how hard is it to do a cam swap?
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Teching In
Joined: Sep 2006
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From: chesapeake, Virginia
how hard is it to do a cam swap? I am just wondering how hard is it to do a cam swap when the engine is in the car. How many hours would it take and do I need any special tools.
I did a cam swap for the first time, by myself, in the garage, on ramps, in a weekend with no air tools. This included removing the stock heads to replace the lifters, swapping valvesprings, and re-assembling everything as well. I was being EXTRA thorough and also cleaning everything when reassembling too, torquing all bolts, etc.
It is not exactly what I would call fun, but if you have a mechanic knowledge it can be done. We pulled my car into garage at 7:30p.m. and pulled it out completed at 2:30a.m. this was my first time for 3rd gen engine
Give yourself a weekend. ls1howto.com gives step by step instructions. You need a tool to keep the lifters up and a valvespring tool, 10mm wrench and socket, 8mm socket, 24mm socket for the crank, torque wrench, Pully puller (3 jaw puller). Then just regular hand tools. The how to tells you everything you need.
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Joined: Dec 2004
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From: Dallas (Richardson), TX, USA
You can do it. Looking at the guide may make it seem a little bit daunting, but don't worry. There are a lot of steps, but none of them are easy to screw up, and none of them are very difficult to complete. Just follow it step by step and post up if you get stuck. The only better resource than the guide on www.ls1howto.com is good ol' LS1TECH!
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I burnt midnight oil for 6 or so hours to get mine in but most of the time was changing the valve springs because my tool broke...
But once you do it once...you can probably do it again in less than 3 hours easily if you have everything still handy(tools, parts etc)
Best mod to date
But once you do it once...you can probably do it again in less than 3 hours easily if you have everything still handy(tools, parts etc)
Best mod to date
If I could do it I'm sure anybody even mildly mechanically inclined could. Hell I had to put together an entire motor (everything short of laying bearings anways) when I dropped a new block in my T/A and I've never laid a hand on a GM before! Built a few Honda's, but these F-bods are comletley different animals!
The LSx motors are surprisingly easy to mod and almost as easy to tear down and put back together....it's all pretty straightforward..
again, Im telling you to DO IT! It's freakin easy man, plus your face will have a grin on it for like 12 hours after you crank it for the first time...untuned it sounds even meaner
again, Im telling you to DO IT! It's freakin easy man, plus your face will have a grin on it for like 12 hours after you crank it for the first time...untuned it sounds even meaner
Originally Posted by Cerebrex
Don't forget to give yourself some buffer time in case you mess up. It really helps if the car isn't a daily driver.
One tip I remember seeing was to have the refrigerant taked out of the A/C, that way you can take the lines for the condenser loose and pull the radiator and condenser out together. It's supposed to give you alot more room to take out and put in the cam itself without having to mess around moving the condenser up or down.
It's not difficult to change the cam in these cars, just follow the how to step by step, and you'll find you should have no problems (other than a desire to smoke the tires when you're done
) 
11 Second Club
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 5,524
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From: The South
Originally Posted by bad6as
when your puting the cam in the block, does it matter if you spin it while its going in?
do you know what i mean?
do you know what i mean?
I think the research is just as important of factor to take into account.
Checking PR length, Degreeing cam, Getting proper springs, picking the right cam, tuning etc...
All that is ALOT more time consuming than the actual bolt turning, much more frustrating too.
The grunt work is a piece of cake really, I was hesitant but just dove in, if so many others can do it, so can you.
Checking PR length, Degreeing cam, Getting proper springs, picking the right cam, tuning etc...
All that is ALOT more time consuming than the actual bolt turning, much more frustrating too.
The grunt work is a piece of cake really, I was hesitant but just dove in, if so many others can do it, so can you.
