Yes! I got my cam!

[Hay Hauler]

Do it yourself. If you have a compressor and impact its about 1.5-2 hrs
take off coil packs, valve covers, fan, radiator, water pump, pulley, timing cover, take the rockers offunbolt cam gear(make sure you are dot to dot before u take the gear off), take off cam retainer plate. before you slide the cam out spin it a few times then slide the cam out with the water pump bolts. Slide the new cam in, put the retainer plate back on, bolt cam gear back on dot to dot( its easier to to use the 2 water pump bolts first to get things started then put one cam gear bolt in tighten it down then pull the waterpump bolts and and put the 2other cam gear bolts in)turn the motor over a few times to make sure you come back with the dots lined up (easier to turn the motor over with the plugs out) then pt everyhing back in. you can get the torque specs here
http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?article=23

[farmtruc]

don't forget the rockers are torqued down, not 1.5 turns,

hahah jk,

glad you got it going,


allen

[Hit Man X]

Originally posted by farmtruc@Dec 23 2003, 09:47 PM
am i charging you or doing this out of kindness, lol

i'll let you know what my schedule looks like,


talk to you soon,

allen

It's X-mas! lol

Um, I dunno I can do the labor no sweat just need the ol' helping hand of guidance to tell me what not to do. I hope that makes sense. I've never swapped a cam before...

[BigKID]

There is nothing to it. Just take your time and dont get in a hurry. I had never installed one before mine either. I followed the directions on the ls1howto site and had no problems.

[farmtruc]

Sounds like a long drive and trouble for just a cam swap. Do you have a web cam?hahah, that would work.

I say give it a try and let's see what happens, so far you have several ppl saying change it yourself, it is very gratifying-sp.

Let me say it again, very easy to do.

LS1howto is very informative, but I'll sum it up: if i miss something , feel free to add to it guys.

-remove the air intake
-remove the upper shroud
-remove the fan by using a big cresent wrench and hitting it or tapping it with a hammer , it will come loose.
-remove the lower shroud
-remove the serp belt
-remove the water pump side radiator hose
-remove the lower hose from the water pump
-remove any hoses left on the radiator
-unbolt the radiator
-remove the radiator
-remove the 6-10mm bolts holding the water pump on
-use a crowbar to secure the pulley and use a breaker bar to remove the crank bolt. Or (thanks to vv8) the rear tab on the pullery, loadge a socket or something in there on the pump, of course you do this before you remove the pump.
-with a 3 leg puller, remove the crank pulley.
-disconnect the battery
-unplug the main coil pack connector
-remove the coil bracket
-remove the valve covers
-loosen all the rocker arms completely
back to the cam
-remove the timing cover bolts, there are two on the underside too
-line the two dots up
-remove the cam sprocket
-before removing the cam, spin it a few times to lock the lifters in place, test it out and see how they lock, you can push on the push rod and watch it go back down.
-so spin it some more and slowly remove the cam , be careful, don't damage anything.
-lube up the other cam and slowly install it.
-install the cam sprocket and line up the dots, this is very important.
Now you're done with the install, simply reverse the install and you're done.

TIPS:
-on the corner of the timing cover and oil pan, use some silicone, it makes for a sure seal.
-support the timing cover but do not tighten it down, use the crank pulley to line up the timing cover, as you install the crank pulley, it will line up the timing cover.
-be sure the front seal did not flip back on the edge or you will have a leak, make sure it's flush all around and not bent back. You'll know what i'm talking about if it does this, spray some wd40 on it to allow it to slide some.

you're done,

is that easy or what,

let us know what you decide,

if you built that crazy ass ford you have, this is a snap, just take your time and follow the instructions.

later,

allen

[BigKID]

Good breakdown Allen. Although I did a few things differently. I didn't not disconect all the hoses from the water pump. I removed the upper hose and the two hoses for the heater core then just laid it to the side. I also didnt remove the radiator. I tilted it to the side and secured it with a bungee since I didnt have any help. I also removed my rockers and pushrods. Mainly cause I wanted to check all my pushrods, since I had a spare set with me, while I was in there. But since you arent changing springs, leaving the pushrods and rockers in place, once you unbolt them, will save you some time.

[farmtruc]

yea, not that i think about it, i usually just move the wp to the side and keep the heater core hoses intact, just wasn't thinking doh.
i guess it's always safe to check for damaged parts.

thanks for the comment,

allen

[mustbbrent]

Allen, what do you and/or Joe charge to install new springs and a CAM? And about how much time will it take? I may change out the thermostat while at it.

Need to find a way into the 13s. Without the Supercharger price tag.

[ONE04FX4]

man check this out.man allen you are the cam man now. i am going to be going up there to do one soon also. man after we all get our upgrades we are going to have to meet up again and see what all turns out from these upgrades. still pndering this-

[Hit Man X]

How come there is no smilie for a big wuss? I've never taken one of my vehicles that far apart for a cam swap. Everything else I do is from heads on up. I have no problem driving down a few hrs earlier for the swap seeing as how I will be down there anyway for the GTG.