I'm going to be installing a ZZ4 camshaft and I wanted to be sure I have a list of everything I need to order so I'm not missing something vital since the car is my daily driver and I won't have time to order an over looked part. Can someone give me a run down of everything I'll need from what kind of lube to what gaskets and everything?

Also in doing a search here I saw people recommending a few other things like guideplates, hardened pushrods, different springs, and stud kits. I'm going to be using my stock unmodded heads for right now and I'll be keeping my stock 1.5 rockers. The only thing listed above I think I'll need is a new set of springs. What can you guys recommend as far as a great stock replacement spring set?

Thanks!

 

I'm also curious as to what all is needed because I just sent the cash out tonight for an LT1 camshaft to hopefully take advantage of the LT1 intake I'll be mating to my engine in a few weeks. I'm in the same boat with my "project car" also being my daily driver..

I was hoping to leave everything stock except for maybe picking up a set of springs, though are they really needed, or can I wait until I buy 1.6RRs to get new springs? Actually, he mentioned valve seals..how hard would it be to install valve seals now too, or should I just wait until I get the 1.6RRs for that too? Sorry if the questions are stupid, and I don't mean to threadjack, basically I want to know what he does, just with my two added questions

Anyways, a list of all needed materials would be nice

 

why are you replacing a stock cam with a stock cam?

 

Because $40 is a lot cheaper than $250-300 for a new aftermarket cam, and this should give me some upper RPM breathing.

 

not worth it.

 

I would think upgrading from the peanut cam it would be.

 

So is anybody going to point us in the right direction or just keep bashing this guy for the decision he made...

 

Several people on this board have placed the LT1 cam from an F-bod into a 305 with great success. I have done it for my buddy and he is very content with his engine. I would actually recommend it as one of the large cams you can put in on a budget, before modifications to the engine/transmission take place.

Since the ZZ4 is made by GM, it was designed on their cam blanks. Meaning you shouldn't have to change the pushrods. Roller cam, for mine, i just put Comp's assembly lube on the bearing journals. Put standard 30w oil (not synthetic) on the cam lobes. Put assembly lube on the distributor gear.

New timing cover gaskets, front oil pan seal, new intake gaskets. New valve cover seals, if needed.

For springs, i would highly recommend having the spring seats cut to accept 1.430" springs. I would suggest either the 986 or 987 then. As for factory replacements, well, the only one that comes to my mind is the isky 235-D spring. it has a 1.26" OD for factory spring seats and a large .886" ID. It has 130 lbs @ 1.750" installed and 320 lbs @ 1.200 open. 350 lb/in spring rate and it coil binds at 1.150." Can handle roughly .550" lift at the valve. That's the only one that comes to my mind that has the spring pressures that rank up with the 986/987 springs but fit the factory pockets. They are ~$95 at summit (P/N <A HREF="http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=esearch.asp&N=100&Ntk=PartSearch&Ntt=isk-235-d&x=17&y=15">ISK-235-D</A>). I think that covers 92GTA's questions.

Now for Duron's. The same set of springs would apply to you (isky) for replacements if you don't want to machine the spring pocket. If you are replacing the springs, then they are coming off anyway. Once they are off, the seal will be open for replacement. So if you replace the springs, i would just go ahead and replace the seals as well. I believe fel-pro makes a Viton valve seal that does not require machining to the guide boss (all other Positive types from Comp, Manley, etc do). The intake seals are SS72527 and the SS72877 are the exhaust. Both are available at any Parts America stores. About $11.50 for the intakes and $8 for the exhaust. Whether or not you d othe springs when you do the rockers, that is up to you. I would wait, however and do the seals when the springs are done.

I hope that answeres both of your questions. If i missed anything, just ask.

 

Awesome, thanks Stekman I think that did cover most of our questions. If I think of any more, I'll be sure to ask. I think I'm going to hold off on the springs for a bit until I decide to get the heads worked over with a 3-angle valve job. Then I'll get the spring seats cut and buy new springs and rockers. For now, I think the stock valvetrain should support the cam, seeing as the stock cam in the LB9 HO is fairly similar to the LT1 cam. Though now that I look at the specs, it is a fairly weak cam, but going from my cam, it should give almost 25HP peak HP gain, and hopefully quite a bit more than that in the upper arms mated to the new intake.

Again, thanks for the help!

 

Yes thank you!

I didn't think about needing to remove the heads to replace the springs, I don't want to remove the heads. I know the stock LB9 springs won't handle the ZZ4's lift right?

 

You are correct, the factory springs will not handle the lift of the ZZ4 cam.

As far as removing the cylinder heads, you do not need to remove them to change the springs or valve seals. You just need a way to keep the valve shut while you compress the valve spring. I have used a length of nylond cord, roughly 1/4" diameter. Feed it into the combustion chamber hole via the spark plug hole. Once it's in, rotate the engie to compress the cord against the head of the valve and prevent it from opening. A crankshaft rotator tool that bolts onto the 3 balancer pulley bolts can be used or a strap wrench around the pulley. That is one way to keep the valves shut. It's the slower method.

The other method again, uses the sparkplug hole. But you use a special fitting that threads into the head and attaches to a compressed air hose. You inject compressed air into the chamber. The nice thing about this is you don't have to rotate the engine or what not. You just thread and inject.

Once you do this, a stud-mounted valve spring compressor is used and you compress the springs, remove the retainers, locks, etc.

It's a lot easier than it sounds. I have done it now on both my Caprice and my Camaro to replace the valve seals. i use the compressed air method.

 

please take the extra 10 minutes to Degree the cam. If you don't have the tools to do it you can use the lone a tool program at several auto part stores. It is just a percaution aginst the cam specs being a little different due to machining and human Errors., and the car not running like it should. here is a link on how to degree a cam just in case your not sure.

