LT1 cam swap?
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From: St. Peters, MO
LT1 cam swap? Ok I already have some decent instructions I got from lt1tech but I just wanted to throw this out at you very experienced mechanics. Me and a couple friends are swapping a Comp Cams "306" cam into his 97Z A4 vert with the following mods....
58mm T/b
FLP full exhaust no cats w/ borla open plate
1.6 Rockers
Comp Cams springs already installed
150 dry shot
also its an A4 with a 3600ish stall....hasn't seen full stall speed cuz the slicks he has start to spin....also a HPIII.....roll cage...etc I know I am leaving things out....
Is there anything special that we should watch out for while performing this swap? Besides the obvious opti spark
Any special tips for us? Cuz it's def our first time....I am the only of of us three who has even done a cam swap ever but then again that was in a 1970 Dart....
Any info would be greatly appreciated as we are starting to tear it down tonight to hopefully have it done by weekend.....
Also....anybody have any opinions on possible gains?
The car right now in full street trim runs 11.56...forgot the mph...on the bottle...keep in mind it is a heavy convertible with a rollcage no less....lol....but possible et improvements? HP gains???? Sorry for the long post but to tell the truth we are all a little nervous about this swap....might take a lot of beers
58mm T/b
FLP full exhaust no cats w/ borla open plate
1.6 Rockers
Comp Cams springs already installed
150 dry shot
also its an A4 with a 3600ish stall....hasn't seen full stall speed cuz the slicks he has start to spin....also a HPIII.....roll cage...etc I know I am leaving things out....
Is there anything special that we should watch out for while performing this swap? Besides the obvious opti spark
Any special tips for us? Cuz it's def our first time....I am the only of of us three who has even done a cam swap ever but then again that was in a 1970 Dart....
Any info would be greatly appreciated as we are starting to tear it down tonight to hopefully have it done by weekend.....
Also....anybody have any opinions on possible gains?
The car right now in full street trim runs 11.56...forgot the mph...on the bottle...keep in mind it is a heavy convertible with a rollcage no less....lol....but possible et improvements? HP gains???? Sorry for the long post but to tell the truth we are all a little nervous about this swap....might take a lot of beers
Kinda off topic but that 306 cam <I>supposedly</I> works the best with ported heads. With stock heads, you might not get the full benefit but they say it likes nitrous. I myself am fixing to do a custom cam swap. If that dude would ever bring my guitar back, I will sell it on Ebay for some $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.............. I'll be shooting in the dark too, but once you get beyond that water pump and opti-**** then it's all SBC from there. Just make sure you time that sonofabitch back right or it won't fire (I did that once). A Chilton manual helped me considerably on the opti-****.
Joined: May 2004
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From: Halfway back on the Highway to Hell...again!
first, be very careful not to get any coolant or moisture in the optispark. 2nd Be sure you replace the timing set and the extreme duty is a waste of $$. 3rd. throw away that HPP+ and go to www.pcmforless.com. let Alvin or Bryan do the pcm. if you have a laptop or I use my desktop that I drag to the garage, you can program it yourself and it's a whole lot cheaper and add the $25 for unlimited upgrades...total= $75 for program and $95 for cable.
this will help a little too,
http://www.automotiverebuilder.com/ar/ar99928.htm
Just take your time, it's too easy
this will help a little too,
http://www.automotiverebuilder.com/ar/ar99928.htm
Just take your time, it's too easy
Joined: May 2004
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From: Halfway back on the Highway to Hell...again!
oh, and if he keeps the juice on, he will definately need heads to support it, like dhdenny said. go on ebay and buy the "how to rebuild you LT1/LT4" book. Awesome book if you don't have the experience or engines to play with.
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From: St. Peters, MO
sapper- what program? I went to the site pcmforless and the price list and it just said some stuff about 175 for programming with 60 days free reprogramming and then all else I was obd1 conversion stuff. I have a new dell labtop i got for college...that would work right? I'm sure the program is windows based anyways...
Max Ive seen on stock heads is 350rwhp (Ive done tons of searches).. So unless your buddy gets different heads/ported heads..hes going to be limited some.
You need to get your idle bumped to ~900rpm and a decent tune.. LT4 KM, etc
The stall is probably about perfect.. since the powerband is so much higher with the 306. As far as the opti.. Ive had mine off numerous times, and rebuilt it at 96K. Im at 117K now and the opti outlived the engine thats for sure. As long as your neat, orderly, and keep everything clean..should be really easy. Hope it turns out well.
You need to get your idle bumped to ~900rpm and a decent tune.. LT4 KM, etc
The stall is probably about perfect.. since the powerband is so much higher with the 306. As far as the opti.. Ive had mine off numerous times, and rebuilt it at 96K. Im at 117K now and the opti outlived the engine thats for sure. As long as your neat, orderly, and keep everything clean..should be really easy. Hope it turns out well.
