REVISED 5/1/06 Bad Cams/My Info To Hopefully Reduce New Cam/lifter Fails
Since i have seen another 3-4 more cam failures here in T/C over the past month or so i thought i would re-post my UPDATED VERSION of my original post on trying to prevent or at least reduce the chances of NEW CAM FAILURE which includes some additional items & some new info too.
Please feel free to coment and or add any additional info that may be helpfull in preventing a cam failure for anyone installing a new cam here in T/C.
Scott
Some important things for new cam installs that are not always done or even considered that are " MUST DO PROCEDURES" for all my cam installs which i feel are vital to avoiding new cam/lifter failures. (See below for replacing a bad cam with the motor in a car without tearing the motor down for cleaning and insp of bearings etc.) This is a last resort thing to do which i don't recommned but it can be done successfully if done properly in many cases as i state below.(SEE BELOW THE CAM INSTALL PROCEDURES & DIRECT LUBE LIFTER INFO FOR THE DETAILS OF REPLACING A CAM WITH THE MOTOR IN THE CAR)
NOTE;MY CAM INSTALL PROCEDURES ARE FOR STOCK/MILD/TO FAIRLY HOT FLAT TAPPET HYD (HYD ROLLER TOO JUST TO BE SAFE)/SOLID CAM INSTALLS IN SBC & BBC AND THE USE OF LIGHT PRESSURE VALVE SPRINGS FOR CAM BREAKIN IS "NOT REQIRED". BUT FOR HOT/LARGE HIGH LIFT LONG DURATION ALL OUT PERF CAMS WITH HIGH SPRING PRESSURES AND HIGH RPM USESAGE THE USE OF LIGHTWEIGHT SPRINGS FOR BREAKING IS REQUIRED.
* FRESH 10w-30 (or 30wt if warm enough) OIL & FILTER (long style AC PF35 or equivilent) prior to startup.
NOTE: SHELL ROTELLA OR CHEVRON DELO 400 OILS ARE GREAT OILS THAT ARE USED FOR DIESELS THAT COME WITH ADDITIONAL ANTI WEAR ADDITIVES THAT BENEFIT FLAT TAPPET CAMS THAT ARE NOT IN MOST OF TODAY'S GASOLINE MOTOR OILS.
* Always use a Filtermag (Very strong magnet) on the oil filter to trap metalic debris.(See Filtermag website for details)
The Filtermag is pricey at 50-75 bucks but its cheap insurance/protection against a bad cam in your new $3k-5k motor/investment by trapping any metal contamination from the oiling system in the oil filter.(See Filtermag website for details,i think it's a great product IMHO)
* You can also remove the oil filter bypass valve and plug it with a pipe plug(either 1/4 or 1/2 inch plug?) to force all oil through the oil filter. But keep in mind to never rev the motor up too high untill the motor & oil are up to operating temp or you could distort or blow the oil filter altogether.
* VERY IMPORTANT to inspect the cam lobes and lifter bottoms very well with a magnifying glass for any imperfections that look like they could scrape or dig before installation. If any imperfections are found on cam or lifter/s either use crocus cloth to smooth the rough area/s out or replace the cam or suspect lifters,if needed show to machinest for advice.
* Lube the cam lobes with a lot of moly lube(I prefer Crane's version) including the fuel pump lobe/ecentric & dist gear.
Note,DO NOT USE THE RED COLORED CAM LUBE LIKE COMP CAM USES,IT'S TOO THIN AND RUNS OFF. ONLY USE THE GREY COLORED MOLY LUBE LIKE CRANE CAMS USES WHICH YOU CAN BU SEPERATELY FROM THEM,THE RED STUFF IS NO GOOD AT ALL.
* Also,VERY IMPORTANT to put some moly lube on the camshat inbetween the lobes .This so when the motor heats up the moly lube inbetween the lobes on the shaft will thin out and be thrown off as a mixture of oil & moly lube back onto the lobes & lifters. The cam & lifters are lubed/oiled by oil thrown off the crank and from oil pumped to the lifters and oil thrown off the cam while it's spinning too.
Note-do not use the moly lube on the cam bearings,only use std motor oil for the cam bearings.
* Put plenty of moly lube on bottoms of lifters,no moly lube on sides of lifters,use only oil there.
Note-check lifter bores for scratches,dings,etc and if any questions show to a reputable machinest to verify ok to use before assembly. You may be able to use crocus cloth to clean up any rough lifter bores with the machinests approval.
