Install your own cam or have someone else do it?
Thread Starter
TECH Resident
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 828
Likes: 11
From: 4o5
Install your own cam or have someone else do it? What did you guys do when you put a cam in. Did you do it yourself? Was it your first time doing a cam swap? Or did you bite the bullet and have somebody else do it??
Honestly the thought of somebody else doing it scares the crap out of me. They don't love my car like I do. The fact is that a cam swap is getting way over my head so I don't really have a choice.
So what was your experience, either way, of getting the job done?
Thanks for your advise!
Honestly the thought of somebody else doing it scares the crap out of me. They don't love my car like I do. The fact is that a cam swap is getting way over my head so I don't really have a choice.
So what was your experience, either way, of getting the job done?
Thanks for your advise!
I Installed my own last weekend. Get a complete proven kit. I just followed the instructions on ls1howto.com cam out cherry. Check out my link
https://ls1tech.com/forums/corvette-...m-install.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/corvette-...m-install.html
I'm sure most of us here do not have the excess $$ to pay someone to do the job. IMHO don't pay someone, you can do it with some common sense and some research.
The road block really for a cam swap is degree'ing the camshaft. Many people don't do it and luck is on their side. The LS engine kit is $200
If you go radical on duration, PTV clearence needs to be checked.
If your just doing the cam, the tool to remove the balancer can be rented from Autozone.
If you decide to change the chain, you will need a specialty tool to remove the sprocket off the crank.
The road block really for a cam swap is degree'ing the camshaft. Many people don't do it and luck is on their side. The LS engine kit is $200
If you go radical on duration, PTV clearence needs to be checked.
If your just doing the cam, the tool to remove the balancer can be rented from Autozone.
If you decide to change the chain, you will need a specialty tool to remove the sprocket off the crank.
One other thing, dont be scared. Its really not that hard, i chose a cam that i new wouldnt hit the pistons, and its a big cam 630 lift 240 duration,113lsa, proven on the dyno and street. I did NOt degree the cam, advance is built into the cam. Dot to dot and go!
I also did not use a balancer alignment tool, theres a way to do it without it leaking. I did it and no leaks
I talked to the guys in the speedshop i ordered from, they told me not to degree, cam was a dot to dot, a couPle other tips. I follwed all advise, took 4 days, had to pull my steering rack, power steering and everything, took me 4 days. Go for it. I saved $2500 in labor
I also did not use a balancer alignment tool, theres a way to do it without it leaking. I did it and no leaks
I talked to the guys in the speedshop i ordered from, they told me not to degree, cam was a dot to dot, a couPle other tips. I follwed all advise, took 4 days, had to pull my steering rack, power steering and everything, took me 4 days. Go for it. I saved $2500 in labor
Last edited by slammedc5; May 4, 2012 at 06:44 PM.
One other thing, dont be scared. Its really not that hard, i chose a cam that i new wouldnt hit the pistons, and its a big cam 630 lift 240 duration,113lsa, proven on the dyno and street. I did NOt degree the cam, advance is built into the cam. Dot to dot and go!
I also did not use a balancer alignment tool, theres a way to do it without it leaking. I did it and no leaks
I talked to the guys in the speedshop i ordered from, they told me not to degree, cam was a dot to dot, a couPle other tips. I follwed all advise, took 4 days, had to pull my steering rack, power steering and everything, took me 4 days. Go for it. I saved $2500 in labor
I also did not use a balancer alignment tool, theres a way to do it without it leaking. I did it and no leaks
I talked to the guys in the speedshop i ordered from, they told me not to degree, cam was a dot to dot, a couPle other tips. I follwed all advise, took 4 days, had to pull my steering rack, power steering and everything, took me 4 days. Go for it. I saved $2500 in labor
Yea, Like I said some can get away without degree the the cam. But keep in mind, its just not the cam. TE can be off due to crank pin being slightly off, timing chain sprockets in addtion to the cam grind. There is nothing that be done to truly say it doesnt need to be done. When you don't you are just hoping for the best.
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I understand about degreeing the cam. Just for peace of mind for those intimidated, hundreds of cams each week are put in by speed shops and do it yourselfers, just using the stock cam sprocket, lined up on the cam sprocket dowl pin, dot to dot with the crank dot. Speed shops do it everyday on high horsepower cars and live a long healthy life. Unless you pay for an adjustable cam sproket and extra to degree it.
If one is that intent on degreeing a cam, it should be done every 20,000 miles or so as the timing chain stretches. That changes the degrees as well.
