I am thinking of buying a heads and cam kit from some of the vendors here havent decided on one yet.How hard would it be to do the install myself? Is there a how to on this any where?
Has anyone else done the install at home in the garage? Any tips?
Thanks guys

 

'LS1howto' has great instructions and pics can be done in your garage, make sure you do your homework first. Good luck My vote is drop the PS rack instead of the engine cradle for the install. Good luck

 

If you allow yourself the amount of time to take is slow you will find this car is actually very easy to work on. We replaced the differential in a friends car yesterday and again I am amazed at how simple this car is to work on. Do all your research up front, pick your parts, allow a couple of weeks to do the job (I did mine a couple of hours a night after work and on weekends) and it will come out great.

Some of the gotch'a are the harmonic balancer - make sure you have the right tools. The installation tool can be made for about $20. Don't follow LS1howto.com for this part, this is where some people get into trouble.

I found the steering rack removal was actually very easy. Get a set of vacuum caps for the lines once they are disconnected and cap them, this is minimize power steering fluid loss.

Careful of any dirt getting into where the lifters are when you pull the heads, once it goes into the oil gallery you will never see it.

Don't use metal to clean the block, get some non-metallic scrub pads.

There are lots of other little hints that can be provided once you get closer, but just ask questions when you are unsure of something before you do it. A lot of guys ask questions after they mess up.

 

Its a fairly big job if you have never done before. I'd find some help from s-louis or wherever. Someone whose got the experience can be a big help. You do need a ?14mm flare cut wrench which is an odd tool to get the steering out.

There are great write ups. Literally step by step

just make sure you clean all the coolant out of the head bolt holes. A friend cracked his block because he forgot to!

We have done several all in our garages just get it up on 4 jack stands and take your time. Its really not bad!

Try and get everything you will need before you get it all apart.


Do a (corvette)UD pulley at the same time too!

 

There are a couple of shortcuts that you can use to keep from doing extra work:

Use a shop vac to suck as much engine coolant out of the block as you can from the water pump ports. That way when you remove your heads, there wont be much if any coolant in the head bolt holes. MAKE SURE to check the holes and if there is any coolant, blow then dry. Liquid in the holes can cause head bolt hydrolock and block damage.

Remove the steering rack! It makes things MUCH easier!

Do a (corvette)UD pulley at the same time too!
BC

 

GREAT IDEA BILL! I'm starting my H/C project this weekend over New Years, and I can't wait to get at it.

 

I did the H/C thing myself --followed the LS1 How To Instructions--It went fairly easy--For me the trickiest part was after removing the radiator-you have to move the AC condensor out of the way---It is very fragile and in a tight Spot--You can un-bolt it but then you have just released all the freon type stuff out(r-134a) at hi pressure and willhave to have the AC charged again too---It can break easily be patient --I wrapped it in heavy towels and had a friend help at this point and it went well--also piut in new oil pump--timing gears-chain--and like above UD pulley.

 

Sounds like it gets pretty involved.

 

I just did my heads & cam about 2 weeks ago. I have no formal mechanical training (I'm a number crunching geek by profession), but I am fairly comfortable working on things. I followed the directions on www.ls1howto.com and the whole job was actually very easy, although quite time consuming. I used just regular hand tools and a floor jack...no compressor, air tools, lifts, etc. I spent 4 days working steady, but not killing myself. (I'm certain that a professional mechanic working with full shop equipment could do in in half that time or less.) If you are of average mechanical ability or better, have the tools listed for the job on www.LS1howto.com , and you can follow directions, you should have no problems doing it yourself. The support network here on www.corvetteforum.com , as well as www.ls1tech.com , are helpful references to research and plan out the job, as well as answering any questions that might pop up along the way.

Go for it!

Rob

 

Pin your crank pulley while you're in there. I installed ARP head studs and it was a Godsend when I had to back in there later to fix a leak. No more bolt hole cleaning necessary.

Also, I had a bunch of plastic bags and a Sharpie that I used to keep all the bolts bagged, seperated and labeled. Made reassembly a snap. Take lots pictures while you disassemble to help you remember details.

Best of luck and enjoy it as the fun project it is.

 

Any recommendations for a write up that is good? I was going to go off LS1howto for nearly the whole project. Knowing that the balancer part seems to be where many get hosed up, do you have any specific pointers on where the LS1howto info can be improved???

Chris ...

 

I used a length of SS 16mm threaded rod , a stack of large washers and 16mm nuts to install the crank pulley. No one really knew anything about pinning the crank back then so that wasn't an included step. I highly suggest you do this to prevent possible pulley slip if you don't get it angle-torqued adequately.

Here's the pinning tool


A buddy pinning his pulley for his ATI install


This one is single-pinned but I would pin it in two places, 180 deg. apart. It's really "dowelling" but acts as a pin.