Camshaft - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Greenhornet2 · 07-15-2019, 01:45 PM

You guys who have done your own cam swaps, Do you need to drop the engine cradle? Can you do these in vehicle?

pnwdan · 07-15-2019, 02:39 PM

In the car. Everything comes out with a lot of clearance. Heads on typically depending on if you want to change the lifters as well

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Greenhornet2 · 07-15-2019, 02:59 PM

Lifters won't come out on the ls3 without pulling the heads?

Aqua Blue RS/SS · 07-15-2019, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greenhornet2

Lifters won't come out on the ls3 without pulling the heads?

Nope unfortunately not. The head bolts are tty as well so one time use.

PepeLePew · 07-15-2019, 03:20 PM

I did mine in the car. Here’s my video start to finish with headers and dyno tune as well.

https://youtu.be/E0De1c0XwmQ

davidscamaro · 07-15-2019, 04:18 PM

Only part that could be considered difficult is the oil pump pick up tube , other than that if your mechanilyinclined it will be a breeze

Clarkstar · 07-15-2019, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidscamaro

Only part that could be considered difficult is the oil pump pick up tube , other than that if your mechanilyinclined it will be a breeze

The pick up tube is a breeze if you take the gears out of the oil pump. Then you can easily align the tube to the pump, bolt her down then reassemble the pump. I learned the hard way....

JerTM · 07-15-2019, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidscamaro

Only part that could be considered difficult is the oil pump pick up tube , other than that if your mechanilyinclined it will be a breeze

Very true, but you can swap the cam without removing the oil pump or pickup tube. BUT since you're already digging in to the engine I would also upgrade the oil pump and timing tensioner.

Gordy87 · 07-15-2019, 07:46 PM

Did my 1st cam swap w/o pulling heads. It was a cam only, and like many others, I used RobertWays write-up, as this was my very 1st LS cam install. Can easily be done in a day with little effort for someone mechanically inclined. Car is actually sitting in the garage now for a new larger swap, but this time its going to be little more in depth with my current mileage. New lifters, pushrods, trays, oil pump, timing chain and sprocket, and all necessary gaskets and components.

Greenhornet2 · 07-15-2019, 08:45 PM

I wasn't sure whether i wanted to do an oil pump or not. I have a fear of running a high volume oil pump on a stock pan, my buddy did on an old chevy 350 and he ran the sump dry engine was toast. I'm already supercharged, oil temp doesn't get above about 210. Pressure is good. I dunno if I'll pull the heads. It's a 2011 but only 16k miles. JRE wanted to sell me a trunion kit but i imagine a roller rocker set is about the same price if not cheaper. This will be a fall or winter thing. The headers are gonna come off too get ceramic coated as well. $300 for that.

Greenhornet2 · 07-15-2019, 09:34 PM

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F302916004819
Anyone use these? Or have a good set of roller rockers they've used?

Gordy87 · 07-16-2019, 12:09 AM

There will be those that will disagree, but if your already an LS3 car with that low of mileage, I would skip pulling the heads, unless your going big cam. Lifters, pump, and timing chain should be good at only 16k. I debated this for over 3 months before saying the hell with it and doing the cam only w/o pulling everything on mine, and that was at 58k. I will snap some pics when I go out this afternoon to play around before I head to work. Everything still looks flawless. I even kept the factory tensioner, even though I read horror stories about them. I've beat up on this thing on the regular with the current small cam w/o any issues other than getting tune right. But thats a whole different story thats better left there.

Also on the HV/HP oil pumps, theres some good info on here and LS1tech you can read over. Been a while since I did, but I believe it was said that they are fine on the LS3's. Dont hold me to that though.

But in any case, no matter what you decide, just because someone says you can and others say you can't, its best to use your own judgement because every case is going to be different.

Juiced1 · 07-16-2019, 08:54 AM

If you're going with a big cam we highly recommend replacing/upgrading the entire valve train. We have seen stock lifters and rockers fail pretty quickly with bigger cams. The job isn't to bad on any LS engine but removing the oil pump can be dicey as you should probably drop the pan to do it. I think Also, if you are close to 100k it's a good idea to ditch the factory lifters.

Juiced1 · 07-16-2019, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greenhornet2

I wasn't sure whether i wanted to do an oil pump or not. I have a fear of running a high volume oil pump on a stock pan, my buddy did on an old chevy 350 and he ran the sump dry engine was toast. I'm already supercharged, oil temp doesn't get above about 210. Pressure is good. I dunno if I'll pull the heads. It's a 2011 but only 16k miles. JRE wanted to sell me a trunion kit but i imagine a roller rocker set is about the same price if not cheaper. This will be a fall or winter thing. The headers are gonna come off too get ceramic coated as well. $300 for that.

That would not be an issue on a newer car. These cars have huge pans and hold 9 quarts of oil. But we usually say if you have a good pump stick with it until 100k. Trunion upgrade is a pretty good idea on bigger cams. Aftermarket rockers can get expensive and the trunion kit is only like $150 or so. Cheap insurance if you can install them yourself (they need to be pressed in). We've seen stock rockers explode with big cams.