How to degree a Cam

 

92GTA - You can take my advice or leave it, but this is my expirence with the ZZ4 cam and pressed in rocker studs. After about 3 weeks on the new engine i pulled 3 stock rocker studs out with that cam. This led to the rocker becoming very loose, it proceeded to ruin the tip of the valve, the rocker, and the pushrod put a groove in the aligning slot in the head (non-self aligning rockers) Because of the groove i had to either run a self aligning rocker on that valve or run guideplates and hardened pushrods. I choose the second. I'm not saying you should get guideplates and hardened pushrods. I'm saying you should prevent a possible diaster and install screw in rocker studs. Mr. Gasket makes some that don't require machining to the rocker boss.
http://store.summitracing.com/defaul...1076&x=20&y=11
Only $28, i wish i installed screw in studs while the engine was being rebuilt and saved the $300 to fix my heads. Vader has an article on how to install these studs while the heads are still in the car.
John

 

In regards to degreeing the cam, nice, yes. 100% needed, no. The LT1 cam i put in my buddies car i installed straight up.

As for screw in rocker studs, they wouldn't be such a bad idea, especially with the ZZ4 cam. Be cautious though, the ones that were posted in the link above, they appear to be more or less in the genre of repair studs. Most aftermarket studs require the milling of the stud boss by about .400" then tapping. However, they are stronger than stock pull out studs and probably stronger than pinned studs. The choice on that one is up to you. But he is entirely correct about the risks.

 

I also am putting in...wait, I put it in already... a ZZ4 cam in my LB9.
You are deffinatly gunna need new springs as the lift on the ZZ4 is way too big.
I got a thing of assembly lube to coat the lobes. You can pick up a pack at any performance shop. Coat the lobes of the cam with liberal amounts of it. You will cut your hands, thoes lobes are sharp.
I suggest getting a new timing chain along with new cam bolts. I broke one off inside the cam I found a set of 4 at Pep Boys.
Also, becareful around your timing cover as some parts are really narrow to get the bolts out. I broke a small hole in it, and I had to toss it. Now I got some bling-bling chrome cover.
When taking out the old cam, grab a long lag bolt that will screw into the front of the cam. That will help you take out the cam. Also use it to install the cam.
Make sure you rotate the cam as you slide it in.
I have yet to get it all together and start her up, but Im sure Ill run into my own problems.

 

bigal brings up a good point, one that i forgot. Do all you can to keep the cam flat while yanking it out (and installing it). Your biggest priority is the cam bearings. You do NOT want to scratch them.

Cam lube isn't needed on the lobes like it is on flat tappet cams. Keep in mind, it's a roller, so you have that nice little roller bearing to eliminate friction. Just a bit on the journals and distributor gear should suffice, 30w on the lobes. Would it HURT? Probably not, unless you use an enourmous amount like on a flat tappet cam. But is it needed? Not really.

If you do use it at all, albeit maybe only on the journals and gear, you need to do the "break in period" to flush it out. Then change the oil.

Hmm, i think a "cam install" write-up that covers the details would be nice to have around.

 

Can I just use some of my motor oil to coat the cam when I do the install? I just changed my oil like 50 miles ago and Royal Purple isn't cheap....

Thanks for all the great help you guys, sounds like I have it all covered now.

Yeah a definitive "camshaft install/swap" article would for sure have a place here on ThirdGen...

Oh and who makes the best direct factory replacement timing chain? The gear should still be fine right, I just should replace the chain? Would a GM chain be good enough though?

Another question, while the distributor is out what parts should I replace on it? As of about 10K miles ago it has a new cap, rotor, ignition module, and pickup coil, but is there anything else?

 

Just buy a quart of 30w motor oil. It's cheap enough. Oil isn't picky about mixing. Coat it liberally then in 30w. Comp says it works. I have never personally tried it.

I E-mailed you something i started up. It's just a start, and covers the herat of the swap. keep that in mind, enjoy.

When i did my cam swap i used a Comp 31xx piece. They have a lesser version, the 2100 line. I think the 3100 series has 3 crank keyways whereas the 2100 just has one. There might be other differences, but I'm not sure. Cloyes also makes a decent set. I'm not sure about their part number for the factory roller. Those, along with Crane, Lunati, and Isky are about the only names i trust when it comes to timing gears and other valve train parts. Call me picky.

I'm going to assume that your engine is a factory roller, and since that's the case, you don't need to replace anything. But be sure to inspect the distributor gear for excessive wear and what not. If it does have signs of wear, replace it. Better now, than later down the road when you are experiencing something "wrong" and it turns out your gear is skipping.

 

Yeah, I used it because my engine has basicly been sitting with no lube for about 6 months now. I will coat my rollers in oil before I put them in.
I suggest removing the "X" bracing that is right in front of the AC condencer/radiator. Just unscrew the top bolt, and manuver it out of the way. It allows for eazy in and out of the cam. Deffinatly do not want to damage up the bearings. Good luck. Seems the ZZ4 is becoming a common swap on 305's now! Damn...and I thought I was gunna be cool and be one of the first!

I am writing up a small article for my website on cam and heads install. I am running into a lot of problems on top of problems from outside of the garage. Non stop drama!

 

Haha, i just finished writing my cam install. It's 3 pages long. Lol. Still needs proofing, like all write ups.

It can be downloaded <A HREF="http://home.comcast.net/~stekman/Cam_swap.doc">here.</A> It's a word document.

Remember, it's a first draft. I probably left some stuff out.

(92GTA, it's been updated from the version i sent you earlier, may want to look into it)