LS1 - Part 10: Camshaft Removal

Before you remove the camshaft, you'll want to take out the lifter valley pans:


I didn't use any tools to take the lifter valley pans out; I just used my hands. After you take the lifter valley pans out, you'll be able to see the lifters (one shown in the pic below):


I just used my hands to pull these lifters too, even though they were really slippery. If they're hard to get out, you might be able to get them out with a lifter pick removal tool, or a dentist's pick that's in an L-shape. I hear those work pretty well for this. When you take the lifters out, you can just put them in the organizer tray you used to take out the rockers and the pushrods:


Now go to the front of the engine and remove these three bolts with a 10mm socket:


Now you can pull off the timing gear and the timing chain. Then you'll be able to see four bolts holding in the camshaft thrust plate. Take out these four bolts with your 10mm socket:

Put the plate aside. Now what you're going to do is take the timing gear you just pulled off and bolt it back on to the end of the camshaft, with three of the 10mm bolts you just removed going into these three holes:


Now, using the timing gear as a base, AS STRAIGHT AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN, pull the camshaft out very carefully, and try not to bang it around as you pull it out:


Here's what it will look like when you pull it out:


Pat yourself on the back if you've never pulled out a camshaft before. It's truly a defining moment for a gearhead. :)

Now that the cam's out, we can get started on removing the pistons and the crankshaft, which I'll talk about next.