07-15-2019, 01:45 PM	#1
Greenhornet2 Drives: 2011 Camaro 2SS LS3 Whipple Join Date: May 2019 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,925	Camshaft You guys who have done your own cam swaps, Do you need to drop the engine cradle? Can you do these in vehicle? __________________ Whipple 2.9 CAI ID1050x injectors ZL1 Pump JRE FPCM JMS Voltage booster JRE Rough Idle blower cam BTR .660 springs CHE trunnion kit 1 7/8 Speed Engineering Borla Atak JRE scoop 1.5" lowering springs BMR trailing arms and toe links Cradle inserts 704WHP 603WTQ 93 octane

07-15-2019, 02:39 PM	#2
pnwdan Drives: 2014 2SS/RS Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Washington Posts: 848	In the car. Everything comes out with a lot of clearance. Heads on typically depending on if you want to change the lifters as well Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk __________________ 2014 2SS/RS LS3/M6

07-15-2019, 02:59 PM	#3
Greenhornet2 Drives: 2011 Camaro 2SS LS3 Whipple Join Date: May 2019 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,925	Lifters won't come out on the ls3 without pulling the heads? __________________ Whipple 2.9 CAI ID1050x injectors ZL1 Pump JRE FPCM JMS Voltage booster JRE Rough Idle blower cam BTR .660 springs CHE trunnion kit 1 7/8 Speed Engineering Borla Atak JRE scoop 1.5" lowering springs BMR trailing arms and toe links Cradle inserts 704WHP 603WTQ 93 octane

07-15-2019, 03:20 PM	#5
PepeLePew Drives: 2010 2SS Coupe; 2011 2LT Vert Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: Prosper, TX Posts: 458	I did mine in the car. Here’s my video start to finish with headers and dyno tune as well. https://youtu.be/E0De1c0XwmQ __________________ 2010 2SS/RS LS3 - K&N, GM Performance Axle Back, Hurst Shifter, TSP 1 7/8ths long tubes no cats, TSP Stage 2 "Bald Eagle" cam, GM 3.91, 466whp/429tq

07-15-2019, 04:18 PM	#6
davidscamaro Drives: 2010 SS/RS M6 BIG cam Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: McDonald's DT Posts: 857	Only part that could be considered difficult is the oil pump pick up tube , other than that if your mechanilyinclined it will be a breeze __________________ BIG cam ...... 305 45 18 Mickys ...... BMR suspensions

07-15-2019, 07:46 PM	#9
Gordy87 Drives: 2010 Camaro SS Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Georgia Posts: 300 View My Garage	Did my 1st cam swap w/o pulling heads. It was a cam only, and like many others, I used RobertWays write-up, as this was my very 1st LS cam install. Can easily be done in a day with little effort for someone mechanically inclined. Car is actually sitting in the garage now for a new larger swap, but this time its going to be little more in depth with my current mileage. New lifters, pushrods, trays, oil pump, timing chain and sprocket, and all necessary gaskets and components. Attached Images

07-15-2019, 08:45 PM	#10
Greenhornet2 Drives: 2011 Camaro 2SS LS3 Whipple Join Date: May 2019 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,925	I wasn't sure whether i wanted to do an oil pump or not. I have a fear of running a high volume oil pump on a stock pan, my buddy did on an old chevy 350 and he ran the sump dry engine was toast. I'm already supercharged, oil temp doesn't get above about 210. Pressure is good. I dunno if I'll pull the heads. It's a 2011 but only 16k miles. JRE wanted to sell me a trunion kit but i imagine a roller rocker set is about the same price if not cheaper. This will be a fall or winter thing. The headers are gonna come off too get ceramic coated as well. $300 for that. __________________ Whipple 2.9 CAI ID1050x injectors ZL1 Pump JRE FPCM JMS Voltage booster JRE Rough Idle blower cam BTR .660 springs CHE trunnion kit 1 7/8 Speed Engineering Borla Atak JRE scoop 1.5" lowering springs BMR trailing arms and toe links Cradle inserts 704WHP 603WTQ 93 octane Last edited by Greenhornet2; 07-15-2019 at 09:12 PM.

07-15-2019, 09:34 PM	#11
Greenhornet2 Drives: 2011 Camaro 2SS LS3 Whipple Join Date: May 2019 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,925	https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F302916004819 Anyone use these? Or have a good set of roller rockers they've used? __________________ Whipple 2.9 CAI ID1050x injectors ZL1 Pump JRE FPCM JMS Voltage booster JRE Rough Idle blower cam BTR .660 springs CHE trunnion kit 1 7/8 Speed Engineering Borla Atak JRE scoop 1.5" lowering springs BMR trailing arms and toe links Cradle inserts 704WHP 603WTQ 93 octane

07-16-2019, 12:09 AM	#12
Gordy87 Drives: 2010 Camaro SS Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Georgia Posts: 300 View My Garage	There will be those that will disagree, but if your already an LS3 car with that low of mileage, I would skip pulling the heads, unless your going big cam. Lifters, pump, and timing chain should be good at only 16k. I debated this for over 3 months before saying the hell with it and doing the cam only w/o pulling everything on mine, and that was at 58k. I will snap some pics when I go out this afternoon to play around before I head to work. Everything still looks flawless. I even kept the factory tensioner, even though I read horror stories about them. I've beat up on this thing on the regular with the current small cam w/o any issues other than getting tune right. But thats a whole different story thats better left there. Also on the HV/HP oil pumps, theres some good info on here and LS1tech you can read over. Been a while since I did, but I believe it was said that they are fine on the LS3's. Dont hold me to that though. But in any case, no matter what you decide, just because someone says you can and others say you can't, its best to use your own judgement because every case is going to be different. Last edited by Gordy87; 07-16-2019 at 03:31 AM. Reason: Update

07-16-2019, 08:54 AM	#13
Juiced1 Account Suspended Drives: 2012 2SS CAMARO 45th Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: St. Charles, IL Posts: 18,663	If you're going with a big cam we highly recommend replacing/upgrading the entire valve train. We have seen stock lifters and rockers fail pretty quickly with bigger cams. The job isn't to bad on any LS engine but removing the oil pump can be dicey as you should probably drop the pan to do it. I think Also, if you are close to 100k it's a good idea to ditch the factory lifters.