Cam install?
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
Cam install? Has anyone on here that is not a mechanic installed a cam on their own? is it really hard to do? anything to watch out for when doing it?
even if you are a mechanic, what are some tips on doing it, if you do it your self?
i want to get a cam for my car, but i dont want to dish out $600 for the install, my brother in law is a mechanic, so he would be able to help.....
any info would help out alot! thanks!
even if you are a mechanic, what are some tips on doing it, if you do it your self?
i want to get a cam for my car, but i dont want to dish out $600 for the install, my brother in law is a mechanic, so he would be able to help.....
any info would help out alot! thanks!
do it yourself, its not that hard at all. Check out the cam/valvespring swap on LS1howto.com
Im not a professional mechanic and did mine by myself, and helped 2 other friends with theres. You said your brother-in-law can help out and is a mechanic so whatever you cant do, im sure he will be able to.
Im not a professional mechanic and did mine by myself, and helped 2 other friends with theres. You said your brother-in-law can help out and is a mechanic so whatever you cant do, im sure he will be able to.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by shouldaboughttheZ
I also did mine myself. Print out the how to on LS1howto.com and do it like it says. Piece of cake.
It took me all weekend to do mine. I did cam, and springs.
It took me all weekend to do mine. I did cam, and springs.
it took you a weekend to do it? thats not to bad....once it warms up here in chicago, ill give it a shot!
Originally Posted by Cooper01Z28
i guess i will give it a shot, would it be easier to do this if i had access to a lift? or is it easy enough to do with the car on the ground?
it took you a weekend to do it? thats not to bad....once it warms up here in chicago, ill give it a shot!
it took you a weekend to do it? thats not to bad....once it warms up here in chicago, ill give it a shot!
I did it on a set of ramps, you should be good then. Get a friend to help if possible, makes it go faster.
I did mine on jackstands. I go to school for automotive, but i did my cam before i got into any kind of engine mechanics. As long as you know how to use basic hand tools, and grasp the basic concept of how an engine works, you will be fine. Take your time and follow the directions.. (LS1howto.com) Also i reccomend the Crane Cams $115 valve spring tool. it has made my life, and several of my friends lives a lot easier lol. Set aside probably a good 10 hours your first time start-to finish.
I STRONGLY RECCOMEND a longer crank bolt to seat the crank pulley, and an M16 x 2.0 tap to clean the thread on the crank before re-installing the pulley...
I STRONGLY RECCOMEND a longer crank bolt to seat the crank pulley, and an M16 x 2.0 tap to clean the thread on the crank before re-installing the pulley...
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No mechanic here either and I still managed to do the cam swap on my car. Now I have several more under my belt along with other things. Just take your time with it and use that write up posted earlier and you should be ok. You'll never know until you try!
I did mine myself also and I used the ls1howto.com writeup. Having a friend around will make things go much easier and faster. The two areas that having a friend where specially helpful where:
- Taking turns threading the cylinder air filling tool to do the valve springs on the last to cylinders on the passenger side it takes a bit of patience. If you do the TDC method ingnore this.
- Taking the radiator out. The extra pair of hands will keep cursing to a minimun
- Having someone to send under ther car to do some of the dirty work. Unfortunatly since my friend is a mechanic, I had the honors to do all the ground work myself, as he claimed that I need the experiece.