I did my cam swap based on this video and everything went well..:) i suggest u people buy the 3/8 wooden sticks from home depot to keep lifters up..alittle sanding but went very well"!!!! Good video!!
All that work and yet still have the stock LID😑 haha just messing, but great info video! I'm halfway done my swap and using this video and it's been a huge help thus far. Will keep you updated, hoping to have swap done tonight. Thanks again!
I am blown away at this video and I currently own an LT1. I was hoping I could learn something and I def did. not sure what relates to the LT but I'm more apt' to doing the cam now. Thanks swisscarvideos
You don't have to pull the rad completely out. It helps for sure and its a tight fit other wise, but its no 'required'. Once you get a few cam lobes hanging out, you can remove the bolts on the end and just hang on to the lobes...just to save a bit of mess from coolant splashing all over.
It took about 20hours... but i ported my TB in this time and made some tools myself like the "Pen magnet" or the two D-shaped aluminium rods to hold the lifters etc. It was my first Cam swap so i did it slow an carefully. The next time i'm sure i will do this in half the time.
Had a 99 pewter SS T-tops LS1 6spd..Sent a Copy of the Vin to SLP & they sent me the information about it . It was a pretty rare little Camaro... Started showing it's ass every time I drove it, which wasn't that often.. I kept it in my Garage, put less than 8.000 miles a year on it & started once a month just to let it run & idle.. When I sold it in 2011 the damn thing was falling apart like I had dogged the shit out of it. A car we have all had. The more you love it, the more it shits on you
ive changed plenty of cams without doing lifters its all in the condition and mileage of the motor. by the look of the cam he pulled out it was semi low miles. ive played Russian roulette spinning the cam and hoping the lifter retainers hold havent had an issue yet
Take off the egr pipes, 2 10mm bolts straight down under the engine oil dipstick, move the hoses out of the way then I took a 3 inch extension with spark plug holder, fed it onto the spark plug first then put my ratchet in the extension, u only get very small turns though so patience is a virtue. Do the same putting it back, put the spark plug in the plug holder bit with the 3 inch extension, feed it in manually until its hand tighten then feed the ratchet in to the extension
douglasalexis93 the rod size is 5/16. You can use aluminum or even wood. Lowes and Home Depot sell wood dowel rods for $1 and they work just fine. Just make sure they're 5/16 and no dicking around with them while they're in the block. They're hard to break so you'd have to do something pretty stupid to break them. Also want to note that the rods aren't a fool proof method to hold the lifters up. All they are there for is to keep them from falling all the way down. The lifters can still fall far enough to prevent the cam from going in all the way, if that happens get a pen magnet and fish it back up into the tray. It's a pretty easy job just time consuming.
The memories of doing these swaps. Wish it was that fast. Honestly, I just drop the whole K-member so I don't have to deal with the cowl and getting under it. You went with a pretty small cam. Guessing you trying to make emissions.
you're right this cam is emission legal, no problem passing smog tests. it's small but much better than the z06 cam which is another smog legal option.
Brando Vansant you buy a compression tester take the needle valve out screw that end into the spark plug hole and other end with air compressor it fills the cylinders with air so the valves stay in place there is also the raise the piston to tdc of every cylinder so they won’t drop as much I used the first method in my gto getting ready to do a fbody and I’m wondering how much fun getting that hose into the plugs is going to be
hey i just got my self a one stock camaro ss i was wondering whats a god Cam for a bone stock ls1? im just planning to cam it thats pretty much it Thnak you.
i don't remember the exact numbers, about 60-70cm long 5/16". Just about 4-inch longer than the cam, so they don't slide in completly. You need to sand one side so they have a D-shape. You will see it when you 're on it. ;-)
Hey bud, great vid. I tried watching the end twice but still got no sound of the car running. I want to do a cam swap but want something aggressive sounding with no clearance issues. Did the cam you installed have a good sound to it as well? Lopy maybe? If so what cam did you use. Sorry if you already answered that. It's a bit hard to scroll through on my phone. haha
Nice cam the magic stick 3 will give some good gains. but this is one of the bigger cams so maybe you should get the special mail order tune from texas-speed too. And i would take the double springs. If a singe spring brakes your engine is dead, if a double spring brakes most times it still holds the valve up and avoid major damage. My cam is a small one, custom grind 216/226 @116LSA compcams XE Lobe, gain = 90hp ;-)
Hey John - Just make sure the valves are closed first. If you have the correct length pushrod, then you can torque the rockers to 22lb ft. Dont torque them while the valves are open.
