Labor price on cam install?

[TXMike240]

Can anyone who has paid to have camshafts swapped let me know what the labor ran them? I've got an NA ka and am thinking of swapping in hotter cams for extra pep to hold me over for a little while, but have no idea what it would cost to have them properly installed. Any info apprciated.

[MarkEmark]

I hate to not answer the question, but....

buy an FSM, get some tools, and start swapping away--it's really not as involved/formidable an endeavor as one would think.

Do you have any car-savvy buddies?

I wouldn't trust taking it to someone unless they know nissans (and i doubt a nissan dealer would do it), just because every head is different--even though there isn't much you can screw up.

Ask around for a tutorial, I think you'll be surprised how straightforward it is.

[C-Kwik]

It can depend on what cams though. If they are regrinds, they may require custom shims and would require that you are accurate with the valve lash measurements. It's rather simple to get new shims from the dealer, but not as easy if they have to be made custom.

[MarkEmark]

Yeah, I should have mentioned that I had a precise tool to measure valve-lash.

If you order shims from nissan, be prepared to pay a ridiculously inflated amount ($11.63 PER SHIM).

[Nathan]

Are there any other sources for the shims though?

[whiterps13]

ive heard about a 10 hour install, which is very expensive. my shop is like 50-60 an hour...

[C-Kwik]

If it takes a shop 10 hours for a cam install on a DOHC KA, they are doing something wrong. The install and removal of the cam is fairly easy. I can probably do it in 3 hours. And with the right tools (which I would expect a shop to have) valve lash could probably be done in less than an hour of actual labor. Mechanics probably won't have shims on hand like a dealership might.