How expensive should a cam install be at a shop?
How expensive should a cam install be at a shop? I got quotes from a couple places locally. I was quoted 1500 for the cheapest. I want to install new rods, springs, ls6 oil pump, ls6 intake, timing chain, and my ms3. To me it seems way to steep..Is that a fair price?
That was I was thinking. I bought all parts myself. I have them here at home. Just dont have the time to so the install my self. Ill keep searching and see what I come up with. Thanks!
Just call around town and see who will do it the cheapest and go with them. OR find someone on the board here that's willing to do it. Lots of people in Texas that know what they're doin.
There are a few SPONSOR ---> shops in Texas, why not check them out?
Aftermarket shops base their labor times on the factory warranty times plus 40% (Chilton time) on average. The factory labor is 11.3 hours so the aftermarket rate would be 15.8 hours. Depending on the labor rate in your area the labor alone could be from $60.00@ 15.8 = $948 to $100.00@15.8 = $1580. The factory has you remove the lifters, since this is based on a warranty repair they can't do short cuts, the heads must come off to remove the lifters. Technicians know the short cuts if they do these a lot. You don't get a discount if he is smart enough to beat the published labor time. Think about how much a plumber or heating and cooling guy gets to charge to come to your house to fix a leak or furnace. Either find the time and have the tools and knowledge to do the repairs yourself or pay for a quality repair. Cheapest will get you exactly that, things not torqued properly, leaks, you get the idea.
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Thunder Racing charges about 750 for cam, rods, and springs. I just did it myself and it took about 11 hours. Not to bad for my first cam and spring swap, at least thats what i think. The springs were kicking my *** until i got the right compressor. I think i can do it in about 7 hours noow that i know how to do it. Its an easy install, just take your time.
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I will not consider any camshaft upgrade a success by anyone for that matter untill the car is running code error free and tuned to perfectionafterwards.
A11-15 hour camswap could very easy turn into a
24 hour camswap if all the variables were correctly factored to the equation beforehand.
Asides from the potential snapping of the crankshaft bolt in the crank snout and got away with the balancer crap too, then the rest
ought be seamless,however, if ye haven't correctly correlated correct valvetrain geometry with the lowered than stock
camshaft base circle circumfrence,and forgot to account for
that mantatory procedure,ye may very well end up with a valve train
that causes excesssive + premature valve stem wear issues
that as time goes by eventually gonna render the engine burning more
oil than fuel
!thats just one of the hidden variables in the equation.
easy to some but not that simple really as it seems.
Last edited by oz304; Nov 6, 2007 at 06:09 AM.
Just remember this....
If you go cheap now, you will pay for it later. We always charge book time, so cam/spring swaps come out to right around $800-$1000 all said and done. Then you have to tune and all, so you're looking at $1400-$1500 out the door.
To me, this is very fair considering the techinicality of the install, and the tuning which is not easy in itself.
You also have to take into consideration the fact that if you pay a premium, you will be treated as such (by most shops) if there is EVER a problem.
Our shop warranties all of our installs/work and any parts we supply. We have never had a problem, and have MANY return customers because of this service.
If you go cheap now, you will pay for it later. We always charge book time, so cam/spring swaps come out to right around $800-$1000 all said and done. Then you have to tune and all, so you're looking at $1400-$1500 out the door.
To me, this is very fair considering the techinicality of the install, and the tuning which is not easy in itself.
You also have to take into consideration the fact that if you pay a premium, you will be treated as such (by most shops) if there is EVER a problem.
Our shop warranties all of our installs/work and any parts we supply. We have never had a problem, and have MANY return customers because of this service.
If you do the work youself you can buy all of the SPECIAL tools that make this job a whole lot easier as well as any other hand tool you will need that you don't already own with the money you save by doing the work yourself. Vinci/Crane spring compressor, 5/16" metal dowel rods($5 @ Home Depot), threaded rod pulley pusher tool($40 shipped), 8mm 6pt 3/8" drive impact socket($5) to remove rocker arm bolts. I custom made my own camshaft removal/install handle out of a steel rod I welded to a piece of steel flat stock which I drilled 4 holes in(3 holes for the cam bolts and 1 hole for the cam dowel). You don't need this special home made tool, but it helps a lot when removing and installing the cam. The Vinci/Crane spring tool is very important because it does two springs at a time. That means a lot when the alternative is using the other tools 32 times. A reflash is needed if you install a BIG cam especially if you have an auto trans. You can overnite your PCM/ECM to your programmer and get it back the next day. That gives you two days to do the cam swap. More than enough time even for a first time cam swap.
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Geeez....apparently our rates should go up...
My shop runs $600 labor for a complete cam/spring/pushrod/oilpump/timing chain install.
or $1000 including before/after dyno & fully tuned.
So if you are quoted double that...i think you can find a better deal in your area.
My shop runs $600 labor for a complete cam/spring/pushrod/oilpump/timing chain install.
or $1000 including before/after dyno & fully tuned.
So if you are quoted double that...i think you can find a better deal in your area.
dont trip i got u, ill be in el paso in dec LSInnovations says $600 for a cam swap including replacing the oil pump and timing chain? That's a bargain! $600 for just a cam swap with springs is a reasonable price, but throw in a pump and chain and you've got yourself a deal. The pushrods have to be removed so that's part of the job regardless, but replacing the oil pump and timing chain adds a lot more work to the job because the oil pan has to be dropped which you don't have to normally do for a cam swap. Yeah, you need to raise your prices expecially after seeing what other shops charge and they might not even throw in the pump and chain. Either the other shops will have to lower their prices or you should raise yours. I'll bet some people got their feelings hurt when they read that you only charge $600.
Just do it your self. IT IS NOT THAT HARD. I had never done anything like this when I did mine and it was not hard. The pulley is not an issue if you have the right tools. For me the pulley came off and went back on with no problem. The right tools make all the difference, and once you have them you can always swap to a different cam later easy.
Don't be a ***** just do it save your self the cash. You can always get a mail order tune
and get the dyno tune later.
Don't be a ***** just do it save your self the cash. You can always get a mail order tune
and get the dyno tune later.