I am debating on if i should do my own cam. I have done all of my other mods on my TA, with the most toughest being my sy3500. The thing is I believe I have a lifter losing prime and I want to change them as well and shops around here want to charge out of the you know what for labor. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being to hardest. Where does H/C replacement rank? Do you think I should just leave it to the pros?

I have seen ls1howto.com and that is what makes me think I can do it myself.

 

I cant comment on the heads but the cam swap was fairly simple just a little time consuming. Just make sure to stick a rag in the oil pan if you are unbolting the oil pump to replace it with a new one. I spent hours fishing a bolt out of the pan. Just use the write ups from ls1howto.com like the f-body bible.

 

thats the same thing i said.... so i decided to do it! except i did it at performance shop...
but i did 99% of the work! (needed help removing the damn pulley!)

so really it CAN be done by just 1 person. it took me a total of 18 hours over 3 days...

it was not real hard, it took me longer to pull the intake off than it did pull and reinstall the cam! there are a ton of little things that take a lot of time but no ONE thing is really hard! though youll probly want to do a new timing chain... idid not so cant help you there.... that will add a good hour or so.... but lifters will add no extra time at all...
because you pull them out anyway before you pull the cam! (you are doing heads right?) good!
try to borrow a really good torque wrench when dooing the intake, heads and other bolts... and make sur you torque the heads down correctly!!! VERY IMPORTANT!
and use a GOOD assemble lube like RED LINE's... i could go on for days with advice...

when you pull out the radiator, if you semi thin like me (175) you should be able to stand in the hole between the motor and front end (this will help ALOT on you back and make it easyer to reach all those stupid damn bolt you cant reach!
oh, and those little spikes on the cowl, just push up and out so they dont cut your hands up...or they will!
just take your time and donjt cut corners...(like cleaning out the holes where the heads bolt go! and just put a DAB of oil on those before you torque them down...
any just do it and have fun! it is as long as you have good tools and you do your homework and you dont cut corners,,,....
and if you do a good job, the car will fire right up! with no problems and run great after that , (like mine did)

good luck!

 

a few more pics

 

last ones.

 

yea i heard that it is not really hard, to do it in the car, but just time consuming. i got lucky on doing my swap! my motor was on the stand lol

 

cam installs seem hard...shimming the oil pump and all that crap...i don't think i could do all of it

 

Shimming the pump is nothing, but if you don't want to shim the pump just go with a rollmaster single roller.

 

Thanks guys for your time. Big thumbs up to you 99Hugger for the pics. I do plan on doing timing chain, oil pump, water pump, and knock sensors with the cam. Is it necessary to pull the heads with a lifter swap. It may sound like a silly question but I thought it could be done by removing that plate where the knock sensors sit. I am thinking it is set up that way.

 

My bad M6HuggerSS. Sorry about ID mix up, no disrespect.
Thanks again for the pics. If anyone else has more additional input to help please let me know.

 

99Freeze,

I'm in the midst of doing a head/cam install right now. To replace the lifters, you must remove the heads. You definitely can do it. Here are my observations so far:

1. Follow JMX's (ls1howto.com) WRITTEN directions to a "tee". The pictures don't automatically correlate to the written directions, which shows how much effort and trial JMX must have done to get the written directions spot on. You may find some things don't exactly work for you as they did for him. I had to remove my power steering pump and alternator in order to get to the fittings on the power steering rack. The instructions said to remove the fittings first.

2. To do it right, you should degree the cam, check PTV clearance, and lash. Therefore, you will need a cam degree kit, dial indicator, and other precision tools. Along with those tools, you will need a pulley puller, picks, various rachets and other tools as specified in ls1howto. I found I didn't have any 18mm wrenches or sockets! If you don't have these tools, expect to add a few hundred more bucks to your budget.

3. Take the time to learn how to use the precision instruments. In the time I'm waiting for parts, I've made damn sure how to get exact and consistent measurements from my dial indicator (by checking piston deck clearance and max intake lift on my old cam). I've had to fabricate a base and a plunger extension when I found I couldn't make the measurements needed to check the proper clearances (which also added to the budget).

4. LABEL EVERYTHING. Label which hoses connect to which outlets. Label each end of wiring harnesses. Get a box of baggies, put each set of bolts and nuts for each component (such as, the bolts for the water pump) in its own baggie and insert a piece of paper that describes what it is for.

5. BE CAREFUL AND TAKE YOUR TIME. It's easy to break things when uninstalling and installing. I have to get a new oil temperature sensor because I broke it when reinstalling my headers last time.

