L99 TO lS3 Conversion - Stuck - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

trodecke · 07-17-2022, 01:11 PM

Short story, collapsed a DOD lifter in cylinder 4 and when we pulled the head, saw that it had pitted the cam shaft. This is my son's car and he decided that since we're going to be going that far into it (cam shaft replacement), we might as well go the little extra and do an L99 to LS3 conversion along with an upgraded cam shaft. We purchased a BTR stage1 cam shaft and the L99 to LS3 conversion kit from Phastek and have gotten all the way to having removed the bolt for the cam shaft but that's as far as we can get. We can't seem to get any tension off of the timing chain and can't get to the tensioner because of the oil pump. To remove the oil pump means dropping the oil pan to loosen the bolt holding the oil pickup tube but the kit from Phastek didn't include a gasket for the oil pan.

So, is there something else we can do to pull the timing chain (and hence the gear)? Thank you in advance for any assistance.

hammdo · 07-17-2022, 03:28 PM

Gotta remove the oil pump. No way around it. Dropping the pan is what it takes…

I’ll link you to one of my build pages…

Also, look for Robert Way’s guide…

-Don

hammdo · 07-17-2022, 03:30 PM

https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showt...=385577&page=5

This is where I started my LSA conversation but also did heads and cam…

-Don

hammdo · 07-17-2022, 03:43 PM

Here you go…

https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125123

-Don

trodecke · 07-18-2022, 07:19 AM

Thank you! I'm sure I'll have more questions as this is really pushing my skills and abilities.

trodecke · 07-18-2022, 07:39 AM

I was able to get the gear off without removing the oil pump and thanks to Robertway's thread you sent me, I now see how to remove the tension on the timing chain so I can get the new gear back on (hopefully), without too much trouble. I'd seen pictures all over the place of something being placed towards the top of the tensioner to relieve the tension on the chain but I never saw anything that said how to safely put it there.

I hadn't planned on replacing the tensioner, and mine looks pretty much OK, but the consensus seems to be to replace it with the LS2/7 style dampner. What are your thoughts?

hammdo · 07-18-2022, 09:08 AM

That is what I did, but to remove that, the pump comes off. I was figuring you were going full LS3 with the 'dogbone' damper. I used the LS7 version in mine initially.

-Don

trodecke · 07-18-2022, 09:39 AM

Thanks!

gunchamp · 07-23-2022, 06:44 PM

You only need to pull oil pan bolts and let it drop a little. Dont have to remove it. I did it more than once. Not that bad

trodecke · 07-26-2022, 10:16 PM

Update for everyone. We're finally finished. We were able to get the timing chain off and back on again without dropping the oil pan. We started the car up today and I'm not sure if we have a problem or not. We expected CELs and for the car to run rough. We did get CELs but for the things we expected (camshaft actuator, DOD activation failure, etc. It started up OK but I think we have an exhaust leak. It run for about 10 minutes with no problems but then, just as it started coming up to temp, it got really rough. We had to keep it at ~1100RPM just to keep it from dieing. When I checked with my OBD2 scanner (BkueDriver, works really well) I saw good fuel pressure and intake manifold pressure but the short term and long term fuel trims were reading 0.

Is that because we need a tune to drop the AFM and VVT? I'm not a mechanic but I wouldn't think that would cause the trims to read 0.

We're going to have it dyno tuned as soon as possible but that won't be for a week or so.

Thanks in advance for any help.

07-17-2022, 01:11 PM	#1
trodecke Drives: 2014 2SS/RS CRT Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 365	L99 TO lS3 Conversion - Stuck Short story, collapsed a DOD lifter in cylinder 4 and when we pulled the head, saw that it had pitted the cam shaft. This is my son's car and he decided that since we're going to be going that far into it (cam shaft replacement), we might as well go the little extra and do an L99 to LS3 conversion along with an upgraded cam shaft. We purchased a BTR stage1 cam shaft and the L99 to LS3 conversion kit from Phastek and have gotten all the way to having removed the bolt for the cam shaft but that's as far as we can get. We can't seem to get any tension off of the timing chain and can't get to the tensioner because of the oil pump. To remove the oil pump means dropping the oil pan to loosen the bolt holding the oil pickup tube but the kit from Phastek didn't include a gasket for the oil pan. So, is there something else we can do to pull the timing chain (and hence the gear)? Thank you in advance for any assistance. __________________ Lifetime Camaro guy. 1979 Z28, 1987 LT, 2012 2LS, 2014 2SS/RS --CAI Cold Air Intake --Solo HFC

07-17-2022, 03:28 PM	#2
hammdo 'It's an experiment' Drives: [COTW 2/09/15] '11 GPI LSA SC Z/LE Join Date: May 2014 Location: Dallas TX Posts: 8,690 View My Garage	Gotta remove the oil pump. No way around it. Dropping the pan is what it takes… I’ll link you to one of my build pages… Also, look for Robert Way’s guide… -Don __________________ 747 RWHP 794 RWTQ "Horsepower sells cars, torque wins races." - Enzo Ferrari See My Build: http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=385577