Couple tips next time you do this, get a Milwaukee 3/8 drive cordless ratchet, you can get to 90% of your bolts with it, saves a lot of wrench time. Also, you didn’t need to take your throttle body off, just remove the rubber hose under the throttle body to get the water pump on and off. Seems like you made great time just using hand tools and taking your time. Did you tune the car before you started it?
did u have to tune computer?? and did u change to a stall speed converter? and one more ?? sorry can i flip the engine upside down if i have it on a engine stand instead of running dial through the engine so the lifters wont fall into pan??
What did you use to hold the valves from falling into the cylinder or even moving downward slightly while compressing the valve springs? Compressed air? Nothing at all? Thanks.
u might have had answered this question already...but whats the spec of that cam? i have a stock 1999 camaro ss slp and want to change the cam and do headers
dude knows his way around an ls1. any chance you could do a vid of switching out spark plugs? I am having a hard time with passenger side on mine.. If I knew exactly what to take off it would help out alot dude
Nice video, im planning on doing the same thing for my camaro and was wondering if u had take out the ac condenser as well to make more room to take out the stock cam?
Hey, correct me if im wrong but did you put the valve springs in a bucket of oil prior to installation? Is that necessary? Can i do that with the rocker arms,timing chain,lifters and push rods if they are new?
Nice video man. Im doing my CTS V in a couple of weeks and will use your video as a guide. :) VRX4 going in. ? for you. Did you use compressed air to keep the valves up or did you use the top dead center method (elegant way as explained ins ls1howto)?
-- bucket of oil prior to installation? -yes -- Is that necessary? - no, but i recommend it. the oil film protects them a bit from scratches while installing.
Why is the audio either off or on at certain points? I didn't have sound for most of the video and did you ever answer the question about holding the valves up?
What type of tuning would you have to do after this? Would you just be able to tune with a hand held tuner or is there more. I'm wanting to do this to my 04 gto, but I'm not sure what else I have to do after the install.
where did you get that tower brace?? lol i know.. and why am i looking at that... lol you think that will fit on a W-Body like a Grand Prix GXP... i like it Bc it can go over my alternator.. Nice Vid by the way... thxs
Great video. Im about to do my swap. i was wondering how hard it actually is to put the harmonic balancer in. Do you just tap it in with that piece of wood?
Align the dots on the gears properly, spin the motor around by hand after you did it to double check if it really works. There is nothing else to do :-)
There are many different cams out there it depends on what you expect from your cam, and if you have to pass smog tests. For a bone Stock Camaro wihtout any Bolt-ons and stock like idle i would take a cam like 216/224 @ 114 LSA with Lift between .550 -.580 on a CompCams XE Lobe. Nothing Big but with really noticeable Gains and good top end Power. But there are so many other cams you can choose from... maybe LS1tech.com helps you
Great video. Be back in 12 min.... gotta go cam my car.
I did my cam swap based on this video and everything went well..:) i suggest u people buy the 3/8 wooden sticks from home depot to keep lifters up..alittle sanding but went very well"!!!! Good video!!
I made some custom dowel rods that are still being used to this day at the dealership I work at! Very handy.
Nice job man, you made it look pretty painless...clearly you've done this a time or two. Wish the vid had sound, I'm sure it sounded sweet.
Wheres the sound? Drives me crazy i thought i went deaf!!?! Lol
😂😂😂😂
I think that was the best cam swap video i've seen... good job
Yes!!!
you are my ls1 hero you have brought back the diy dream back alive for ls1 noobies
Nice video.
If you delete that resonator box and buy an SLP lid,
that would free up 8 or so horsepower.
