06 Gt Hot Rod cam install

Hello all, this is my first post here so if I'm doing anything wrong please let me know. I was wanting to get input on installing hot rod cams in my son's GT. We have some parts on order and just waiting to get everything in and thought I would ask for your input on helping us make the right decision and doing things properly. Here is the list of things ordered:

Ford racing hot rod cams
Timing wedge tool
Cam phaser bolts
JLT cai with SCT tuner
Ford racing 4:10 gears
Hurst short throw
Lito tune

Initially we were just going to have a shop install everything so I called the local Ford dealer and they quoted me $2100 for labor on cams and gears. Thanks but no thanks. I've talked to my son and we want to do the cams ourselves and make this a father/son project. The gears I will leave to a shop...but not that one. They want 800 for gear install. Seems a bit pricey so I'm gonna check with my local mechanic. Changing gears doesn't look like a job we need to tackle by ourselves.

I've done some basic repairs before.. like very basic...plugs, brakes/rotors, stuff like that but this will be my first time pulling a valve cover. I'm a little nervous to be honest but after researching what's involved I'm confident we can take our time and do it. So from what I'm reading, we can use the wedge tool and then just slowly back off each cap bolt to slowly ease the tension off the the springs, then remove the caps and pull the cam. I know that's simplifying it a bit but I'm trying to be brief. I guess my biggest question is this, once we get the crank where it should, can we do both sides and leave the crank in that one position or do we have to do it different for each side? I'm going to print out a guide I've found and make sure I read and reread it several times before we attempt this. Neither of us are in a hurry to get it done, we just want it to go smoothly with no hiccups. I do have a couple folks I could call if we run into an issue but I really want us to do this together. I'm sure you dads can totally understand that.

Another question I have is do you think we should order the rocker arm/lash adjuster set and replace them while we have it pulled apart? I don't want to waste money but if the general consensus is that's its a good idea then I don't mind. I'm assuming that would very simple to do with the cam removed. Prime the new lash adjusters, pull the old ones and slide in the new ones? Then just swap out rockers? Again we are open to any suggestions on this and the whole project to be honest.

I don't want to inundate you guys with a ton of questions on my first post but I'm sure I will have more the closer we get to project day. Thank you guys for your time and any help you can give us. I really look forward to hearing from you all and seeing this project through with my boy. I'm hoping this will be one of those memories he can share when he's my age and one that I will cherish as well. Thanks again.

Gear install is at least $800. One of the hardest jobs to get right.

How many miles are on the car? That would be what I would use to determine whether to do the lash adjusters and roller followers.
Cams are easy to do on a 3V so I'd say it is a good decision to do it yourselves.

RED09GT said:

How many miles are on the car? That would be what I would use to determine whether to do the lash adjusters and roller followers.
Cams are easy to do on a 3V so I'd say it is a good decision to do it yourselves.

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Mine has 185k on it. I am finally going to do the Hot Rods and Kooks this spring (I’ve been saying that for the last 5-6 years lol)
I have the FRPP timing kit, but wondering about doing the lash adjusters and followers too, with that mileage. What do you think?


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RED09GT said:

How many miles are on the car? That would be what I would use to determine whether to do the lash adjusters and roller followers.
Cams are easy to do on a 3V so I'd say it is a good decision to do it yourselves.

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90k

185K, I'd replace them just out of principle.

EDIT: I'd be tempted to pull a valvespring to be tested at that point as well. Pull an exhaust one if you chose to test one as they have a much rougher life with more heat and a heavier valve.

90K, I'd reuse them if they aren't showing any abnormal wear and if my budget was tight.

YMMV

kstall said:

90k

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Your engine is pretty low mileage and if the oil has been changed religiously, everything under the valve cover should be clean and the cam followers/lash adjusters should only have minimal wear. Swapping cams is certainly a DIY job and it seems you've already got things sussed out with regard to the installation. Keep us updated on your progress.
Swapping axle gears is best left to a professional workshop as setting the correct pinion bearing preload is critical to preventing excessive noise and premature wear. An $800 quote for labor seems reasonable.

dark steed said:

Mine has 185k on it. I am finally going to do the Hot Rods and Kooks this spring (I’ve been saying that for the last 5-6 years lol)
I have the FRPP timing kit, but wondering about doing the lash adjusters and followers too, with that mileage. What do you think?

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With double the OP's mileage, I'd say a firm yes. With a fully refreshed valvetrain your engine should go another 185k miles. You might want to replace the oil pump (good excuse to upgrade) and the VCT solenoids at the same time to keep all the other new parts happy.