07-17-2022, 03:30 PM	#3
hammdo 'It's an experiment' Drives: [COTW 2/09/15] '11 GPI LSA SC Z/LE Join Date: May 2014 Location: Dallas TX Posts: 8,690 View My Garage	https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showt...=385577&page=5 This is where I started my LSA conversation but also did heads and cam… -Don __________________ 747 RWHP 794 RWTQ "Horsepower sells cars, torque wins races." - Enzo Ferrari See My Build: http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=385577

07-17-2022, 03:43 PM	#4
hammdo 'It's an experiment' Drives: [COTW 2/09/15] '11 GPI LSA SC Z/LE Join Date: May 2014 Location: Dallas TX Posts: 8,690 View My Garage	Here you go… https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125123 -Don __________________ 747 RWHP 794 RWTQ "Horsepower sells cars, torque wins races." - Enzo Ferrari See My Build: http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=385577

07-18-2022, 07:19 AM	#5
trodecke Drives: 2014 2SS/RS CRT Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 365	Thank you! I'm sure I'll have more questions as this is really pushing my skills and abilities. __________________ Lifetime Camaro guy. 1979 Z28, 1987 LT, 2012 2LS, 2014 2SS/RS --CAI Cold Air Intake --Solo HFC

07-18-2022, 07:39 AM	#6
trodecke Drives: 2014 2SS/RS CRT Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 365	I was able to get the gear off without removing the oil pump and thanks to Robertway's thread you sent me, I now see how to remove the tension on the timing chain so I can get the new gear back on (hopefully), without too much trouble. I'd seen pictures all over the place of something being placed towards the top of the tensioner to relieve the tension on the chain but I never saw anything that said how to safely put it there. I hadn't planned on replacing the tensioner, and mine looks pretty much OK, but the consensus seems to be to replace it with the LS2/7 style dampner. What are your thoughts? __________________ Lifetime Camaro guy. 1979 Z28, 1987 LT, 2012 2LS, 2014 2SS/RS --CAI Cold Air Intake --Solo HFC

07-18-2022, 09:08 AM	#7
hammdo 'It's an experiment' Drives: [COTW 2/09/15] '11 GPI LSA SC Z/LE Join Date: May 2014 Location: Dallas TX Posts: 8,690 View My Garage	That is what I did, but to remove that, the pump comes off. I was figuring you were going full LS3 with the 'dogbone' damper. I used the LS7 version in mine initially. -Don __________________ 747 RWHP 794 RWTQ "Horsepower sells cars, torque wins races." - Enzo Ferrari See My Build: http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=385577 Last edited by hammdo; 07-18-2022 at 01:37 PM.

07-18-2022, 09:39 AM	#8
trodecke Drives: 2014 2SS/RS CRT Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 365	Thanks! __________________ Lifetime Camaro guy. 1979 Z28, 1987 LT, 2012 2LS, 2014 2SS/RS --CAI Cold Air Intake --Solo HFC

07-23-2022, 06:44 PM	#9
gunchamp Drives: 15 Camaro SS Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Mountains of central PA Posts: 1,442	You only need to pull oil pan bolts and let it drop a little. Dont have to remove it. I did it more than once. Not that bad __________________ 15 Camaro SS- GPI max top end, ESS Vortech V3 9psi, ID 1050s, ZL1 pump, JMS bap, Long tubes, Corsa extreme, Circle D pro 5C, 391 rear, DSS carbon drive shaft, poly cradle bushings, tuned by Ted Jannetty and much much more

07-26-2022, 10:16 PM	#10
trodecke Drives: 2014 2SS/RS CRT Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 365	Update for everyone. We're finally finished. We were able to get the timing chain off and back on again without dropping the oil pan. We started the car up today and I'm not sure if we have a problem or not. We expected CELs and for the car to run rough. We did get CELs but for the things we expected (camshaft actuator, DOD activation failure, etc. It started up OK but I think we have an exhaust leak. It run for about 10 minutes with no problems but then, just as it started coming up to temp, it got really rough. We had to keep it at ~1100RPM just to keep it from dieing. When I checked with my OBD2 scanner (BkueDriver, works really well) I saw good fuel pressure and intake manifold pressure but the short term and long term fuel trims were reading 0. Is that because we need a tune to drop the AFM and VVT? I'm not a mechanic but I wouldn't think that would cause the trims to read 0. We're going to have it dyno tuned as soon as possible but that won't be for a week or so. Thanks in advance for any help. __________________ Lifetime Camaro guy. 1979 Z28, 1987 LT, 2012 2LS, 2014 2SS/RS --CAI Cold Air Intake --Solo HFC