3rd Gen Guy I’m sure it’s worth more than that when you throw a cam into the combination lol
All that work and yet still have the stock LID😑 haha just messing, but great info video! I'm halfway done my swap and using this video and it's been a huge help thus far. Will keep you updated, hoping to have swap done tonight. Thanks again!
This is probably the best video I’ve found on this!!!
i love 4th gen camaro's but i fuckin hate GM for shoving half the engine under the car.
Just got a 98 formula. I was scared that I had to pull the motor to cam it. But you showed me the way. 10x as stoked for the BTR3 cam kit to come in
I am blown away at this video and I currently own an LT1. I was hoping I could learn something and I def did. not sure what relates to the LT but I'm more apt' to doing the cam now. Thanks swisscarvideos
Joshua Richardson on the LT1 youd have to remove the intake manifold. its a more time consuming task on an LT1
man that thing sounds good
man, I can do it in my sleep after watching this, best cam swap video ever
I've seen a whole lot of miles on stock lifters. No problem there especially with that mild Cam. Great video, thanks for sharing.
great video! I'm installing my cam and new valve springs using this video, everything was going good until the second to last valve dropped. ahhh!!!
Amazing, it still has the oem steering cooler in the upper hose!
I give you a lot of credit doing it all on your own AND video taping it! Nice job.
Thanks for making this video. Now I know what to expect when I do the cam swap myself.
You don't have to pull the rad completely out. It helps for sure and its a tight fit other wise, but its no 'required'. Once you get a few cam lobes hanging out, you can remove the bolts on the end and just hang on to the lobes...just to save a bit of mess from coolant splashing all over.
It took about 20hours... but i ported my TB in this time and made some tools myself like the "Pen magnet" or the two D-shaped aluminium rods to hold the lifters etc.
It was my first Cam swap so i did it slow an carefully. The next time i'm sure i will do this in half the time.
Had a 99 pewter SS T-tops LS1 6spd..Sent a Copy of the Vin to SLP & they sent me the information about it . It was a pretty rare little Camaro... Started showing it's ass every time I drove it, which wasn't that often.. I kept it in my Garage, put less than 8.000 miles a year on it & started once a month just to let it run & idle.. When I sold it in 2011 the damn thing was falling apart like I had dogged the shit out of it. A car we have all had. The more you love it, the more it shits on you
Next on the list: SLP lid/long tube headers/AIR delete
ive changed plenty of cams without doing lifters its all in the condition and mileage of the motor. by the look of the cam he pulled out it was semi low miles. ive played Russian roulette spinning the cam and hoping the lifter retainers hold havent had an issue yet
Take off the egr pipes, 2 10mm bolts straight down under the engine oil dipstick, move the hoses out of the way then I took a 3 inch extension with spark plug holder, fed it onto the spark plug first then put my ratchet in the extension, u only get very small turns though so patience is a virtue. Do the same putting it back, put the spark plug in the plug holder bit with the 3 inch extension, feed it in manually until its hand tighten then feed the ratchet in to the extension
changing even a sparkplugs and wires is little nightmare, great job.
not a single beer the whole job???? that's impressive... sweet video
Dumb question. the rods you slide in to keep the lifters from falling do they have to be a specific one or just any rod that fits?
Ls1junkie no specific, just any rod that fits, should not be too small.
swisscarvideos hey dude what size rods and can i friend u on fb for assistance if you dont mind.
douglasalexis93 the rod size is 5/16. You can use aluminum or even wood. Lowes and Home Depot sell wood dowel rods for $1 and they work just fine. Just make sure they're 5/16 and no dicking around with them while they're in the block. They're hard to break so you'd have to do something pretty stupid to break them. Also want to note that the rods aren't a fool proof method to hold the lifters up. All they are there for is to keep them from falling all the way down. The lifters can still fall far enough to prevent the cam from going in all the way, if that happens get a pen magnet and fish it back up into the tray. It's a pretty easy job just time consuming.
