hey guys ive never done a cam swap but my buddy has alittle..... i bought aused ls6 cam with under 5k miles. and the set of push rods that came stock witht that motor. also the guy sent me a brand new set of gm yellow springs.

my motor is an lq4 6.0l

- do i use my stock lq4 pushrods
- do i need a special tool to hold the lifters up
- do i need to buy a set of retainers and seals for the springs or can i use my lq4 ones?
any specail tips for the install ???

 

Spin the cam and insert some cheap wooden dowel rods into the 2 oil passages to hold the lifters up. Unless you want to try the Russian roulette method :-)

 

use those yellow springs with your stock retainers, you CAN use your stock pushrods, although hardened will be recommended, go to the local hardware store, get a couple 5/16" wooden dowl rods to hold the lifters up, be careful, take your time and you'll be alright!

 

The 5/16" wooden rods work perfect. Just grind down one end on the concrete so it looks like the tip of an arrow. That will allow the rod to slip in under the lifter.

 

lol niiiice soo wooden dowls is all i need...i thought i remebered reading a special tool was required around 100 bucks...

soooo what about these hardened pushrods any specific ones i should grab?

 

where can i get a tool to compress the springs??

 

Just read the install on ls1howto.

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

 

sears, maybe autozone or oreilley's

i did my head and cam swap last weekend. follow what the haynes manual says about torquing everything down and you will be fine. and be VERY careful when removing the old cam and installing the new cam to not knick or scratch the cam bearings, use plenty of assembly lube.

 

I use metal dowel rods from home depot instead. The wooden ones leave slivers in your oil galleys and also I find that most of them are warped so they never go in straight anyways.