just how hard is a cam install?
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On The Tree
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 105
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From: St Louis
just how hard is a cam install? I just got my cam in from lloyd elliott. (227/235) Have rockers, push rods, spring kit, gaskets. I would like to try and do it myself but dont want to screw anything up. So far stuff i have done to an lt1- headers, remove intake manifold for oil leak, and water pump. So i have had a lot of the stuff off already that gets removed. I have read the shbox guide and feel good about everything until its time for the springs. How hard are they? Just looking for advice, thanks
not hard, just time consuming. I used a Crane Cams valve spring compressor, p/n 99473-1. I had to bore out the stud holes for my 7/16th studs and replaced the nut and threaded rod with hardened versions but after all that was done, this tool made the springs a breeze.
TECH Veteran
Joined: Apr 2008
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+1 on the Crane spring tool. It comes 3/8" but like Adsoyo I drilled it out to 7/16. Makes spring swap WAY easier than other single spring tools, especially on rear cyl with engine in car
Use a spring height measure tool and get a bag of shims so you can set spring "installed" height.
Use a spring height measure tool and get a bag of shims so you can set spring "installed" height.
On The Tree
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 183
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In a truck, the cam can be out in 30min. I've done it and even used dowel rods to hold the lifters up.
Disassembly is 25% and reassembly is 75%. It always takes longer to put it back together.
Tighten the rockers in the right order or you'll break the bolts if you tighten them on top of a lobe.
Everything else is easy peasy.
Disassembly is 25% and reassembly is 75%. It always takes longer to put it back together.
Tighten the rockers in the right order or you'll break the bolts if you tighten them on top of a lobe.
Everything else is easy peasy.
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 471
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From: Tucker, GA
My 10-cents: Make allowances in your budget for "while I am in there" sorts of repairs. You've got to take off a lot of parts and you will probably run into items that either break during removal, or are worn beyond the point of wise re-use. Timing chain and gears, water pump, injector seals, vacuum lines, EGR valve (if you have one...), and cooling hoses are a few items that spring to mind. Also make sure you've got the correct tools for the balancer hub, and the crank and wp seals.
Also, be clean in your work. Clean the engine thoroughly before you start the work, and then once the intake is off, be super careful about letting stuff get in the valley. This is where 99% of the HCI jobs go south and lead to dead engines later down the road.
Edit: This is a perfect time to pull the opti apart and install a new cap & rotor and threadlock the rotor screws.
Also, be clean in your work. Clean the engine thoroughly before you start the work, and then once the intake is off, be super careful about letting stuff get in the valley. This is where 99% of the HCI jobs go south and lead to dead engines later down the road.
Edit: This is a perfect time to pull the opti apart and install a new cap & rotor and threadlock the rotor screws.
I had that same cam and let me tell you this, it sounds incredible, best sounding car I've had. That cam with a 3600 stall 323 gears and 26 tires ran real good for a tired lt1. Shbox is what I used, just take your time and be very careful with the oil pump gear, they're plastic and get very brittle over time, lots of guys break them when reinstalling.
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Take your time. Keep the install as clean as humanly possible. Cover the oil pan with a clean shop towel because it will stick out significantly once the timing cover is off. Get yourself some 3" bolts for each cam snout bolt hole so you have leverage when taking the old cam out and stabbing the new one in so the end doesn't flail around inside the block and gouge a bearing.
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