New Cam???

[BIGBERTHA]

My friend here work has a 2003 Silverado. He is putting a new cam in it, and he was wandering if he needed to pull the heads to do so? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[66redw/white]

nope. no need to pull the heads

[BIGBERTHA]

any recommendations on how to keep the valves from falling in the head

[66redw/white]

there is a connection that goes in at he spark plugs. you hook the other end up to your air compressor. once the press is up round..... 90-120 psi. you have enough pressure that they will not fall down in there.
if you dont have a compressor i have heard of guys puttin rope in through the spark plugs with the specific piston at top dead center. never done it though. i always just use the air compressor

[BIGBERTHA]

alright man, thanks alot

[k5hart]

Originally Posted by 66redw/white

there is a connection that goes in at he spark plugs. you hook the other end up to your air compressor. once the press is up round..... 90-120 psi. you have enough pressure that they will not fall down in there.
if you dont have a compressor i have heard of guys puttin rope in through the spark plugs with the specific piston at top dead center. never done it though. i always just use the air compressor

I've done the rope trick before. Works but you feel a little nervous shoving things in the cylinders.

[66redw/white]

i want a sound clip when its done too

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted by BIGBERTHA

My friend here work has a 2003 Silverado. He is putting a new cam in it, and he was wandering if he needed to pull the heads to do so? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Pull both valve covers
Remove all rocker arms & pushrods.
Remove spark plugs.
Crank the engine with the starter about 10 revolutions.
This will "kick" the lifters firmly into the plastic lifter trays.
Remove the front cover, timing chain & camshaft...Be carefull not to damage the cam bearings. Ive done several LS cam swaps & never had a lifter fall out.

[clinebarger]

I also use air when changing valve springs, But your question is about the camshaft right?

[66redw/white]

lol. i didnt even think about that. i just assumed he was changing valve springs too

[BIGBERTHA]

Yes he's changing cam, lifters, pushrods, rocker arms, and valve springs.

It's gonna be awhile before we can make sound clip, we're in Iraq right now. We still have 3 months left, but as soon as we get back, I'll make sure he does it.

[BIGBERTHA]

Has anyone done a cam swap on a 5.3? If so, which one? I'm pretty sure he already has one picked out, but he's just trying to get multiple opinions. Thanks

[bighaas79]

if you are changing lifters too then the heads need to come off.

[usmcchevy]

Originally Posted by BIGBERTHA

Has anyone done a cam swap on a 5.3? If so, which one? I'm pretty sure he already has one picked out, but he's just trying to get multiple opinions. Thanks

Need info on how he plans to use the truck and basic info on the truck.

[BIGBERTHA]

He said he's gonna use it mainly for towing, but still wants to beat any s#%t talkers that come up next to him at a stop light. He's looking at a 224R from texas speed and performance.

[usmcchevy]

I'd back down to the 220R if towing at all. Is he going to run a higher stall converter? How heavy of a truck are we talking about, big difference between a extended cab 4x4 and a Regular cab 2wd.

[66redw/white]

i assume by sayin your in iraq that your in the service so first off THANKS! second im with mcchevy on this one. back down to the 220 if your gonna do towin at all. i actually plan on runnin one in my truck closer to 216/218. but the 224 is gonna move the power curve so that youll want a bigger stall. not that you caint tow with a stall its just one more step.

gear choice helps alot too

[BIGBERTHA]

The truck weighs 4500 lbs. It's a single cab standard box 4wd. He's planning on replacing the stall with 2800-3200. He's wandering what lsa (115-111), so he knows where his powerband is gonna sit. Thank you for your support!!

[66redw/white]

lsa isnt really whats gonna dictate the power band. in a way slightly but more of that is gonna come from duration @ .050 lsa is more for sound and "running compression"

117 doesnt sound very chopy and since theres not valve overlap the compression isnt... getting out of the cylinders? usually guys use cams with high lsa like that for boosted motors.

114 and down starts to sound alittle more choppy. these are better for n/a motors because there is a better continous flow of air goin through the motor.

the int exh duration is whats gonna change the power band. depending on the size of the motor. short duration = more torque. 1800-2500. low rpm. examples would be like 206-216.
medium duration would be more around 3000-4500rpm. examples of this would be 218-228.
the more extreme cams are 230 duration and up. they are the high rpm screamer cams.

now all of this is depending on the size of the motor. bigger motor can handle bigger cams. because theyre bigger.

on a side note. are you sure that truck only wieghs 4500 lbs. because i have a sierra. rc step side 2wd. and with a half tank of gas it came in at 4300lbs.

that stall will probably work really good for a 220 cam. maybe even 224. but you might be pushin it there.

by the way hot rod trucks are where its at!

[BIGBERTHA]

Thanks guys for the support and all the info... He's probably gonna go with the 220 and bigger stall... Thanks again.

[clinebarger]

Towing + More power + Stall converter= Overheated/Burnt 4L60E.

[66redw/white]

this is true. get a good aux cooler and a vette servo. those will help

[BIGBERTHA]

Anybody know if any good budget heads?

[66redw/white]

go on the scoggins dickey web site. im pretty sure the ls3 heads are like 350 bucks

[66redw/white]

it just hit me. those heads wont work very good on a 5.3. its alittle to small.