If one is that intent on degreeing a cam, it should be done every 20,000 miles or so as the timing chain stretches. That changes the degrees as well.
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Launching!
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 238
Likes: 1
From: Houston TX
do your own work you will learn a lot about your vehicle,
specially if you have a daily driver/ garage at home , so that you can take your time and do it right , even if takes you longer,,
because nobody will take care of your **** like you will,
invest in some tools,
side note --- i had a shop here in houston do the swap in my c5 z16z the car was clean i always keep it clean ,, so this shop gives me my ride back with dirt n **** all over the floor carpet ,
greasy hand prints all over the place , i was ******* pissed never went back, and the small radiator in front of the front cover of the engine , was put back all twisted n **** and with dents all over the place,
i bet their cars , and projects get treated like porcelain ...
specially if you have a daily driver/ garage at home , so that you can take your time and do it right , even if takes you longer,,
because nobody will take care of your **** like you will,
invest in some tools,
side note --- i had a shop here in houston do the swap in my c5 z16z the car was clean i always keep it clean ,, so this shop gives me my ride back with dirt n **** all over the floor carpet ,
greasy hand prints all over the place , i was ******* pissed never went back, and the small radiator in front of the front cover of the engine , was put back all twisted n **** and with dents all over the place,
i bet their cars , and projects get treated like porcelain ...
If your asking this question then maybe you should not do it. It depend on your mechanical know how and ambition.
FWIW when I did my stall converter it was the first time I even dropped a transmission out of a car. Did it myself, tools and technical info.
FWIW when I did my stall converter it was the first time I even dropped a transmission out of a car. Did it myself, tools and technical info.
I paid to have mine done. I am by no means rich. I just work hard.
However, I did have the desire to do it myself, but was not prepared with the knowledge and courage to try it on my own car at the time...nor did I have access to a lift, or tools of any kind. Plus, the downtime without my car is something I can hardly deal with even now.
I do not like practicing on my own vehicles. I will surely put one in yours though. I have done alot of small things though...., such as putting the procharger on, as well as brake swaps, and painting the calipers, intake gaskets/painting. Just small things like that.
I went with a Texas Speed 228r @ 114lsa the first time and loved it. That is prob one of the stronger baby cams you can get, and it took me to 7.38 with bolt ons and a 3:73g stalled auto on nittos with a 1.62 60'' and stock suspension.
Now I am having AES put in a Brutespeed blower cam 115lsa 232/240 .595/.608 with the new LQ9 390 while they are building it to assemble the valvetrain properly. So I guess I won't get the opportunity anytime soon until we put the new cam in the 5.3/76mm setup we are working on.
However, I did have the desire to do it myself, but was not prepared with the knowledge and courage to try it on my own car at the time...nor did I have access to a lift, or tools of any kind. Plus, the downtime without my car is something I can hardly deal with even now.
I do not like practicing on my own vehicles. I will surely put one in yours though. I have done alot of small things though...., such as putting the procharger on, as well as brake swaps, and painting the calipers, intake gaskets/painting. Just small things like that.
I went with a Texas Speed 228r @ 114lsa the first time and loved it. That is prob one of the stronger baby cams you can get, and it took me to 7.38 with bolt ons and a 3:73g stalled auto on nittos with a 1.62 60'' and stock suspension.
Now I am having AES put in a Brutespeed blower cam 115lsa 232/240 .595/.608 with the new LQ9 390 while they are building it to assemble the valvetrain properly. So I guess I won't get the opportunity anytime soon until we put the new cam in the 5.3/76mm setup we are working on.
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 318
Likes: 52
From: Charleston, SC
I was in the same position a couple years back. I've always worked on my cars doing small mods, but never anything as complex as a cam swap.
It's really not hard to do, it's just time consuming because a lot of stuff needs to be removed in order to remove the cam. I dropped some decent coin buying tools (flywheel locking tool, spring tool, some ratchet wrenches, etc) to make sure everything went smoothly.
Between www.ls1howto.com and this website, there is more then enough information to do the job and people willing to help answer questions.
It's a very doable job and something that you can be proud to say that you did yourself. My advice is to give yourself plenty of time so that you don't have to rush.
Good Luck!
It's really not hard to do, it's just time consuming because a lot of stuff needs to be removed in order to remove the cam. I dropped some decent coin buying tools (flywheel locking tool, spring tool, some ratchet wrenches, etc) to make sure everything went smoothly.
Between www.ls1howto.com and this website, there is more then enough information to do the job and people willing to help answer questions.