The memories of doing these swaps. Wish it was that fast. Honestly, I just drop the whole K-member so I don't have to deal with the cowl and getting under it. You went with a pretty small cam. Guessing you trying to make emissions.
you're right this cam is emission legal, no problem passing smog tests.
it's small but much better than the z06 cam which is another smog legal option.
very soothing to watch
What's the trick from keeping the valves from dropping ? I have a new cam with springs but I do not want to pull my head's of ? Thank you
Brando Vansant you buy a compression tester take the needle valve out screw that end into the spark plug hole and other end with air compressor it fills the cylinders with air so the valves stay in place there is also the raise the piston to tdc of every cylinder so they won’t drop as much I used the first method in my gto getting ready to do a fbody and I’m wondering how much fun getting that hose into the plugs is going to be
losen the oil pan bolts a bit to drop it about 1cm , not completly. Then you should be able to losen the pickup bolts. Do it slow an careful...
hey i just got my self a one stock camaro ss i was wondering whats a god Cam for a bone stock ls1? im just planning to cam it thats pretty much it
Thnak you.
delsurway what cam did you go with., and you just did cam only???.. lmk
bravo! very well put together. i love the music too. i enjoyed this very much.
thats a hell of a job!
you make it look so easy lol
Great video Ty for posting I have a 2000 camaro ss covertible
i don't remember the exact numbers, about 60-70cm long 5/16". Just about 4-inch longer than the cam, so they don't slide in completly. You need to sand one side so they have a D-shape. You will see it when you 're on it. ;-)
i didn't take out the AC condenser, you can move it out of the way without removing any connected lines.
Hey bud, great vid. I tried watching the end twice but still got no sound of the car running. I want to do a cam swap but want something aggressive sounding with no clearance issues. Did the cam you installed have a good sound to it as well? Lopy maybe? If so what cam did you use. Sorry if you already answered that. It's a bit hard to scroll through on my phone. haha
everything about this was awesome
Nice vid, very informative. Thanks for the effort and sharing this.
your a ls1 god for making this
Nice cam the magic stick 3 will give some good gains. but this is one of the bigger cams so maybe you should get the special mail order tune from texas-speed too. And i would take the double springs. If a singe spring brakes your engine is dead, if a double spring brakes most times it still holds the valve up and avoid major damage.
My cam is a small one, custom grind 216/226 @116LSA compcams XE Lobe, gain = 90hp ;-)
Come On Mannnn... you were right there. Change the valve stem seals everytime you pull the valve springs. they are cheap..
what did you do to set the valves? just torqued them to spec?
Hey John - Just make sure the valves are closed first. If you have the correct length pushrod, then you can torque the rockers to 22lb ft. Dont torque them while the valves are open.
Couple tips next time you do this, get a Milwaukee 3/8 drive cordless ratchet, you can get to 90% of your bolts with it, saves a lot of wrench time. Also, you didn’t need to take your throttle body off, just remove the rubber hose under the throttle body to get the water pump on and off. Seems like you made great time just using hand tools and taking your time. Did you tune the car before you started it?
They didn’t have them 10 year ago
Oh, btw, these comments are hilarious. I love it. even learn from them and answered some Q's
You dont have to drop it complete, just loose all the bolts until the pan drops enough to pull the pickup tube out.
I would have changed the lifters as well, I don't know much about rollers but I know its a must for hyd cams
did u have to tune computer?? and did u change to a stall speed converter? and one more ?? sorry can i flip the engine upside down if i have it on a engine stand instead of running dial through the engine so the lifters wont fall into pan??
Are the rods that got inserted before the camshaft was removed used to stop the pushrods and valves from dropping?
What did you use to hold the valves from falling into the cylinder or even moving downward slightly while compressing the valve springs? Compressed air? Nothing at all? Thanks.
i used the TDC method...
Mann you did a great job...
u might have had answered this question already...but whats the spec of that cam? i have a stock 1999 camaro ss slp and want to change the cam and do headers
Coming from someone who’s done this, you made it look too easy 😂😂😂
dude knows his way around an ls1. any chance you could do a vid of switching out spark plugs? I am having a hard time with passenger side on mine.. If I knew exactly what to take off it would help out alot dude
Nice video, im planning on doing the same thing for my camaro and was wondering if u had take out the ac condenser as well to make more room to take out the stock cam?
Hey, correct me if im wrong but did you put the valve springs in a bucket of oil prior to installation? Is that necessary? Can i do that with the rocker arms,timing chain,lifters and push rods if they are new?
