cam swap
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 89
Likes: 0
From: Columbia, MO
cam swap do you guys think that i would have to replace the stock rockers before a cam and spring swap? 130K miles on the clock. and what about the bottom end?
thank a bundle, anthony
thank a bundle, anthony
Launching!
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 245
Likes: 0
From: college station, tx.
What are the specs on the cam (prolly get more answers with this) and most people upgrade to 1.6 rr's on a cam install. BTW thats alot of miles, if you NEED your car for a DD, i would think twice about a cam install. It can be done but keep an eye on oil pressure, and keep things clean.
130k should not bother you a bit. It depends on how hard that 130 was or if it was an easy 130 with frequent oil changes. An lt1 is still old school chevy stuff and if cared for and can well into the 200's with any trouble other than opti-spark. BUT it is always a good idea to change the valve springs and retainers because any cam other than stock is going to stress the factory parts since they will be operating outside of their design limits. The best thing to do is lay out your goals amount of money available and decide what the intended purpose of the car will be and make your cam choice from there. Call any of the sponsors listed here and they can help you decide on which cam would suit you best and the parts necessary to make that cam work to its fullest potential. In my lt1 which I did H/C on I ran with the cc-306, 1.6 roller tip rockers, and edelbrock heads which I changed the springs on just for safety sake. On the downside that meant long-tubes full exhaust gears and a 3500 stall. So in the end the cam choice can wind up being one hell of an expensive option depending on which direction and how hot of a bumpstick you put in that animal. But there are cams out there that do not require stall and full exhaust too. Just do your research very carefully and in the end you will not be disappointed. I did all of this on my car with 74k on the clock. Most importantly I had it tuned when it was all finished and it runs like a dream. But it has one hell of an idle.
Launching!
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 245
Likes: 0
From: college station, tx.
Yeah, Id say if youve had the car for the full 130k or know its history if you haven't, you prolly be alright, I thought about a cam on mine with 150k, but i don't know the history, and the oil pressure is already a little low, so im gonna get a bare block and build on it, and then switch em out. I think ive read that the most common cause for spun bearings is not keeping things clean, or being careless while cleanig and letting particles fall into the block. Just my .02
40 lbs is right at normal hot and idling. My car runs the same at idle and about 55-60 at any rpm above idle.. As a general rule of thumb I have heard from various people is 10lbs of pressure for every 1000 rpm before you run the risk of killing the oil film and wiping out or wounding a bearing. But with modern synthetic oils, which most people are running I do not know how this exactly holds. I have always run chevron delo 15w40 diesel oil in everything I own. I was missed a shift and blipped my lt1 to damm near 7k and it survived. But with 4:10's it does not take long to run up the rpm.
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Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 89
Likes: 0
From: Columbia, MO
i just did an oil change and put in some quaker state "high horsepower cars" 20W50. i figured since the car likes to run at about 200* it would work good. what other weights have you run? the 20W50 really quieted it down too.
anthony
anthony
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Something that you can do is look into upgrading your oiling system. It wont help if the bottom end is on its way out but when I did my cam swap at 120k, my oil pump started heading south so I replaced it and its run great oil pressure(35-40psi @ idle and 60+ psi when cruising and WOT) ever since. As its been said, it all depends on the matenience of the car. I have reciepts of when the oil was changed in my car from '94(the previous owner was awesome to the car) so I know the history so I felt confident in slapping a cam in.
Launching!
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 245
Likes: 0
From: college station, tx.
Originally Posted by State69champ
I want to do a cam swap myself. what do you think would be a good cam choice? with rockers and lifters and springs. I have 136K