* See below(bottom of cam install info) for my take on the DIRECT LUBE LIFTERS.
* Pour plenty of motor oil over the chain & sprokets.
* Use moly lube on the pivet balls in rockers but only use motor oil on the pusrod to rocker interface as the thick moly lube can impead oil flow to rocker at startup esp if its cold out.
* VERY IMPORTANT to adj valves with intake off. This is because when you adj the valves at least half the moly cam lube is wiped off the lobes while doing the adj and it MUST be re-applied post valve adj or you are asking for trouble. I use my finger/s and any other smooth item i can find to reach through the slots on the block to re-apply the moly lube to the lobes you can get to,this is very imprtant to do and is almost always overlooked.
* After you re-apply the moly lube to the lobes post valve adj pour a bottle of either GM EOS or Crane engine break in lube over the entire camshaft where ever you can through the slots in the block and through dist shaft onto cam gear too. This is added start up protection and the ballance of it will go into the oil pan. Also pour a little onto the rocker arm pivot balls.
*After motor is assembly is complete prelube motor with correct tool that seals off dist shaft for proper prelube of lifters,etc. Remember to rotate motor while doing pre-lube.
* Fill coolent (50/50 mix of antifreeze & distilled water) through thermostat opening in intake. This is so you can push out all the or most of air in the block. This also allows you to fill the coolent up to the point when it alomost overflows the intake so it will contact the thermostat for startup. This eliminates the BIG PROBLEM of overheating the motor before the stat opens because there is no coolent touching the stat,only air and the stat takes much longer to open this way thus overheating the motor and oil in the process. Use a 180 high flow stat too.
* Have a 20 inch box fan(2 if poss) running full speed set high enough to blow cool air directly into the radiator for the entire cam breakin period. This will help a lot in keeing things cool for cam breakin. Have the car out doors if possible for better fresh air flow during cam breakin.
* Pre fill the carb if possible to minimize cranking prior to startup which could wipe most of the moly lube off the lobes/lifters before startup which is not a good thing.
* Make sure to get the timing right the 1st time so it fires up fast with minimal cranking time.
* Uppon startup get the motor to approx 2200-2500 rpm ASAP (min of 30mins-max-40 mins) and crank in plenty of intial timing to avoid retarded timing that will make the motor run much hotter than it normally would. Remember the stock timing specs are no good when using any type of perf cam. Most mild to hot perf street cams need apporx 14-18 deg btdc intial timing (with vac adv plugged) to avoid being too retarded. Timing does not have to be set perfect for cam break in,just make sure its not too retarded or motor will run hotter.
Note - Keep an eye on the oil pressure during entire cam breakin period as the moly cam lube can at times (though not often) partially or fully clog the oil filter
which will result in a small or drastic drop in oil pressure. If this happens and the oil pressure drops below lets say 30psi @ 2500 rpms i would shut it down and change the oil filter then proceed with finishing out the ballance of the cam breakin time period. I would use an AC PF35 truck filter(or equivilent) that has the extra capacity to help avoid a moly clogged oil filter. I would not recommend Fram oil filters as they have been noted in the Team chevelle site for collapsing when oil filter bypasses are blocked off and also for clogging easily with moly lube durring cam breakin according to members on the site.
* After the 25- 30 min cam breakin is completed shut it down and change the oil and filter on the spot while the oil is hot and all the contaminants are still suspended in the oil.
Note 1-use 10w-30, 30wt (if warm enough),or Shell Rotella T 15w-40 & another bottle of gm eos or crane motor breakin lube/and the filtermag for this post cam breakin oil change. Run this oil only 200-300 miles max and change the oil & filter again,then return to your std oil change schd & oil you normally use along with your Filtermag.
Note-2 ;Another late entry,use Chevron Delo and Shell Rotella Diesile(SP?) 15w-40 oils if your running a flat tappet cam because they have the most anti wear additives in them when compaired to most of todays oils which have removed the anti wear additives of the past that are vital to the longjevity of flat tappet hyd/solid cams esp when running higher spring pressures. I contacted the Shell engineers through their website to ask them if the their diesel oil was ok for use in our muscle car motors and they highly recommend the 15w-40 Rotell T for any older SBC/BBC muscle cars running a flat tappet cams because of the additional anti wear additives for the flat tappet cams and it great shear resistance that the big rig motors need pulling heavy loads.
