Got cam installed!

[storm5.3]

Well got the cam put in Sun. My dad and I only took about 9 hours to do it. Everything was going great until we spun the cam and a couple of lifters decided they just didn't want to stay up. We were worried about them falling even though I made a home-made lifter tool. It was just that when we spun the cam with the tool in the block the two lifters still moved. So we went to Oriellys before they closed to get the 15 magnets (I already had one) and the heads on the magnets were to big! Now fustrated we went to Wally World and nobody there knew where they were, turned out they didn't even have them!
So now really fustrated I was going to just yank the cam and see what happens but my dad says wait and makes a phone call and finds another magnet from my uncle but he's at a company party out of town and has to run to his job (still out of town) to get the magnet and bring it to us. So we sit fustrated waiting on him. Finally he shows up and starts in on me saying that'll be a 100 bucks. So we get the last two lifters secured with the magnets and complete the swap and sew her back up. Whew!!! Even though it took so long it was still fun to be there with dad and watch him be amazed at how you dont have to tear down the top part of the motor just to change the cam (he's an old school mechanic). But the worse part is I haven't even mashed on it yet to see what it'll do bottom end and regular driving seems the same to me. Cam came out of a LS1 crate motor #0965. Now all I need is one badass Nelson tune..Zed

[farmtruc]

You're luck sounds about like mine, lol. Congrats on the tune and don't bother breaking it in, go romp on that thing and see what it does.
Just from my experience, you'll notice that cam starting about 3000 rpms, then it will out pull the stock cam. You shouldn't really notice any loss in the lowend, but it will be a nice highway cam and pull hard and high.

feel free to contact me if you need anything,

thanks,

allen

[silverbullet]

Even though it took so long it was still fun to be there with dad and watch him be amazed at how you dont have to tear down the top part of the motor just to change the cam (he's an old school mechanic). [/b]

My dad is a Old school mechanic to an I have only seen him breack down old 350s an stuff like that. An I done know much about all the NBS chevys, So my question is. Why is it easier to an why dont you have to tear down the top part of the motor to install a cam? If you have photos or know of any web sites I could look at to see the diffrence that would really help. Thanks. BTW, sorry for my lack of smarts with this stuff, I am a newbi to all this NBS stuff.

[storm5.3]

Hell, I'm a newbie myself but figured I could do it with dear ol dad there to watch over my shoulder and was glad he was. ls1 how towill show you how, it's a f-body install but the trucks are basically the same except for the fan and shroud(spelling). I just printed a copy and used it as a reference while working. Romped on it this morning a couple of times coming to work and can tell a difference. It seems to pull harder but there is a noticeable surge about 2-300 rpms before she shifts at 5100. Need tune bad to raise shift points.I can tell there is some more left hidding in the upper rpm band maybe to 5700 or so...Zed

[farmtruc]

Depending on your gears , weight of truck and tire size, you can get away with shift points as high as 6100rpms for first gear. That'll really keep your truck moving.

I would guess about .5 secs gain in the 1/4

[storm5.3]

Truck is a 99 gmc sierra rcsb w/ 5.3L. Installed posi unit last weekend gears are 3.42 and nothing else but Gibson headers and cat-back. I'm worried about motor though because it has 145K miles...Zed

[TnTrk53]

Originally posted by storm5.3@Jun 1 2004, 01:44 PM
Truck is a 99 gmc sierra rcsb w/ 5.3L. Installed posi unit last weekend gears are 3.42 and nothing else but Gibson headers and cat-back. I'm worried about motor though because it has 145K miles...Zed

Congrats on your install You worried about 145K ? Did you notice much wear on cam where it rides the bearings or lobes? The same lubricant has been taking care of the bottom end too. If you have kept good oil in it, it is probably fine.

[storm5.3]

Shit no dude, hardly any wear at all!!! Changed oil religiosly every 3K. Was using straight Mobil oil until about 60K then switched to Mobil 1 and still changed every 3K until about 10K miles ago! Now go to 5K(easier to keep up with in my head with two trucks). Old cam looks damn near brand new!!! I guess I'm just the cautious type...Zed

[TnTrk53]

Well, tell us how it runs. Does it idle ? Does it stall-out? Does it thump?

[storm5.3]

Originally posted by TnTrk53@Jun 5 2004, 04:34 PM
Well, tell us how it runs. Does it idle ? Does it stall-out? Does it thump?

It idles great. Hell, it didn't even miss a beat when I fired her for the first time after the install. To me seems to have lost just a touch of torque(sp.) down low but there is a surge of power about 2-300 r's right befor the shift at 5100 r's. Almost runs the same but there seems to be a slight noticeable change in tone at cruise (65-70 mph). Also just a slightly different tone at idle too. Got on it today and also seems to rev a little faster when passing. Will try to get it tuned in the near future to take advantage of the power hidding beyond the current shift...Zed