Cam swap gone wrong!! :(
Thread Starter
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 359
Likes: 1
From: Orlando, FL
Cam swap gone wrong!! :( Today (well, yesterday, then yesterday night, and then early this morning) I was doing a cam swap at my friend's shop.
Easy enough we thought.. 224/224 563/563 112+4, Comp 918s, titanium retainers, Comp Hardened Pushrods, new rockers, gaskets, bolts, LS6 oil pump, oring, etc. We had everything.
Tear down is going great.. Until the water pump. Top bolt, driver's side decides to strip and snap off with about a 1/8" piece of the bolt still in the block at the very back. Ok, not a big deal. Trim down the bolt a little and we'll snug it up the best we can.. It's only 22lbft anyways.
The springs are going great. Using the snap on valve compressor + air holds, we have 16 done in about an hour. The last two is where it got fun! The tool broke. We tried to make the homemade tool, steel wasn't thick enough. So, we had another snap on tool delivered. These bitchass springs would NOT cooperate.. Took about 2 hours on TWO SPRINGS.
After conquering the springs, it was time to reassemble. Everything is great until we get to the water pump. The stripped bolt before snugged, then just poof, respin. Damnit. Let's hope 5 holds it!
Motor is all back together.. Start her up.. Oh my god, what is that god awful scratching/knocking/scraping sound?! A quick glance while killing it shows I *do* have oil pressure.. Good, one thing off the list. We pull apart the front of the motor to check the timing chain/oil pump/etc. It looks perfect. Spun the motor by hand with the chain on, no slack, dots line up, etc.
Now we're starting to freak out. Did we fubar a main bearing? Did a cam bearing get messed up? What the hell is wrong with it?!
A call to the local LS1 guru and an hour of his trouble shooting led us to the one place we hadn't thought. The plastic dust shield that is opposite of the starter.. Did it get pressed in when dropping the oil pan. (that one bolt is a bitch to get to..)
Ding ding ding. All of that work for a $0.43 piece of plastic that was rubbing the flywheel.
All seems good, and the car pulls like a freight train now.
Sorry if the long post is a little incoherent, as this took from 11am -> 3:30am
Easy enough we thought.. 224/224 563/563 112+4, Comp 918s, titanium retainers, Comp Hardened Pushrods, new rockers, gaskets, bolts, LS6 oil pump, oring, etc. We had everything.
Tear down is going great.. Until the water pump. Top bolt, driver's side decides to strip and snap off with about a 1/8" piece of the bolt still in the block at the very back. Ok, not a big deal. Trim down the bolt a little and we'll snug it up the best we can.. It's only 22lbft anyways.
The springs are going great. Using the snap on valve compressor + air holds, we have 16 done in about an hour. The last two is where it got fun! The tool broke. We tried to make the homemade tool, steel wasn't thick enough. So, we had another snap on tool delivered. These bitchass springs would NOT cooperate.. Took about 2 hours on TWO SPRINGS.
After conquering the springs, it was time to reassemble. Everything is great until we get to the water pump. The stripped bolt before snugged, then just poof, respin. Damnit. Let's hope 5 holds it!
Motor is all back together.. Start her up.. Oh my god, what is that god awful scratching/knocking/scraping sound?! A quick glance while killing it shows I *do* have oil pressure.. Good, one thing off the list. We pull apart the front of the motor to check the timing chain/oil pump/etc. It looks perfect. Spun the motor by hand with the chain on, no slack, dots line up, etc.
Now we're starting to freak out. Did we fubar a main bearing? Did a cam bearing get messed up? What the hell is wrong with it?!
A call to the local LS1 guru and an hour of his trouble shooting led us to the one place we hadn't thought. The plastic dust shield that is opposite of the starter.. Did it get pressed in when dropping the oil pan. (that one bolt is a bitch to get to..)
Ding ding ding. All of that work for a $0.43 piece of plastic that was rubbing the flywheel.
All seems good, and the car pulls like a freight train now.
Sorry if the long post is a little incoherent, as this took from 11am -> 3:30am
