Cam swap questions???

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Dec 24, 2002 | 10:23 AM

jw38

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From: Spring Branch TX

St. Jude Donor '14,'18,'21

Cam swap questions???

I'm thinking about doing a cam swap on my 2000 coupe for a few extra ponies and would like to know what's involved in doing the swap. Some typical questions: Can it be done without pulling the motor? Do the heads have to be removed? You know the drill!

Any suggestions on make/type of cam I should use?? :steering: :steering:

Dec 24, 2002 | 10:30 AM

Patches

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From: Lake Elsinore, CA

Re: Cam swap questions??? (jw38)

http://www.ls1howto.com/
http://www.derty.org/install/headcam.htm

Above are a couple of links on diy h/c swaps. The first is probably the best around and was done by jmX, a forum member.

The motor doesn't have to come out and the heads don't have to come off as long as you use pen magnets to hold the lifters up during the cam swap.

:cheers:

Dec 24, 2002 | 02:25 PM

BadMonkey

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From: Kentucky

Re: Cam swap questions??? (Patches)

I didn't use magnets its at you risk really, once you pull out the cam lube the new one and put it in. Just twist you cam a few times to push all teh lifters up and you'll be ok. But everything else in those linls above wil help you out. The springs are the hardest parts. I haven't done a cam swap on the C5 yet but on the F Body it was a pain with the forward windshield over the back half of teh motor. But its not that bad.

Dec 24, 2002 | 02:34 PM

WALLstAL

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From: GARDENA Ca, State Of Konfusion

St. Jude Donor '05

Re: Cam swap questions??? (BadMonkey)

Quote:

I haven't done a cam swap on the C5 yet but on the F Body it was a pain with the forward windshield over the back half of teh motor. But its not that bad.

My mechanic said, it was much easier than the F bodies!

Dec 24, 2002 | 02:43 PM

jmX

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From: SoCal

Re: Cam swap questions??? (wallstAL)

Quote:

My mechanic said, it was much easier than the F bodies!

Then your mechanic is a moron or he's not talking about ls1 fbodies.

Anyways, JW38, if you follow the instructions on my page (ls1howto.com) for the heads/cam swap, but you IGNORE the head removal stuff, that will get you most of the way there. You NEED to buy 16 pen magnets tho or you'll be risking it. Instead of removing the heads, you remove the valvetrain, spin the cam to raise the lifters, and where the pushrods are you stick in retractable pen magnets. You'll feel them magnetize to the lifters. Then you can bend out the little shirt clip on the magnet, pull up on the lifter, and use the bent clip to hold on to the head somehow to keep the lifter held up.

It looks like this: http://www.ls1howto.com/infopics/magnets.jpg

All the other steps on my swap page that dont deal with removing the heads should pretty much get you there.

Dec 24, 2002 | 04:09 PM

jw38

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From: Spring Branch TX

St. Jude Donor '14,'18,'21

Re: Cam swap questions??? (jmX)

Great info everyone!! Now I just have to choose a cam. Any suggestions?? :cheers: :cheers:

[Modified by jw38, 9:09 PM 12/24/2002]

Dec 24, 2002 | 04:47 PM

SFVetteman

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From: San Francisco CA

Re: Cam swap questions??? (jw38)

Quote:

Great info everyone!! Now I just have to choose a cam. Any suggestions?? :cheers: :cheers:

The first question you need to ask yourself is do you want it to pass emissions? If that is important to you then realize that a cam with 224 duration will probably be the most you could go and pass. And that’s not guaranteed as some cars do and a lot don’t. And you will need to stick to no tighter than a 114 LSA. Increasing the lift doesn't usually hurt emissions.

For best results you should have the car tuned after the swap. The A4 is more sensitive to cam changes then the 6-speed and often requires tuning to run decent. A 114 LSA will give a smother idle than a 112 LSA but will develop less power.

You will also need to upgrade your springs. I have a REV dual spring setup and I like it very much as I have a 6800 red line now and it doesn’t require machining of the heads to install. I would also add an underdrive pulley for a few ponies at the same time and replace the timing chain setup as the labor won't be extra.

[Modified by SFVetteman, 1:53 PM 12/24/2002]

Dec 24, 2002 | 04:56 PM

Melting Slicks

Joined: May 2001

Posts: 2,596

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From: East Tennessee

Re: Cam swap questions??? (jmX)

Quote:

My mechanic said, it was much easier than the F bodies!

Then your mechanic is a moron or he's not talking about ls1 fbodies.

I think Al was referring to maybe swapping the springs only, which is easier then an f-body :) But the cam surely isnt..

[Modified by kp, 4:57 PM 12/24/2002]