Scott
Since i have seen another 3-4 more cam failures here in T/C over the past month or so i thought i would re-post my UPDATED VERSION of my original post on trying to prevent or at least reduce the chances of NEW CAM FAILURE which includes some additional items & some new info too.
Please feel free to coment and or add any additional info that may be helpfull in preventing a cam failure for anyone installing a new cam here in T/C.
Scott
Some important things for new cam installs that are not always done or even considered that are " MUST DO PROCEDURES" for all my cam installs which i feel are vital to avoiding new cam/lifter failures. (See below for replacing a bad cam with the motor in a car without tearing the motor down for cleaning and insp of bearings etc.) This is a last resort thing to do which i don't recommned but it can be done successfully if done properly in many cases as i state below.(SEE BELOW THE CAM INSTALL PROCEDURES & DIRECT LUBE LIFTER INFO FOR THE DETAILS OF REPLACING A CAM WITH THE MOTOR IN THE CAR)
NOTE;MY CAM INSTALL PROCEDURES ARE FOR STOCK/MILD/TO FAIRLY HOT FLAT TAPPET HYD (HYD ROLLER TOO JUST TO BE SAFE)/SOLID CAM INSTALLS IN SBC & BBC AND THE USE OF LIGHT PRESSURE VALVE SPRINGS FOR CAM BREAKIN IS "NOT REQIRED". BUT FOR HOT/LARGE HIGH LIFT LONG DURATION ALL OUT PERF CAMS WITH HIGH SPRING PRESSURES AND HIGH RPM USESAGE THE USE OF LIGHTWEIGHT SPRINGS FOR BREAKING IS REQUIRED.
* FRESH 10w-30 (or 30wt if warm enough) OIL & FILTER (long style AC PF35 or equivilent) prior to startup.
NOTE: SHELL ROTELLA OR CHEVRON DELO 400 OILS ARE GREAT OILS THAT ARE USED FOR DIESELS THAT COME WITH ADDITIONAL ANTI WEAR ADDITIVES THAT BENEFIT FLAT TAPPET CAMS THAT ARE NOT IN MOST OF TODAY'S GASOLINE MOTOR OILS.
* Always use a Filtermag (Very strong magnet) on the oil filter to trap metalic debris.(See Filtermag website for details)
The Filtermag is pricey at 50-75 bucks but its cheap insurance/protection against a bad cam in your new $3k-5k motor/investment by trapping any metal contamination from the oiling system in the oil filter.(See Filtermag website for details,i think it's a great product IMHO)
* You can also remove the oil filter bypass valve and plug it with a pipe plug(either 1/4 or 1/2 inch plug?) to force all oil through the oil filter. But keep in mind to never rev the motor up too high untill the motor & oil are up to operating temp or you could distort or blow the oil filter altogether.
* VERY IMPORTANT to inspect the cam lobes and lifter bottoms very well with a magnifying glass for any imperfections that look like they could scrape or dig before installation. If any imperfections are found on cam or lifter/s either use crocus cloth to smooth the rough area/s out or replace the cam or suspect lifters,if needed show to machinest for advice.
* Lube the cam lobes with a lot of moly lube(I prefer Crane's version) including the fuel pump lobe/ecentric & dist gear.
Note,DO NOT USE THE RED COLORED CAM LUBE LIKE COMP CAM USES,IT'S TOO THIN AND RUNS OFF. ONLY USE THE GREY COLORED MOLY LUBE LIKE CRANE CAMS USES WHICH YOU CAN BU SEPERATELY FROM THEM,THE RED STUFF IS NO GOOD AT ALL.
* Also,VERY IMPORTANT to put some moly lube on the camshat inbetween the lobes .This so when the motor heats up the moly lube inbetween the lobes on the shaft will thin out and be thrown off as a mixture of oil & moly lube back onto the lobes & lifters. The cam & lifters are lubed/oiled by oil thrown off the crank and from oil pumped to the lifters and oil thrown off the cam while it's spinning too.
Note-do not use the moly lube on the cam bearings,only use std motor oil for the cam bearings.
* Put plenty of moly lube on bottoms of lifters,no moly lube on sides of lifters,use only oil there.
Note-check lifter bores for scratches,dings,etc and if any questions show to a reputable machinest to verify ok to use before assembly. You may be able to use crocus cloth to clean up any rough lifter bores with the machinests approval.