Did you have to drop the sump in order to remove the bolt for the pickup line on the bottom of your oil pump?
Nice video man. Im doing my CTS V in a couple of weeks and will use your video as a guide. :) VRX4 going in. ? for you. Did you use compressed air to keep the valves up or did you use the top dead center method (elegant way as explained ins ls1howto)?
-- bucket of oil prior to installation? -yes
-- Is that necessary? - no, but i recommend it. the oil film protects them a bit from scratches while installing.
Hardest part is the left side valce cover removing plastic egr and bracket 10mm nut back there
Why is the audio either off or on at certain points? I didn't have sound for most of the video and did you ever answer the question about holding the valves up?
Top dead center method
What type of tuning would you have to do after this? Would you just be able to tune with a hand held tuner or is there more. I'm wanting to do this to my 04 gto, but I'm not sure what else I have to do after the install.
i will be doing this with in the week and was wondering which method did you use to keep the valves up i didnt see in the video?
Nice video! Wish I knew how to do work on cars.
do u have part numbers for the pulley puller, the spring remover tool and what size r the 2 rods u used to hold the lifters up?
nice vid man! I watched every second, very detailed
may I ask what those 2 rods were that you stuck in just above the cam? are they to hold the lifters up so they don't fall?
Yes, they hold the lifters up so they can't fall.
Dude great video, this will be a tremendous help this summer! Thank you very much! :-)
where did you get that tower brace?? lol i know.. and why am i looking at that... lol you think that will fit on a W-Body like a Grand Prix GXP... i like it Bc it can go over my alternator.. Nice Vid by the way... thxs
Did you have to drop the pan to get the pick up tube off the oil pump?
My question is, where do you get the rods to hold the lifters up?
Cool vid man thanks for sharing!
how exactly do you get the cam to be aligned properly. I know you have to line up the dots on the cam gears, but is there anything else to it?
You should throw an F1 procharger with a cog drive, rib setup, and dynatech exhaust system and an Ls1 and you'd kick some serious ass
I'm just wondering what method did u use to keep your valves from droping when u removed the springs
well documented vid.how long did the whole process take you start to finish?
what was the purpose of sliding in those long rods before taking out the camshaft??
i thought so..thanks!!
yes you should, its the most easy part of it, just pull them out an put the new ones in. :-)
maybe i should post a pic of my Hands and Arms after doing this ;-)
The hard part is the disassembly not the cam swap itself.
Old video but nicely done !
sick video. lol damn radiators.... took me like 2-3 hours when i replaced mine
Great video. Im about to do my swap. i was wondering how hard it actually is to put the harmonic balancer in. Do you just tap it in with that piece of wood?
Yes, just tap it in.... it's easy.
did that have to be tuned if i wanted to do one without a dyno or going to big what spec cam would suit
Were did u get the tubular bars tht held the lifters up very helpful video
You can use wood dowels from Home Depot
where did you get them long poles from that you stuck in that slots before you remove the cam
damnnnn 12 mins to install a cam?dude your a freaking pro lol jk good job man,im to chicken shit to try this lol
Align the dots on the gears properly, spin the motor around by hand after you did it to double check if it really works.
There is nothing else to do :-)
Shouldn't you change the pushrods as well? Is that hard to do?
There are many different cams out there it depends on what you expect from your cam, and if you have to pass smog tests.
For a bone Stock Camaro wihtout any Bolt-ons and stock like idle i would take a cam like 216/224 @ 114 LSA with Lift between .550 -.580 on a CompCams XE Lobe. Nothing Big but with really noticeable Gains and good top end Power.
But there are so many other cams you can choose from... maybe LS1tech.com helps you
Nice work!
what did you stick in the sides of the cam before pulling it? was that to keep the lifters from falling?
It is..can use 5/16 wooden dowels
What size of dowels did you use to hold the lifters up
How long did it all take you to do? I know you had the video moving fast lol.
All that and you went with a lil baby cam! Just kidding bro! Great job!
what did you use to keep keep the valves from falling? about to do my first cam swap this month
where do i get the two rods that you use to hold the lifters up ?