I replaced the cams in my 05 by myself having never done that before. There are a couple of videos on YouTube that can help with the job. As well as "how to`s" that you can print out. There are two different opinions on whether to use a spring compressor or not. They are cheap on Ebay and I used one. Some people do not. $800 for a gear swap is not bad.

At that mileage your lash adjusters, followers and timing components should still be good as new, assuming the car has been taken care of. Just give the followers a good inspection, and of course replace any that look questionable. The cams come with a very good instruction sheet, and I recommend following it to the letter. As far as just unbolting/bolting the cams down, the Ford instructions dictate removing a few of the followers on each side, and phasing each cam in a specific position before removing it. This reduces the stress on the caps, cap bolts and threads in the head, and personally I think it's a good idea. You don't need or want to remove the spring retainer or the locks, just move them and the valve down far enough to get the follower out/in. You'll need a valve spring compressor to do this, but they're available from a lot of sources and they're not expensive. I think mine was about $25 on Amazon.
When I put my cams in at 125k I replaced the lash adjusters and followers only because they came with the cams. I pulled the timing cover because I thought the chain wedge tool had slipped when installing the RH cam and the timing was off (it hadn't and it wasn't, and that's a story for another time), so when I was in there I went ahead and replaced all of the timing components + the VCT solenoids, and installed the FRPP high volume oil pump because I intended to run it hard.
Invest in a quality torque wrench and take your time, and it will be an enjoyable and satisfying project.

As far as the gears go, speaking from experience this can be very difficult to do without a lift. After wrestling with mine for three nights I finally pulled the entire axle assembly (took about 1.5 hours) and put it on the bench where I had perfect access to it. There are several posts you can research on this if you decide to do it yourself. This job is not enjoyable (IMHO) but it is satisfying.

Be prepared (time wise) to replace one or both of the cam phasers. I wouldn't necessarily buy them ahead of time, but those phasers are a little on the delicate side, especially once you've taken the bolt out.

how is an oil pump a high volume pump when the same gears fit into it and also the stock pump?

Thanks for the replies so far. As far as the gears....yeah I definitely won't be attempting that one lol. Actually had a couple shops say they don't mess with gear changes anymore. So far I gotten quotes from 2 different Ford dealerships. $745 and $775 for the quotes. I'm thinking it may just be better to take it there and be done with it.
Parts should be here today if UPS will get on the stick.

My '08 GT/CS had the Hot Rod cams already installed when I bought it at 38K. You are going to love the sound at idle. I've had guys driving Charger R/Ts tell me they wish their car sounded this good. You're also going to lose some bottom end so you might consider a set of 4.10s as the next modification. Mine had the Ford shorty headers already installed (I guess the previous owner had Ford do all the installs) but I had already purchased a set of BBK long tubes which a friend installed for me. He also installed a new BBK high flow cat mid pipe, I wanted to keep it smog legal, although we don't have smog checks here in AZ. I wouldn't recommended the Ford Racing intake unless you plan on doing a lot of racing since I've been told you will lose even more bottom end. Mine pulls like a freight train after 3K. Good luck.

Yep 4:10 gears are on the truck just waiting for them to get here. My boy definitely wants long tubes after we get all this done. It has offroad/x now and not sure what mufflers it has. Loud as heck I know that lol.

The biggest issue with gear install is needing a press to install the rear pinion bearing.

You’ll definitely lose some low end. As mentioned, it’ll sound really good at idle. I’ve got hot Rod cams, Mac long tubes, Mac mid prochamber, and borla axle back.

Good lick man. I’m doing the same install this weekend and really following the same path as you.

I had a shop put in my 4:10’s for all the reasons mentions above. I have long tubes and plan to put in the Ford intake and 62mm throttle body at the same time.

only thing I was really scared of was having to get the tune but everyone on here help me out a lot and I got it through LITO which wound up being $650 cheaper than my local speed shot wanted because they also wanted to put it on a dyno.
GOOD LUCK!!!

We got the cai, tuner, and hurst shifter in yesterday afternoon. Looks like the cams are backordered which is fine really. Gives me more time to plan. Will probably plan to install the cai and shifter tomorrow sometime. I hope my boy realizes how fortunate he is. I would have given my left nut to have a car like this when I was 17 lol. Really looking forward to this time with him and so hoping this project turns out well. I can't wait to see the look on his face the first time its fired up and we hear that glorious loppity lope

Hell yeah!!

91mini said:

only thing I was really scared of was having to get the tune but everyone on here help me out a lot and I got it through LITO which wound up being $650 cheaper than my local speed shot wanted because they also wanted to put it on a dyno.
GOOD LUCK!!!

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You cannot beat Lito for tuning our cars. When I installed the Detroit Rockers cam, I used the tune that Brenspeed developed for those cams. The car ran like shit. Once I found Lito, he fixed everything.