I just bought a new Cam Motion cam & LS6 valve springs, and I've been calling around to get some quotes for install but they all seem a little high to me. The cheapest place wants $600, and that's at a GM dealership. Some of the performance shops in the area were asking around $800-$1000, and keep in mind that's labor only because I'm bringing in my own cam & springs. Can anyone in here who got their cam swap done at a shop let me know how much they paid? If I know what a reasonable rate is then maybe I can bargain with some of these shops.

Also, while I'm doing the cam & spring swap, is there anything else that I can replace while I'm in there that wouldn't be too much extra work? I'd like to make the engine as strong & reliable as possible without getting into a full rebuild, so if there's anything else you guys can recommend doing while I've got someone installing the cam & springs, I'd love to hear your ideas.

Thanks!!

James (Phoenix, AZ)

 

$600 doesn't sound too bad for it, its nothing hard but it is quite a bit of work. If you want to save the money you can do it yourself in a weekend pretty easily. Theres a great write-up on ls1howto.com that i used for my first cam install. Its for f-bodies but its all the same really. I would upgrade your pushrods while your at it, a new oil pump and timing chain also if you've got over 30k or so on the truck.

 

Cool, thanks for the info, I'll check it out. And yes, I do have WELL over 30k on my truck (it's at 83K right now). I was thinking about doing the pushrods as well, someone already mentioned that to me but I just forgot to include that in my original post. As for the oil pump - does that need to come off anyways when you do the cam swap?

 

do it yourself...

www.ls1howto.com look up the cam install guide.its identical for the trucks.

 

The oil pump does not need to come off for a cam swap, but it does need to come off to swap out the T-chain. I would put on an ls2 t-chain on while you are in there anyway with that many miles on the engine.

 

I did mine about a month ago. It wasn't difficult, just time consuming. I followed the LS1HowTo.com article, it is very informative.
If you do it yourself, you really need air tools. It makes removing and reinstalling the crank pulley much easier. Also, If I install another cam ,I will use the "Pen Magnet" method of holding the lifters in conjunction with the "Dowel" method. I had a lifter slip down past the dowel rod. Luckily, I was able to tap it back up with a metal rod. Other than that my install went very smoothly.

 

i made my own rods out of alum when i done my cam swap. i used that instead of magnets. alot easier imo. the job is not hard just like everybody says its time consuming. if you take your time you can do it yourself with that write up.

and you can prob. find somebody in your area on here that would be willing to help you for some beer money.

 

Cool, thanks for the advice guys, maybe I'll give it a shot myself. I've done just about everything else there is to do on a car/truck, but I've never torn into an engine before so I'm just a little hesitant about doing it. I'll give check out that how-to guide and see how it looks, and maybe I'll try to tackle it myself.

That being said - anyone in the Phoenix area interested in helping out with a cam swap for some beers and/or money??

 

Anyone have any reccomendations on which pushrods I should use in my LQ4 when replacing my cam?

 

Just use the Comp Cams 7.4. If you were in the Houston area, I'd be glad to help. I've done 5 cam swaps on the LSX motors so far and they are a joy to work on! Much easier than the old school SB Chevy. I gambled every time with the lifters and just spun the cam several times until all the "clicks" stop, then carefully remove the cam. It can be done without magnets or dowels but you are assuming a risk. Just take your time and read the how-to write up carefully. As someone also said earlier, you'll appreciate the impact wrench on the pulley. Have fun!