I've been told that my camshaft has a flat lobe that causes a lifter tick,backfiring and running rough. I kind of suspected that considering I found metal shaving in my oil.

How hard is it for somebody who's never done it? What tools will I need? Aside from the camshaft,what new parts will I need?

 

Interesting. I don't know that I've ever heard of a roller cam flattening a lobe. It can happen, I guess.

 

Ok you're the 4th person to say that. It looks like I'll be pulling my valve covers to see if the problem is there. Thanks a bunch man. You could be saving me $2000.

 

Wasn't necessarily questioning the diagnosis, it's just that there's a LOT less wear on the lobes with a roller lifter Vs. a flat tappet. But again, I suppose anything is possible.

I'm sure someone with more experience than I will chime in.

 

My dad (previous owner of the car) said he had it running perfectly before the car sat for 10 years. I think I'll end up scraping some dough together and have the shop pull the covers and see if the problem is something else before I decide to sell it.

 

To continue from your "whats my car worth" thread ;

This "I'll have the shop ....." phrase you keep uttering is going to have to be removed from your vocabulary and be replaced with "I've got two good hands and no less brains than the next guy , so I'll be fixing it myself" . If you pay today's shop labor rates you , as a high school student , will not be able to afford ANY car , Camaro or not ! Do you realize that for the cost of a few hours of shop time at $100+ an hour you can buy a really nice starter set of the tools your gonna need to own to be able to own ANY car ? Yes , your 1992 Camaro needs work . I promise you that unless you buy a brand new car with bumper to bumper warranty , ANY car you buy used is going to need similar repairs .

 

Ok man,well I'm starting to see the light. I guess I'll be doing this myself haha.

 

To answer your original question, it's definitely possible for a first timer to change their camshaft on their own, I did it myself. It took me an entire weekend to swap cams by myself, and I'd never done any internal engine work before.

Aside from a good ratchet set, you'll only need a harmonic balancer puller.

When it comes to parts, you'll need to buy a manifold gasket set, water pump gasket, timing chain cover gasket, and possibly a new timing chain set (typically a recommended replacement when you're working down there). If you have a bad lifter, you'll need to get a new one/set (again, depends if you're being cheap or want to do things the recommended way).

 

I'll just add alittle experience I had, not to scare you off, but just to make you aware.

I had a cam go flat, completely my fault. I swapped it out and fixed my screw up (valve springs) and thought I was ready to go. I changed the cam with the motor in the truck, I flushed all the old oil out the best I could, but all those metal shavings had already done their damage. Motor didn't last much longer before started having oil pressure problems, then it finally spun a rod bearing. When I tore it down all the crank bearings and the cam bearings were heavily worn. Motor didn't have many miles on it, so Ive put the blame on the metal shavings from the cam.

Point being, once metal shavings get into the motor, a bearing replacement might be necessary.