gsgman6969 Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 Looking for any tips I can get to help with a cam and heads swap. Going to start the project this coming weekend, the truck is my daily driver, so I need to "git er done". Any info that can keep me from breaking anything or having to take a week off would be greatly appreciated Thanks, Gregman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quik Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 you bcan do it in the truck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 In the truck is how I'd recomend doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNE Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 I put one in mine Thursday in less than 3 hours. I used 5/16 wooden dowels and sanded them to fit to hold the lifters up. Of course, I did this less than a month ago and already had the springs and pushrods installed. The first time with the springs took about 4 hours. You need to get timing cover, water pump gaskets. A new front seal would be a good idea. Use a little RTV on the corners of the oil pan before putting the cover back on. Replace the crankshaft bolt. Torque is something like 32 lb.ft. then 180 degrees. It's freakin' tight, I know that. You will need to remove the radiator to have enough room to get the cam in and out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12'SROCK Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 when you say "You will need to remove the radiator to have enough room to get the cam in and out. ." does that mean that there is limited room with the radiator in the truck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNE Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 It means you will not be able to slide the cam all the way out without removing the radiator. You can leave the AC condenser in but the radiator has to come out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsgman6969 Posted April 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Thank's for the info! The only thing on your list I haven't got is the camshaft bolt .Will a bolt come w/ the cam or should I order one.With the oil pan you didn't drop it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsgman6969 Posted April 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 I put one in mine Thursday in less than 3 hours. I used 5/16 wooden dowels and sanded them to fit to hold the lifters up. Of course, I did this less than a month ago and already had the springs and pushrods installed. The first time with the springs took about 4 hours. You need to get timing cover, water pump gaskets. A new front seal would be a good idea. Use a little RTV on the corners of the oil pan before putting the cover back on. Replace the crankshaft bolt. Torque is something like 32 lb.ft. then 180 degrees. It's freakin' tight, I know that. You will need to remove the radiator to have enough room to get the cam in and out. how did you check your valve to piston and valve to bore clearance?Wworried I might tap a valve.Thanks for all the info so far. Gregman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNE Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Crankshaft bolt, not camshaft bolt. It's the bolt that holds the balancer on. It's a torque-to-yeild bolt meaning it is designed to stretch, therefore it should not be reused. You do not have to drop the oil pan, there are 2 bolts in the front of the pan that screw into the front cover, you will have to remove these. Now, if you're replacing the timing chain, gears, or oil pump, you will need to remove the pan. Unless you have some wicked crazy lift, you won't have to worry about the valves hitting the pistons. What cam are you using? I just noticed you were doing a head swap, so you won't have to worry about lifter tools. You will need headbolts, they too are not reuseable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsgman6969 Posted April 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsgman6969 Posted April 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 It's a comp cam advertized duration 264/271 lift is 558/563 duration 212/218 w/ 115 degrees of lobe seperation. I read your last post too quickly, missed that you were talking about the crankshaft. Already have that the crankshaft bolt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNE Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 It's a comp cam advertized duration 264/271 lift is 558/563 duration 212/218 w/ 115 degrees of lobe seperation. I read your last post too quickly, missed that you were talking about the crankshaft. Already have that the crankshaft bolt. 212-218/558-563 @115, I might be wrong, but I don't think that cam is going to give you very much lope if that's what you're looking for. I used a 224/581 w/114 lsa and I could live with a little more lope. It lopes good on cold start but smoothes out a lot at operating temp. It is still noticeable. It will idle rough when you first do it until tuned. The first sound is not what you will have when tuned. Mine hit hard until I had it tuned. It also stalled at stops unless I held my foot on the gas. Now that ist's tuned, the driveability is great, no idle issues at all. What are you doing about tuning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsgman6969 Posted April 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 212-218/558-563 @115, I might be wrong, but I don't think that cam is going to give you very much lope if that's what you're looking for. I used a 224/581 w/114 lsa and I could live with a little more lope. It lopes good on cold start but smoothes out a lot at operating temp. It is still noticeable. It will idle rough when you first do it until tuned. The first sound is not what you will have when tuned. Mine hit hard until I had it tuned. It also stalled at stops unless I held my foot on the gas. Now that ist's tuned, the driveability is great, no idle issues at all. What are you doing about tuning? I have a guy at Diablo sport who is going to do a street tune, no awd dyno's around here big enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelleyperformance Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 heres a few tips: if your taking the heads off, dont worry about the lifters falling down. as long as the pushrods are out, and you are careful, you dont have to worry about lifters falling. make sure you put the cam in exactly as you take it out. the easiest way to do this is rotate the crank with the bolt you took out until the little notch on the cam gear is at the top. then install new cam like that. make sure to use locktite on the cam gear bolts, which can be reused. you will then need a special alignment tool to reinstall the timing cover properly. like stated above, you will need a new crankshaft bolt, which is about $3. also make sure to put some form of engine assymbly lube on the lobes of the cam. a good way to install and remove the camshaft is to use the water pump bolts. thread them into the cam, and slowly and gently spin the cam as you pull it out. this will keep the lifters in place and works very well for reinstalling the cam. also, its not neccesarry to remove the radiator completely. if you unbolt it and lift it up about 8 inches the cam will slide right under it. this way you can leave everything connected. thats about all i can think of right now..... and use ARP anywhere possible, its ALOT easier. oh and the crank bolt is a hell of a lot tighter than 32lb and 180 degrees..... basically you wanna tighten that as much as possible. and use a fair ammount of lock tite, or it will come out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNE Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 (edited) I'm sorry, I was slightly wrong on the torque. Here is the tightening sequence as outlined in GM Service Information. Crankshaft Balancer Bolt - Installation Pass - to Ensure the Balancer is Completely Installed 330 N·m 240 lb ft Crankshaft Balancer Bolt - First Pass - Install a NEW Bolt After the Installation Pass and Tighten as Described in the First and Final Passes 50 N·m 37 lb ft Crankshaft Balancer Bolt - Final Pass 140 degrees I was pretty close though 37 lb ft then 140 degrees Edited April 21, 2007 by CNE (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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