planning a cam change for my truck. would rather do the swap myself to save money.

do you really need the special tool to align the timing cover?
do you have to drop the oil pan off the motor to remove the cover?
anyone used the tool that holds the lifters up so you dont have to remove the intake manifold?
anything else in particular i should look out for?

do most of yall just reuse the factory roller lifters on your new cam?
how much valve lift can you get away with before you run into retainer to guide clearance problems w/ the factory 5.3 heads?

ive built plenty of engines, but these style engines are new to me. havnt even really looked at the thing to see what all ill have to do.

any advice or info is appreciated CHIP

 

I also have the same ?

 

http://ls1howto.com/index.php?article=23

 

Just did mine lets see
no
no
5/16 dowel
putting pully back on
yes
about .500 with factory springs, I think about .600 with 918's
follow guide on ls1howto.com

 

you mentioned 5/16 dowel will that work in place of the JPR tool

anything special needed done to the dowel

 

i had to use a 5/16 dowel rod on the P side and a 1/4 on the D side. i probably could have gotten by with the 5/16 on the D side, but it was a little too tight of a fit for my tastes.

just what white said about the oil pan and timing cover. on my swap i left the timing cover to oil pan bolts out and used a couple of cover to block bolts to hold the cover in place loosely until the HB was pulled all the way up on the crank snout. find a longer than stock crank bolt from some place like Fastenal to use to pull the HB up on the crank snout. the stock bolt isn't quite long enough.

hey z28 - the dowels work as is. no problem using them at all, and alot cheaper than the JPR Tool.

 

very cool info site Tiburon, preciate it!
doesnt look like itll be as much of a PITA as i anticipated.

white1......i was asking about retainer to guide clearance issues, not valvespring compatibility. havnt had a chance to measure one of the heads we get in at the shop to see for myself.
example.....the vortec 5.7 heads (96-98 trucks) will not work w/ cams over about .480" lift unless you cut down the valveguides for clearance. the valvespring retainers will smack the top of the guide.

thanks yall, CHIP

 

on the crank pulley go to a harbor frieght (if you have any there that is) they sell a set of 3 pullers for like 20 bucks the medium one is the perfect puller for ls1's if you do springs get some extra keepers ahead of time i lost some and it was fun finding some ne thing else i remember ill post

 

Ditto on the keepers I lost 1. One out of 32, and on a Sunday to boot

 

Keepers, good pen magnet coming off. Magnetic tray to hold them. Dab of petroleum jelly going back on. Didn't loose a one, good thing it was Sunday and I had no spares.