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From: St. Peters, MO
Ok....here is the update....we got everything disconnected and out so far...the radiator...complete intake system...minus the actual intake so far and we got the crank pulley and "hub" off. Couple questions.....where the heck should we put the condenser? We haven't messed with it yet but it looks to be in the way. How do u move it if at all and where do u put it???? Thanks to everyone for input so far
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Verdad Gallardo Good luck doing it without pulling the condenser, my cam came all the way out and hit the nose in order to clear. I had radiator and condensor out. I no longer had A/C (1LE A/C Delete) so it was already disconnected. Im pretty sure you will need to pull that condensor out of the way, sorry.. you will just have to have the A/C recharged when your finished.
On The Tree
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From: Orlando, FL
Originally Posted by S8ER95Z
Max Ive seen on stock heads is 350rwhp (Ive done tons of searches)..
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From: Halfway back on the Highway to Hell...again!
Jordan, Oops I wasn't thinking that your OBD II, it will be more but if you invest in the OBD I conversion, it's all worth it if you're planning on keeping the car. As far as hp #'s, I have seen many LT1's hot 390-410rwhp with 306's and LT4 Hot Cams with a very good set of heads. The best I have seen with the LT1/4 heads is Brian Tooley at Total Engine Airflow, look for it on the right-------->. but you PAY for what you want!
For the condenser, do as S8E said, pull it and have it recharged. Hell, with 134a, you can do it youself, pick up the kit at any parts store. Too easy.
For the condenser, do as S8E said, pull it and have it recharged. Hell, with 134a, you can do it youself, pick up the kit at any parts store. Too easy.
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From: St. Peters, MO
basically just disconnect both hard lines? the one up top and on bottom on the passenger side? I'm guessing that refrigerant will just pour out for a bit....no worries should clear up some room.
Sapper- Could we just go with the mail order tune instead for the obd II?
Sapper- Could we just go with the mail order tune instead for the obd II?
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From: Halfway back on the Highway to Hell...again!
The Refrigerant is mostly a gas so don't breathe it in. Any liquid that comes out will be condensation or oil. For the programming, they will do a swap. Basically they send you one and when you pay for they will charge you a core charge until they receive yours or you can just send yours in and they are very good at turn around time. Just be very descriptive about everything you have on the car, don't miss anything i.e. gear ratio, tire size, cats or no cats tranny, stock or LT4 knock module etc. They will give you the best tune I know of. Also, check their schedules, They do dyno tunes all over the country. They might be doing one in your area sometime.
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From: Halfway back on the Highway to Hell...again!
Jordan, it would also be a good idea to make sure your plugs are new, run the stock AC delcos for a while then you can change to something else. But this will eliminate any problems that may occur. Or ask Bryan or Alvin what plugs will be best for your set-up. Make sure your wires are good also. When you put the O/S back together, make sure you get the aligning pin in correctly and be sure not to bend or damage that damn little disc, it's very fragile as with the led module. if you have any more q's, email me. streetcar2try@hotmail.com
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From: St. Peters, MO
Okay....intake, rocker arms and pushrods are out and in order...labeled etc....so is the tray or whatever it is that goes over the lifters. Here's the hold up.....need to get the hub off still. I have the water pump and opti already out as well as the pulley but the hub isnt off. We had a bolt puller from auto zone...you know the one with the three bolts that thread into the hub with nuts on the back and the big long bolt that screws throught to the center......anyways it wouldn't work because the bolts to thread into the hub are 5/16" and they wouldn't fit through the holes of the bolt puller....any suggestions on where to find a bigger bolt puller...lol? Or any alternate suggestions on how to get the hub off????
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From: St. Peters, MO
How though....it wasn't budging at all last night. How exactly did u do it.....I have a feeling I am being really dumb about this but for the life of me it won't come off. Also, is the !AIR mod easy to do and what is involved cuz that damn air pump thing is hideous and it took up a lot of space....thanks again guys
Air pump is simple, unbolt, unplug throw away. 
THen block off the hoses.
As fast as the harmonic balancer, Make sure you left the center bolt in the crank (screwed in part parts) to push off of. It wont work if you didnt.
THen block off the hoses. As fast as the harmonic balancer, Make sure you left the center bolt in the crank (screwed in part parts) to push off of. It wont work if you didnt.
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From: Halfway back on the Highway to Hell...again!
I'm not sure on any makeshift ways to get it off, I have the actual puller for those hubs due to the difference in LT1 and 4 hubs, I have to have the actual one. But it sounds like the nut on the back of a smaller bolt would work fine. AIR...GOTTA HAVE AIR----1/2" IMPACT.
air pump..as said ^, unplug, take off, hold on to just in case it throws a code, but make sure you tell Alvin or Bryan if you choose them to do your programming. If it doesn't throw a code....EBAY, some one will buy it, if not, smash it with a big friggin hammer just to pay back the moron who invented it.
air pump..as said ^, unplug, take off, hold on to just in case it throws a code, but make sure you tell Alvin or Bryan if you choose them to do your programming. If it doesn't throw a code....EBAY, some one will buy it, if not, smash it with a big friggin hammer just to pay back the moron who invented it.
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From: St. Peters, MO
so basically thread the bolts through....put the nuts on the backside and then put the impact on the big bolt that goes to the center and turn it in? And should the big bolt be against the crank bolt thats threaded in? or a longer skinnier bolt that goes all the way back into the crank? Sorry for the confusion but i wanna get this F*er off now!