and gets under there easily. LS1howto.com will give you a good idea of what needs to be done. I have heard of ppl using wood dowels to hold the lifters up similar to the JPR tool, but don't know what size off the top of my head. Do the cam/valvesprings at the same time. If you do the springs first, when you go to install the cam you will to get the lifters off of the cam to get it out, and that means you would have to remove the rockers/pushrods again anyways. The best thing I could tell you is research a lot before you start. Do a search on pushrod legnth and degreeing a cam to find what size pushrods you will need. Installing a cam is doable, but it will take some time. I did mine over a long weekend, working on it maybe 14 hours total, but I took my time for the most part. Researching will give you the best idea if you can do it yourself, or if you need to have it done by someone else.
$1000 seems high for labor, but being in CT is probably part of that. I think they go for $300 to $600 here. I just did the cam install on my car over the last 2 weeks. It wasn't too bad except for a few bad luck kinda issues. Had a pen magnet break, but was able to fish it out with some long needle nose pliers. Tim's valve spring tool worked flawlessly and for 35 bucks was well worth it. I also rented the 3 jaw puller from Autozone. I have a 6 gallon compressor that was not able to keep up so ended up having to borrow a neighbor's 40 gallon which did fine. Depending on your mileage I would definitely refresh some parts while you are at it. I added a ported LS6 oil pump and and LS2 chain. The only additional labor to do it is dropping the oil pan a bit to gain access to the pump/pick up tube bolt. Well worth it in my opinion. Good luck though, you will enjoy the drive no matter what you decide.
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