onequick5.3

iTrader: (1)

I am going to swap the cam to the old man truck cam. I have seen the ls1 how to site. But i want to get some input on some things. Do I have to remove any brackets that hold the alternator etc? Also what is better the JPR tool or pen magnets I am also getting the ls6 ported oil pump and JWIS timing chain. Things that I am buying.

Cam
pushrods
918 springs
oil pump
JWIS timing chain
6qts mobil 1 synthetic
bar valve spring compressor
jpr tool or 16 magnets
oil filter
2qts trans fluid

gcooper

Let me save you some money. Go to ace, home depot, etc and buy two 36" steel dowels of 5/16th for about 6 dollars. Dont buy the lifter tool. Also if you are buying a spring compressor find your nearest sears and buy their craftsmen one. Only 15 dollars and works like a dream. Also definately buy the extra long bolt that is recommended the M16 x 2.0 x 120mm. you may need to go to a screw speciality store to find it. BUY NEW GASKETS for the water pump. Also find a torque wrench that will do as little as 10 lbs-ft and one that goes up to 200-250. Also go buy some ****-tastic oil as you will want to do an oil change after a 100 or so miles. And when taking off the cam bolts be careful NOT TO DROP ANY INTO THE OIL PAN.... like i did. Hell is a good way to explain that experience. I know i'll think of something else later but when i do ill post. Oh ya the belt tensioner is on the left hand side (looking from the front end) it can be torqued over with a rachet. Make sure you test all the lifters to see if they drop or not. You dont have to move the alternator. And you might even be able to get away with not removing the radiator. I doubt it but it is possible. You do not need to even mess with the A/C. cover the sides of your truck with a towel or blanket so you dont get any chips, dings or scratches. Use the throttle body adjustment screw to adjust idle. It is on the bottom and uses a T15 torq or star head i forget which. If you have a friend help you the experience will be much easier. Also make sure you have a full list of obsenities at hand and some neosporin. Make sure you use dex-cool certified stuff ONLY. Buy a 4" pulley puller you can get one at shucks/kragen/checkers. DONT BUY THEIR SPRING COMPRESSOR. it is overpriced and of poor quality. if you dont have ratcheting wrenches go buy a metric set for 40 bucks. It is worth it even if you only use it twice. Drink lots of water and eat. Be in a well ventilated area or have fans blowing. Sounds dumb but trust me if you dont do those two things it will suck. I think ive lost some brain cells from inhaling coolant fumes and definately got dehydrated more than once. if you need pics of anything from the swap or any questions feel free to pm or email me. Sorry for the long post but i wish i had known some of these things beforhand. Oh ya make sure you set aside 2 full days to do this as it will always take longer than you expect. MAKE SURE YOU TIGHTEN DOWN THE ROCKER ARMS. ok thats it

gcooper

Oh ya just a heads up mine took me at least 20 hours of work.... 4 of which were for dropping a bolt into the oil pan. Yes i know this is a long time but half of those hours were mainly figuring things out. Also do NOT overtorque the water pump bolts. Did that and leaked coolant. umm lets see. trying to minimize posts. If you do not have a FULL set of tools do not attempt this otherwise you will be either struggling or buying tools left and right. umm if you dont work out make sure you have a bud help you with the crank bolt. also if you have an automatic which im abou 99.9 % sure you do, make sure you have a really sturdy screwdriver, phillips head works best, to shove into the flywheel. BTW you dont have to remove the starter motor fully, which i couldnt do anyway, just push it out of the way and take off the black plastic cover and turn the flywheel untill their is a hole about half the size of a dime and just big enough to shove a screwdriver in. If you are using a cheapo screwdriver dont do this cause you will be puttin A LOT of force on it. I used a snap-on solid steel one.

GMCHammer

iTrader: (4)

Damn cooper you should write a book. Very nice information, it will come in handy when I do my cam swap. Thanks!

onequick5.3

iTrader: (1)

How does the Sears valve spring compressor tool work, it seems like the locks would be hard to get, for taking out and installing? I am strongly considering this though, because it beats 130 dollars for the more performance tool.

BenKey

iTrader: (1)

If you decide to go the pen magnet route, buy a couple of extra to use to pull the locks out once the spring has been compressed.

If you plan on replacing the pump, be sure to get another o-ring to put in. Also, watch the pick-up tube retainer bolt - very hard to handle without dropping in the pan. You will have to loosen all of the bolts on the pan and drop it about 1/2" - 3/4". Don't forget the ones in the very back that actually go through your tranny housing (pretty large bolts). Be sure to get the tube seated and bolted down (without pinching o-ring) before you bolt down the oil pump to the block. This will minimize the chance of pinching it.

marc_w

FWIW: Round 5/16 rods didn't work in my block. The drivers side wouldn't go in at all.

I have since taken a grinder to them and flattened one side like the 'other' tools out there to see if they will now work.

The passenger side went in for most of the way, but got stuck like most other people's do. Even with the rod in place, the lifters that were supposed to be supported could still be pushed down. Not all the way to the cam, but quite close. I still don't know what to think of that.

I chose the russian roulette method for that swap, but I'm using pen magnets for this one.

marc_w

No need to remove alternator brackets... Follow the torque specs on the LS1 site and you'll be all set.

I think most people are still up in the air about the JPR tool...

I used a piece of steel stock from Home Depot to lock my motor for crank bolt removal and installation. Just buy the flat stock that's 1/8" thick, 2" wide, and whatever length. All you need is about 8" or more. Insert it up through the port in the bellhousing, and let it catch a lug on the converter. Believe me, the motor will be LOCKED.

derek_silvy

Definately take the advice of the guys who have done it....
Pretty much follow what ls1howto says to do, but use our advice to supliment that.

Make sure you torque your rockers EXACTLY RIGHT. Get it right, the first time.

You will have to lower your oil pan some to get to that pickup tube bolt for the oil pump swap. Loosen the oil pan bolts a little at a time and gently pull the pan down. Make sure that you have removed the 2 bellhousing to oil pan bolts before you do it though.

When you put the bolt back in the pickup tube, be very careful not to drop it. I did drop it.... twice.... but I had a little safety featured rigged up. I tied a peice fo dental floss around it and ancored it to my sway bar so if I dropped it (and I did) I could just pull it right back up w/o dropping the oil pan. Just make sure you get all the extra string off before you put it all the way in.

Label EVERYTHING!!!!!
It will be damn near impossible to figure out what everything is/what bolt is what if you don't have a labeled, individual bag for everything.

Stuff the head bolt holes with peices of a rag when you take apart those springs. They can fall/fly so jsut be sure you didn't loose one down there.

Get the simple, leverage type spring compressor. It will work for most of the cylinders. I had a loaner from autozone that was the screw type and maybe it was just a crappy one and it kept popping off as I compressed the spring and sent all kinda spring assembly parts flying. Just get a good one for the back two cylinders.

The crank bolt..... be extra extra careful. It is a GREAT idea to back it off every few turnes, pull it, and make sure its not stripping. If it strips severely, you are screwed. Boiling then lubing that balancer will help slide it on.

Good luck,
Derek

hondo

iTrader: (2)

stuff a clean rag in the front of the oil pan so you dont drop stuff down there and def get the longer crank bolt