LS1 Camaro Cam and Valvespring swap

Video from my first LS1 cam swap.
All done with this very helpful how-to: www.ls1howto.co...

[@genthba]

Great video. Be back in 12 min.... gotta go cam my car.

[@Multi8384]

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!!

[@dagolf06]

I made some custom dowel rods that are still being used to this day at the dealership I work at! Very handy.

[@slowpoke96Z28]

does it just hold them up by friction? those are the galleries that feed the lifters right?

[@pontiac428geiger8]

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.

[@jdburge17]

you are my ls1 hero you have brought back the diy dream back alive for ls1 noobies

[@dberls1motor]

I think that was the best cam swap video i've seen... good job

[@oillife2115]

Yes!!!

[@3rdGenGuy]

Nice video. If you delete that resonator box and buy an SLP lid, that would free up 8 or so horsepower.

[@DickVanNiggz]

3rd Gen Guy I’m sure it’s worth more than that when you throw a cam into the combination lol

[@yeeoleswsh1450]

Just used this video after all this time to make sure I wasnt forgetting anything with my Trans Am cam job, amazing video

[@Doc-Ready]

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!

[@YNTGUNS]

Wheres the sound? Drives me crazy i thought i went deaf!!?! Lol

[@oillife2115]

😂😂😂😂

[@Breezy-uz1eo]

This is probably the best video I’ve found on this!!!

[@artlife6210]

man, I can do it in my sleep after watching this, best cam swap video ever

[@prototypehangar8447]

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

[@JRich165]

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

[@sixty9fordkiller]

Joshua Richardson on the LT1 youd have to remove the intake manifold. its a more time consuming task on an LT1

[@bobsmith4121]

Amazing, it still has the oem steering cooler in the upper hose!

[@charlesmckeown201]

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!!!

[@swisscarvideos]

They hold up the lifters the same way as the JPR Cam install tool in the howto does. You can make them yourself, just google or search on LS1tech for more info. Good luck with your swap!

[@HammerDownDriving]

I've seen a whole lot of miles on stock lifters. No problem there especially with that mild Cam. Great video, thanks for sharing.

[@swisscarvideos]

It depends on the cam if you need a tune to run the engine or not. If you take a mild to average cam like 216/226 you can drive it to get tuned. The Smoke comes from assembly lube and oil, it goes away after some minutes Choosing the right cam for you isn't that easy, it depends on your setup, your expectations, your driving style etc....maybe reading, or asking the people on LS1.tech will help you to choose your cam.

[@darrenn246]

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

[@MaroonCamaro]

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.

[@The412Devil]

man that thing sounds good

[@rweghg3]

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

[@swisscarvideos]

i didn't take out the AC condenser, you can move it out of the way without removing any connected lines.

[@25thxXx]

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

[@32bitcal]

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.

[@swisscarvideos]

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.

[@chrisrobertson911]

guess im buying a cam. you are a gentlemen and a scholar sir. wish it had better music though, mute is my friend

[@andrenj1970]

changing even a sparkplugs and wires is little nightmare, great job.

[@swisscarvideos]

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.

[@JohnnyCTSV]

not a single beer the whole job???? that's impressive... sweet video

[@iMrKronic]

i love 4th gen camaro's but i fuckin hate GM for shoving half the engine under the car.

[@swisscarvideos]

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 ;-)

[@JonTheDestroyer]

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

[@Y2KFirehawk]

I give you a lot of credit doing it all on your own AND video taping it! Nice job.

[@jlomeli07]

Coming from someone who’s done this, you made it look too easy 😂😂😂

[@mr.boostang2064]

Thanks for making this video. Now I know what to expect when I do the cam swap myself.

[@bholtmeier]

Next on the list: SLP lid/long tube headers/AIR delete

[@claudioqcruz8218]

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?

[@BenatoZ28]

I would have changed the lifters as well, I don't know much about rollers but I know its a must for hyd cams

[@szemo420]

your a ls1 god for making this

[@swisscarvideos]

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. ;-)

[@JRich165]

Oh, btw, these comments are hilarious. I love it. even learn from them and answered some Q's

[@wheelspin1000]

Nice vid, very informative. Thanks for the effort and sharing this.

[@carguytim9913]

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?

[@vandiemengoldprospecting7624]

They didn’t have them 10 year ago

[@daironbayon3014]

thats a hell of a job!

[@MsDasnake]

very soothing to watch

[@jimarrow8298]

Were did u get the tubular bars tht held the lifters up very helpful video

[@wkeil1981]

You can use wood dowels from Home Depot

[@swisscarvideos]

You dont have to drop it complete, just loose all the bolts until the pan drops enough to pull the pickup tube out.

[@slabbabeh]

you make it look so easy lol

[@98ws6m6cvert]

he could also jack the car up and change 8 from the bottom as well you wont see it but you can kinda feel around for it the top three i just remove the air tube and im good from there.

[@swisscarvideos]

-- 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.

[@buddyrebel_Garcia]

Nice video! Wish I knew how to do work on cars.

