Just finished putting in a TSP 224/581/112 cam this past 3 day weekend into my 2001 Z28 M6. The swap took two long days doing it all by myself.

Worst part was the Pump since I decided to go with the Rollmaster double timing chain. It took me three tries to get the pick-up tube in the oil pump. The first time I actually tightened the pan back up and noticed part of the blue o-ring stickng out. Dropped the pan down and did it again and I didn't
notice any o-ring sticking out. I took my puller back to Autozone and bought a small mirror just to make sure. Sure enough, the o-ring was sticking out the back side. Loosened it back up, wiggled it around and finally got it. I noticed the old o-ring from the factory was cut. In fact, I have better oil pressure now!

Only other problem I had was I noticed some small marks on the valve stems after taking the first couple of springs off. I was using a copy of the Larry tool for the valve springs along with the top dead center method. I noticed that when taking off the old springs that the angle of the tool would rotate the spring retainer into the valve stem leaving small marks. So I put it in a vice half way between the U and the bolt hole with the plain end sticking out of the vice. I whacked it a few times with a hammer and put about a 20 degree angle on it. After that when I screwed it down it would not rotate the retainer as much and I never got another mark on my valve stems. I got really lucky with the marks, they were .60" above the valve seals so they won't cause a problem. Also, that area of the valve is very low stressed and has plenty of margin. Of course, if I do run into a problem it will just be an excuse to by some heads.

I have stock exhaust with a cut-out, but right now I have the cutout capped. You can definately tell there is a cam even with the cutout capped. Car idled great when cold, but once warm, it hunted and died and I have a M6! I haven't gotten on it yet, only taken it up to 4,000 rpm. I want to heat cycle the springs (Patriot Golds) twice before I get on it. Car runs excellent, I think I'll be very happy with the cam choice. Only problem is I have Stainlessworks headers on order and I don't want to do two tunes, so I'm waiting for the tune until after I install the headers. I hope the computer learns how to make this puppy idle. Or should I just go ahead and drill out the throttle plate? Is it necessary to drill the throttle plate when you do a tune? If not, I'll just wait for the tune.

Thanks,
Glenn

 

Oh, forgot to add, my car has 66,000 miles and I think I could have used the Russian Roulette method. I rotated the cam several times with the pushrods still in the engine and they all stayed up. However, being risk adverse, I used two 5/16" steel rods I got from Home Depot. Bought 4' and cut it in two. Bent up a handle at the 18" mark and cut off the handle to 3" long. I had read that the passenger side can be difficult, so I ground/filed in a flat on one of them. Sure enough, the driver's side slid right in, but the passenger side would not have gone if I hadn't ground the flat. You could rotate the handle and feel it tighten against the lifters. The total cost of this tool was under $5. I now have all the tools to do this again, I bet next time I can do it in 10 hours instead of 20!! (I'm not very quick).

Also a big thanks to this board for all the tips. The Larry Tool, the 5/16" rods, the gearwrenches, and the lockwire pliers for holding the oil pump pick-up tube in place. That last trick worked great!

Thanks,
Glenn

 

Cool! and drill the plate.

 

drill plate and/or
adjust the idle screw- mine is set to idle at 900
also install a 160degree thermostat

 

Congrats on the install, have fun. I can't wait to get my cam in.

 

Thanks for the replys. I finally got on it today at lunch. Runs great. I can't wait to get my Stainlessworks LT's, should really wake it up. A cam and headers are one of those rare synergistic mods. Each will make only 20 hp by themselves, but together they are typically good for over 50!

I hate drilling the plate because if I go to far I'm screwed. I have a friend with Autotap, going to open the throttle stop to 3% to 4% and reset the TPS to zero at the PCM. I've heard this is as good as drilling. I will get the tune as soon as I get the headers.

Thanks,
Glenn

 

Finally got the engine to idle. I set the Throttle body to 3.1% and reset the TPS to 0%. Idles fine now. However, seems like I lost some engine braking, seems to over run and not slow down when I let off the gas. Is this normal???

Thanks,
Glenn

 

Congrats! Was this your first cam swap???

 

congrats. now get out and

 

Again, thanks for the comments. I live in Arizona so I've already put in a 160 stat. Also, this was my 4th cam swap, but the first time on an LS1. Pretty nice design except for lack of room around the valve springs on the back cylinders and that stupd oil pump being in the way of the chain. Love the ease of removal of the water pump and front timing cover.

Thanks,
Glenn

P.S. The car idles good now, but I've got the dreaded cruise control affect at 2000 rpms. I need a good tune!