6. You may want to budget other parts like a new serpentine belt.

7. Your garage will be a mess. Expect anti-freeze and oil everywhere. Especially anti-freeze.

8. If you do remove your heads, MAKE DAMN SURE YOU CLEAN OUT THE HEAD BOLT HOLES of anti-freeze and dirt before re-installing them.

9. You will need new head bolts and head gaskets. You should also replace all of the gaskets on the front (water pump, front cover, etc.). Texas Speed offers a "Deluxe Gasket Kit" that has everything.

10. Removing the radiator/fan (at least in a C5) is a pain in the ***!

11. When putting your intake back on, REMEMBER TO RECONNECT THE SMALL VACUUM TUBE! If you don't, your HVAC controls won't work.

That's it so far. Right now, I'm waiting for my timing gear, gaskets, oil pump and heads to arrive. The new cam is in the car.

 

to me that is wayyyy to much work to save...well actually i don't know if you save anything to me it sounds like you used all the money that it would cost to have someone else do it, on tools...i don't have that kind of time to learn precision tools and stuff...you spend 25 hours to do this yourself...your car is down for at least the weekend...then you have to go shopping for tools or renting them...then you run the risk of screwing up...or forgetting something...i think i'd rather have a shop do a heads/cam install for $1500 rather than having to find a ride to work and spending hundreds of dollars in tools that i may never use again...also the piece of mind that i know a professional shop did it and i didn't forget something...if you screw up you end up spending 5 grand on a new engine..if you know what you are doing go for it...but for your average person i doubt that this is an "easy" job

 

That is the choice, isn't it? I agree with you IF you can find a QUALITY shop that does it for $1500.00 WITH top-notch parts that DOES NOT cut corners.

Here's my argument. The best deal I found (from well-known tuners in my area), is the Vette Doctors for about $3700.00. That's with 5.3 heads and custom cam, but knowing they'll do a first rate job.

I'm spending about $4000.00, get to keep the tools, enjoy the process of "doing it myself", new AFR heads (shaved .024), new cam, all old parts replaced (lifters, pushrods, gaskets, timing gear, oil pump, etc.), computer tuning AND with all clearances checked AND knowing all specs.

Now, I've had quotes over $6000.00 for the same job (with tuning). I don't have the extra $1000 - $2000 to spend. Believe me, when I was trying to pull out the radiator, I was thinking differently and if money was no object, I would have someone else do it.

Either way you go, you will have your H/C package, but be careful of "going on the cheap". Just my 2 cents...

 

i'm going with norris motorsports (next level performance) they are a sponsor here...they are pretty reputable...but that is for all the parts being supplied...ie. just labor 1500...i know that is a chunk of change and believe me money is an object i am only 18...but i can't fit that much time and stress in my life with work and college...either way it's a choice...and with a choice there is always consequences...i'm not trying to say one way is better than another...it is just better for me....you know what i mean>

 

I'm just trying to get an opinion from the guys to see what's the true headaches and pain about this. Like I started the thread about saying that I have done a converter swap already and believe me I had issues with the smallest stuff (1 ex. dipstick tube). One thing is that I love to see a good end result after the job is complete. This is something I said I would never do on my own. The internals just seem very complicated.

 

well good luck on your H/C ... weather you do it yourself or not!h

 

If you are willing and have the time and want to learn something, do it yourself and you will know it was done right. If you are just trying to save the bucks - have a shop do it. There are too many stories of taking it all back apart, breaking things, trial and error to fix what went wrong, etc. that wind up costing money in the end. On the other hand, if you take the time, be double sure of everything, stop and ask questions as necessary, take the time to learn, you have the satisfaction of a job well done and you will know it is all done to spec. Yes it will cost you for some of the tools, but you'll have them for the next cam swap or whatever job you decide to tackle.

My .02

 

More importantly, make sure you take the rag back out of the oil pan once youre done

 

I didnt read everybodys replies but will add. There is nothing like the sense of accomplishment when you do all the work yourself! Take it from a guy who did his cam and his TQ all by himself, ofcourse I have always done all my work on all my cars. Now my arm hurts from patting myself on back I need to go .

PS. You can do it

 

Quick question... it sounds like there are a lot of extra things to buy that packages such as the ones from TR (ls1 cam swap package only comes with the cam, gaskets, and retainers) do not include. Do you absolutely NEED all these extra things like new oil pump, timing chain, etc? Just wondering because I'm going to do my cam install as well.