budhayes3

iTrader: (19)

Hey folks! I'm hoping to do my cam swap soon, and I was just wondering, on the NBS trucks, do I need to completely remove the A/C condenser, or can I just move it up out of the way? I would also appreciate any tips or things to look out for when doing the swap. Thanks in advance!

one03sierra

iTrader: (1)

all you need to remove is the radiater. unbolt the water pump and move it over. leave the hoses hooked up.

budhayes3

iTrader: (19)

Sweet, thanks!

chevymec

iTrader: (19)

I was reading an article about a cam swap and remember reading that they didnt remove the heads to swap the cam. Do the lifters really stay in place that good when removing the cam?

gcooper

Try www.Ls1howto.com and i would recommend not just pulling it out and hope the lifters stick. the site is down right now but try it tomorrow

chevymec

iTrader: (19)

Thanks!

383838

iTrader: (1)

Don't just pull it out and hope the lifters stick, if you've ever had a lifter fall it'll change your mind about "hope" real quick. Once the rocker arms are off and the timing cover/chain are out of the way with the pushrods still in spin the cam around 5-10 times with your hand. If you see ANY of the pusrods moving after the second spin the corresponding lifter is about to fall if you pull that cam out. If you do see a pushrod moving, pull the pushrod out and have a friend hold a pencil magnet down the lifter hole, spin the cam around a few more times until the magnet has a good bite on the lifter and is not moving, and with your friend still holding the lifter up with the magnet pull the cam out and stab the new one as fast as you can while being careful and clean. You may have multiple lifters that need to be held up, I've had like 13 or something ridiculous that needed to be held up. It took a strange contraption of zip ties and pencil magnets to pull it off.

onequick5.3

iTrader: (1)

At Tbryne Motorsports they offer a tool that slides in the front of the motor that gives you 100 percent positivity that the lifter will not fall.

Snake Eater

I did mine with the russian rullet method and it went off without a hitch. All the lifters stayed up just fine, even with my bumping around a little. Just spin the cam a few times somewhat fast and be sure they wont fall by pushing them back down on the cam with the pushrods. If they take some force to get back down on ALL of them you should be fine with this method. Then spin the cam again and slide the cam out. Try not to bang the cam around and mess up the cam bearings. That wouldnt be good.