2000 Trans Am WS6 - LS1 Power Plan - Pontiac Tech

In order to get the engine to TDC, the crankshaft bolt is threaded back into the end of the crank and the rotating assembly is turned clockwise until the dots on the timing chain camshaft and crankshaft sprockets are lined up (camshaft sprocket dot at 6 o'clock and crankshaft sprocket dot in the 12 o'clock position). It should also be noted that for an LS1 cam swap, the factory oil pump doesn't have to be removed, although removal of the four 10mm bolts that retain the pump is necessary if the timing chain assembly itself is being replaced.

The three 10mm cam gear bolts that retain the timing chain and gear are removed to slip the timing chain off of the top gear.

Four 10mm cam retainer plate bolts are taken out and the retainer is set to the side.

Before removing the camshaft, the factory hydraulic roller lifters have to be pushed up into the lifter trays. A spare water-pump bolt is threaded into the end of the camshaft and rotated clockwise a few times until the lifters come up off of the cam and "snap" into the lifter tray. Specialty LS lifter rods are slid into the holes at the front of the block, which prevent the lifters from falling down once the camshaft is removed. Very rarely will a lifter fail to seat itself in the tray, but if it does, the intake manifold will have to come off to get the stray lifter out of the path of the camshaft.

The camshaft is now removed by pulling back while slowly rotating it. Careful attention is given to keeping the camshaft level as it comes out of the engine to ensure that a cam lobe doesn't nick a cam bearing during removal.

After the new cam is washed and dried, all the journals are lubricated with engine oil. A water-pump bolt is screwed into the end of the cam and the cam is carefully installed in the block. The retainer is reinstalled and its bolts are torqued to 18 lb-ft. After placing the timing chain over the sprockets, the cam gear is put into the proper position on the camshaft sprocket locating pin, in the sprocket alignment hole. The camshaft sprocket alignment mark is in the 6 o'clock position. (If necessary, rotate the camshaft or crankshaft sprockets to align the timing marks.) Loctite Blue is applied to the three cam gear bolts and they're torqued to 23 lb-ft.

The valvesprings will be removed using an LS-series in-car valvespring removal tool. Rather than pulling the heads to change the springs, the tool-in combination with a special air fitting-will thread into the spark plug hole, and keep the valves from falling down onto the pistons once the air line is pressurized and the valvespring is removed. The tool accepts a 3/8-inch socket fitting on both sides to provide leverage to compress the spring. Not included with the tool, but necessary to change the springs, are a 3/8-inch socket (1/2-inch breaker bar optional), the air fitting, and two long rocker bolts.

After screwing the special spark plug fitting into a cylinder, an air hose is attached, pressuring the cylinder to 120 psi. The valve-spring tool is put down onto the valvespring and the rocker bolt is secured with an 8mm socket. A 3/8-inch socket is attached to the side of the tool and a magnet is placed near the center of the valve retainer. After pressing down on the socket wrench and carefully compressing the valvespring until the locks are free of the retainer, the locks are extracted with the magnet. (If the valve stem moves down with the spring retainer, tap the retainer lightly until it moves independent of the valve.) Once the locks are removed, the socket wrench is lifted up until there's enough clearance to remove the spring, retainer, and machined bases.

Intake and exhaust seals are removed with pliers. Before installing the new Comp valve seal, the factory-machined base is replaced with the Comp spring seat. The valve stem is lubed with oil, the seal is slipped over the valve stem, and a deep 1/2-inch socket and hammer are used to tap the seal until it comes in contact with the valve seat (machined base). New Comp Cams double springs are placed over the valve, followed by the titanium retainer. A small dab of grease is added and the two valve locks are placed into the top of the retainer. Using the valvespring tool, the spring is compressed until the valve stem protrudes past the retainer enough for the two valve locks to fall into place. The locks fit into grooves on the end tip of the valve stem and positively locate, when inserted properly. Once the locks are secured, the pressure on the valvespring tool is released until the spring is seated.

The 16 Comp Cams pushrods are inserted into the access holes in the cylinder heads, the stock GM 1.70-ratio roller rocker arms are reinstalled, and Loctite Blue is placed on each of the rocker bolts before the rockers are torqued down to the factory spec of 22 lb-ft. After making sure that no foreign debris has fallen into the head, the valve covers are installed and the 8mm bolts are secured by torquing them down to 9 lb-ft.

After finishing up the valvetrain, it then becomes simply a matter of reinstalling the parts that were removed in order to gain access to the camshaft and valvetrain components. A new GM front cover gasket, crankshaft front oil seal, and the front cover are installed and the front of the engine is buttoned up. Consult the service manual for proper harmonic balancer installation. The dipstick tube is installed on the passenger side, then the plugs, plug wires, valve covers, coil packs, AIR tubes, and fuel line are put back together. Once the top of the motor is complete, the arduous process of installing the drive pulleys, along with the radiator and A/C condenser, begins. When everything is back together, the strut-tower brace is reinstalled, a fresh fill of DexCool is put into the radiator, and the battery is connected. Although the A/C system is hooked up, it won't be recharged until after the initial tune.