[@Torched_TransAm]

well documented vid.how long did the whole process take you start to finish?

[@nipv8hsvzr817]

sick video. lol damn radiators.... took me like 2-3 hours when i replaced mine

[@chasrae]

Mann you did a great job...

[@swisscarvideos]

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...

[@ValorGee]

Old video but nicely done !

[@SouthernSpeedVideos]

bravo! very well put together. i love the music too. i enjoyed this very much.

[@98FormulaBird]

Nice video wanna swap out my cam and springs for me lol? This video makes me wish I had a garage and driveway

[@N2Otorious]

Come On Mannnn... you were right there. Change the valve stem seals everytime you pull the valve springs. they are cheap..

[@hahaha12345678993]

everything about this was awesome

[@Wolvzblood]

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

[@topgunmotorsports]

nice vid man! I watched every second, very detailed

[@garciajp2]

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)?

[@ImCodyReyna]

Dude great video, this will be a tremendous help this summer! Thank you very much! :-)

[@MiloBazan]

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

[@jinglezman]

Great video Ty for posting I have a 2000 camaro ss covertible

[@swisscarvideos]

yes you should, its the most easy part of it, just pull them out an put the new ones in. :-)

[@swisscarvideos]

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

[@swisscarvideos]

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 :-)

[@joesmuckatelly8282]

Hardest part is the left side valce cover removing plastic egr and bracket 10mm nut back there

[@jlb7125]

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

[@Scottstunts]

Cool vid man thanks for sharing!

[@trinipapyfoxbody]

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?

[@swisscarvideos]

Yes, just tap it in.... it's easy.

[@julianrodriguez661]

can you change valve stem seals without taking out engine?

[@67judge]

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?

[@ourt1]

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??

[@nathanhoffman79]

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?

[@murphylee50RS]

Sweet video man

[@CamaroWarrior]

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

[@luisreygonzalez3555]

@6:32-6:33 .. What are they for ? Cause I'm changing out the cam and heads putting in new lifters.. pushrods and springs.. gonna replace the 853s with 243s

[@302vettelife2]

They prevent the lifter from falling in to the oil pan. I suggest you use them if you ever do a cam swap on an LSX

[@jasonheath143]

When you change the cam you have to change the lifters also, not so much the springs

[@colivart]

No, the springs are required. Pushrods as well. Lifters are recommended.

[@RCredneck85]

Roller lifters can be reused

[@TheTwinkyehzZ]

All depends on how big the cam is really, sometimes at work we just do springs, not even pushrods

[@Mebob2001]

Travis Collins ye its recommended for sure, but hell why not risk it, thos GM lifters can take the abuse for a little while, but when they start seeing alot fo rpm's they wont last. but i would do the samething.

[@stlglassproject]

what about a 222 224 for a ls1?

[@brandoshobbies5353]

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

[@swerbproductions4658]

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

[@swisscarvideos]

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.

[@mikemartin2fst4u]

awesome vid!! what about having it at top dead center. how did you get it to TDC

[@swisscarvideos]

Turn the Engine manually at the crank until one cyl is at tdc. change the springs on that one and then turn again for the next cyl.

[@samuelwoodland4098]

Are the rods that got inserted before the camshaft was removed used to stop the pushrods and valves from dropping?

[@alkaldiification]

great job man!

[@JavierMartinez-tj9fc]

what was the purpose of sliding in those long rods before taking out the camshaft??

[@JavierMartinez-tj9fc]

i thought so..thanks!!

[@simonvenables602]

Did you have to drop the sump in order to remove the bolt for the pickup line on the bottom of your oil pump?

[@christopherrodriguez2162]

Did you have to drop the pan to get the pick up tube off the oil pump?

[@Rock_Whisky]

Nice work!

[@Deadbydawn71]

All that and you went with a lil baby cam! Just kidding bro! Great job!

[@bestfromnw]

thanks for sharing man, you might have just given me motivation to do it on mine. how long did it take you

[@swisscarvideos]

I did it within two days. if you have some help and all the tools ready you can do it in one day.

[@Theoloop]

Shouldn't you change the pushrods as well? Is that hard to do?

[@jjrock5]

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.

[@swisscarvideos]

i used the TDC method...

[@ls1junkie729]

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?

[@swisscarvideos]

Ls1junkie no specific, just any rod that fits, should not be too small.

[@douglasalexis93]

swisscarvideos hey dude what size rods and can i friend u on fb for assistance if you dont mind.

[@dagolf0616]

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.

[@cesar101387]

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?

[@delsurway]

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.

[@patrocman4818]

delsurway what cam did you go with., and you just did cam only???.. lmk

[@mateoonofis787]

Very nice man..

[@mglynch1]

dumb question but what is the song at the beginning of the vid? this vid makes me wanna do a swap on my ls1! hahaha good vid man

[@swisscarvideos]

The song is "Hey Sailor" from Letter Box. Had to change the original song in the vid because of copiright blablaba....

[@mglynch1]

haha oh alright cool, thanks man. haha yeah i gotcha.