How hard is it to swap a cam on a corvette? My friend just got a new cam for his Trans Am and it sounds awesome. Also for those of you who just did a cam swap how much did you lose on gas mileage? It is the Thunder Racing 224/224 .563/.563 112 LSA cam

 

I am currently helping my friend put an LGM G5 X2 in his WS6, we are doing my '99 C5 next. We both ordered at the same time. Make double and tripple sure that you have all the parts before you get started.

The cam swap went far easier than I expected, the only problem we have now run into is that even though we were told we were buying everything we needed with the package, it didn't include valve seals which apparently need to be changed. So we now have a torn down WS6 which we had hoped to be able to close the hood on tonight, or tomorrow at the latest and we probably still won't have the parts in until Tuesday at least. Out of over 20 local stores in the Detroit area that we called no one has them.

The work it self is not hard if you have all the right stuff.
Get a good pulley puller, a valve spring compressor, and a bolt for the crank. The longer 8mm bolts on the water pump also helped with lining up the cam.

 

Msuc5vette, definitely post your results after installing the G5 X2 cam in your C5. I am interested in idle, driveability and hp/tq #'s. Are you doing your heads too or keeping them stock.

 

Check out http://www.ls1howto.com

It is has an excellent write up on cam installs.

 

In my mind it is a bitch cause you have to take out the steering rack and everthing behind it.

 

This may very well be true the F-Body doesn't require this, but the C5 will.

 

I will let you know how it goes. I hope to take lots of pictures, and maybe video of my install. I will definately post video and audio of how it sounds.

I need to order an LS6 intake, I will be doing heads. I was going to do them this spring, but determined with all the gains each 1/4 or so that companies are getting from new technology I would wait a full year. I fully expect 500 rwhp to be the norm this time next year on HC cars.

I also need to get headers, I want to get the LGM package, I also have quick time cut outs on their way, so it should sound pretty wicked with the cut outs open and headers.

 

Without a retune how bad will gas mileage go down? That was one reason I wasnt going to do a cam, but if its not bad I think I might.

 

Alright guys, as said before, my site will walk you through some of it (although my writeup assumes you're doing heads too). http://www.ls1howto.com. It'll at least get you through removing the steering rack and disconnecting the tie rods. That's really the only difference between the C5 and F-body.

As for gas milage, on the highway it'll go mostly unaffected, but in town i'd expect it to drop anywhere from 1mpg to 5mpg depending on how mean the cam is.

A c5 will probably take 2-3 hours longer to swap a cam on over an F-body, depending on skill level (obviously some do it quicker, some do it longer than that).

I've done a few of these so if yall have any questions just ask.

Jon
http://www.ls1howto.com

 

In my book jmX is the King!
It worked for me!

 

LOL JmX do you ever come to the SFBA??? Want to install my cam :yesnod:

 

Thanks guys. And no, I'm not flying out anywhere to install cams :lol:

Jon
http://www.ls1howto.com

 

doing a cam swap in a C5 is juice. not hard at all. just a lot grunt work. It only takes someone with standard common sense and a tad of experience to get it right the first time. Then, after that, you're ready to write the bible on it. It is that easy. getting the damn front pulley off/on and being careful not to drop any oil pump bolts and the o-ring into the pan (if doing the timing chain change) are the things of noteworthiness. getting the rack out of the way is a PITA, but, again, not hard to do. with busting the tie rod ends out fo the spindles: if they are really stuck in the spindle bosses, take the rod end nut almost all the way off (about 3 turns from being off), spray some WD40 around the tapered shaft and boss, then tap on the top of the nut to bust it loose. point is not to tap on the tip of the tapered ball joint shaft which will muff up the threads. the only tricky part of a cam change is degreeing the cam. if you buy a standard degree kit from Summit for ~$85 it is replete with step-by-step instructions on how to do it. again, very simple. Just dont turn the engine over too hard against the piston stop lest you scar up the piston top. again, no big deal. last thing about a cam change is to check for valve to piston clearance. This is where many people are misinformed. Simply turning the motor over with the cam in and the heads on is NOT an accurate check. This is because standard valve springs will bleed down a hydraulic lifter real fast, enuf to skew your clearance check. The Summit degree kit comes with soft checking springs to put in place of the regular valve springs. Do your clearance check with this + put some clay on top of the piston. If you're using a cam with lift >.550, duration > 220 and lsa <112, you REALLY need to pay attention to this step. once you get a clay impression, measure the thinnest point. you want at least .060" to account for piston rock at TDC (and other factors). dont let all this info worry you; it really is quite simple.


[Modified by rwj383, 1:28 AM 5/4/2003]

 

Sounds simple enough to me... :rolleyes:
Seriously though, I must have done it 20 times on my old small blocks, but I won't even attempt it on my vette. I'll leave it up to the pros.

 

Maybe that's why you'll have an mtwallet? The LS1 is one of the easiest motors to change cams on of all times. Getting to the front of the motor is the only challenge, after that its cake. And if you go with a standard grind you dont need to check clearance nor do you need to degree the cam in.

A couple years ago I couldnt change my own oil, but seeing how easy this engine was to work on got me into cars. My old 5.0 mustang is much nastier to work on than the C5 or LS1 F-body.

Jon
http://www.ls1howto.com

 

Do the heads and intake manifold, and related components need to be removed to do just a cam swap?

 

Heads can stay on, intake manifold can stay on.

You need to get the radiator and steering rack outta the way, remove the valve train, remove the water pump, front pulley, front timing cover, spin the cam, insert 16 magnets in the pushrod holes and use them to hold the lifters up (they'll usually want to stay up by themselves anyway), and slide the cam out. Its exactly like an f-body except the rack comes out too. The A/C condensor can stay in, as it'll move outta the way enough for a cam to come out.

Jon
http://www.ls1howto.com

 

Alot of good advice and knowledge here, nice.
A nugget from my own experience, make sure you at least replace the stock pushrods when you do this, if you haven't already, they are the weak link on the engine and you are already R&Ring them anyway. Comp Cams make a a nice set (including a set of LS1 replacement rockers/springs/etc... as do several other companies. Good luck and let us know the numbers!

 

what an awesum site :thumbs:

 

I went with the theory that you don't want to change the rods becaue it is a good place to have a weakest link. If something is going to break, better it be a rod than a valve. Also, it is very helpful during install of new springs to get a fitting that fits into one of the spark plug holes onto which you plug your air compressor line. It loads air into the engine and helps hold the valves up when you are trying to intall the springs.