* See below(bottom of cam install info) for my take on the DIRECT LUBE LIFTERS.
* Pour plenty of motor oil over the chain & sprokets.
* Use moly lube on the pivet balls in rockers but only use motor oil on the pusrod to rocker interface as the thick moly lube can impead oil flow to rocker at startup esp if its cold out.
* VERY IMPORTANT to adj valves with intake off. This is because when you adj the valves at least half the moly cam lube is wiped off the lobes while doing the adj and it MUST be re-applied post valve adj or you are asking for trouble. I use my finger/s and any other smooth item i can find to reach through the slots on the block to re-apply the moly lube to the lobes you can get to,this is very imprtant to do and is almost always overlooked.
* After you re-apply the moly lube to the lobes post valve adj pour a bottle of either GM EOS or Crane engine break in lube over the entire camshaft where ever you can through the slots in the block and through dist shaft onto cam gear too. This is added start up protection and the ballance of it will go into the oil pan. Also pour a little onto the rocker arm pivot balls.
*After motor is assembly is complete prelube motor with correct tool that seals off dist shaft for proper prelube of lifters,etc. Remember to rotate motor while doing pre-lube.
* Fill coolent (50/50 mix of antifreeze & distilled water) through thermostat opening in intake. This is so you can push out all the or most of air in the block. This also allows you to fill the coolent up to the point when it alomost overflows the intake so it will contact the thermostat for startup. This eliminates the BIG PROBLEM of overheating the motor before the stat opens because there is no coolent touching the stat,only air and the stat takes much longer to open this way thus overheating the motor and oil in the process. Use a 180 high flow stat too.
* Have a 20 inch box fan(2 if poss) running full speed set high enough to blow cool air directly into the radiator for the entire cam breakin period. This will help a lot in keeing things cool for cam breakin. Have the car out doors if possible for better fresh air flow during cam breakin.
* Pre fill the carb if possible to minimize cranking prior to startup which could wipe most of the moly lube off the lobes/lifters before startup which is not a good thing.
* Make sure to get the timing right the 1st time so it fires up fast with minimal cranking time.
* Uppon startup get the motor to approx 2200-2500 rpm ASAP (min of 30mins-max-40 mins) and crank in plenty of intial timing to avoid retarded timing that will make the motor run much hotter than it normally would. Remember the stock timing specs are no good when using any type of perf cam. Most mild to hot perf street cams need apporx 14-18 deg btdc intial timing (with vac adv plugged) to avoid being too retarded. Timing does not have to be set perfect for cam break in,just make sure its not too retarded or motor will run hotter.
Note - Keep an eye on the oil pressure during entire cam breakin period as the moly cam lube can at times (though not often) partially or fully clog the oil filter
which will result in a small or drastic drop in oil pressure. If this happens and the oil pressure drops below lets say 30psi @ 2500 rpms i would shut it down and change the oil filter then proceed with finishing out the ballance of the cam breakin time period. I would use an AC PF35 truck filter(or equivilent) that has the extra capacity to help avoid a moly clogged oil filter. I would not recommend Fram oil filters as they have been noted in the Team chevelle site for collapsing when oil filter bypasses are blocked off and also for clogging easily with moly lube durring cam breakin according to members on the site.
* After the 25- 30 min cam breakin is completed shut it down and change the oil and filter on the spot while the oil is hot and all the contaminants are still suspended in the oil.
Note 1-use 10w-30, 30wt (if warm enough),or Shell Rotella T 15w-40 & another bottle of gm eos or crane motor breakin lube/and the filtermag for this post cam breakin oil change. Run this oil only 200-300 miles max and change the oil & filter again,then return to your std oil change schd & oil you normally use along with your Filtermag.
Note-2 ;Another late entry,use Chevron Delo and Shell Rotella Diesile(SP?) 15w-40 oils if your running a flat tappet cam because they have the most anti wear additives in them when compaired to most of todays oils which have removed the anti wear additives of the past that are vital to the longjevity of flat tappet hyd/solid cams esp when running higher spring pressures. I contacted the Shell engineers through their website to ask them if the their diesel oil was ok for use in our muscle car motors and they highly recommend the 15w-40 Rotell T for any older SBC/BBC muscle cars running a flat tappet cams because of the additional anti wear additives for the flat tappet cams and it great shear resistance that the big rig motors need pulling heavy loads.
Scott