It's a very doable job and something that you can be proud to say that you did yourself. My advice is to give yourself plenty of time so that you don't have to rush.
Good Luck!
TECH Addict
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,428
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas, NV
I did it myself thanks to the brilliant document created by JimX. Just followed Jim's guidance exactly and it came out perfect. It took me 10 days though because I took my time to make sure everything was perfect. Years later I'm still enjoying the self-satisfaction from having done it myself. Also, I've never done anything like a cam swap before, so If I could do it just about anyone could. The following year I did the heads and long tubes following Jim's documents. It was a great experience and I enjoyed every second of it.
Thread Starter
TECH Resident
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 828
Likes: 11
From: 4o5
Thanks for the info guys! That is very reassuring.
I'm just now starting my research on this project, but I wanted to get some feedback from people that have actually gone through doing this and what their experiences were.
I try to find the most "ugly" aspects of doing something before I attempt a project just so when I come face to face with the problem I'll be well prepared.
To the person referring to JimX, is that the guy on LS1howto or is it another tutorial?? Having 'too many' tutorials on how to do something can't be a bad thing
Thanks again!
I'm just now starting my research on this project, but I wanted to get some feedback from people that have actually gone through doing this and what their experiences were.
I try to find the most "ugly" aspects of doing something before I attempt a project just so when I come face to face with the problem I'll be well prepared.
To the person referring to JimX, is that the guy on LS1howto or is it another tutorial?? Having 'too many' tutorials on how to do something can't be a bad thing
Thanks again!
On The Tree
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 120
Likes: 0
From: Glendale, Arizona
One other thing, dont be scared. Its really not that hard, i chose a cam that i new wouldnt hit the pistons, and its a big cam 630 lift 240 duration,113lsa, proven on the dyno and street. I did NOt degree the cam, advance is built into the cam. Dot to dot and go!
I also did not use a balancer alignment tool, theres a way to do it without it leaking. I did it and no leaks
I talked to the guys in the speedshop i ordered from, they told me not to degree, cam was a dot to dot, a couPle other tips. I follwed all advise, took 4 days, had to pull my steering rack, power steering and everything, took me 4 days. Go for it. I saved $2500 in labor
I also did not use a balancer alignment tool, theres a way to do it without it leaking. I did it and no leaks
I talked to the guys in the speedshop i ordered from, they told me not to degree, cam was a dot to dot, a couPle other tips. I follwed all advise, took 4 days, had to pull my steering rack, power steering and everything, took me 4 days. Go for it. I saved $2500 in labor
Your cam doesn't hit the pistons!?! What numbers did you get from a cam that big?
No numbers yet. Quit a few c5s get this cam installed. I dont have a dyno tune date for 2 months. Backed up over here. I have a mail order tune coming mon for the meantime. Most stock c5s are getting about 420 at the rear wheels. Headers and intake their getting around 435 440 at the wheels. I have headers and a z06 intake already.
No numbers yet. Quit a few c5s get this cam installed. I dont have a dyno tune date for 2 months. Backed up over here. I have a mail order tune coming mon for the meantime. Most stock c5s are getting about 420 at the rear wheels. Headers and intake their getting around 435 440 at the wheels. I have headers and a z06 intake already.
TECH Addict
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,428
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas, NV
Thanks for the info guys! That is very reassuring.
I'm just now starting my research on this project, but I wanted to get some feedback from people that have actually gone through doing this and what their experiences were.
I try to find the most "ugly" aspects of doing something before I attempt a project just so when I come face to face with the problem I'll be well prepared.
To the person referring to JimX, is that the guy on LS1howto or is it another tutorial?? Having 'too many' tutorials on how to do something can't be a bad thing
Thanks again!
I'm just now starting my research on this project, but I wanted to get some feedback from people that have actually gone through doing this and what their experiences were.
I try to find the most "ugly" aspects of doing something before I attempt a project just so when I come face to face with the problem I'll be well prepared.
To the person referring to JimX, is that the guy on LS1howto or is it another tutorial?? Having 'too many' tutorials on how to do something can't be a bad thing
Thanks again!
The only difficult parts of the install for me was, believe it or not, wrestling the radiator out of the car, and the rods I purchased to hold up the lifters I could only get one of them to go in. I ended up getting 16 pen magnets and I was able to complete the install. If I ever install a different cam, sometime in the future, I'll try the wooden dowel route instead. Lastly, I just went with the dot-to-dot method and it worked out great.